A unified cloud platform offering web services, databases, static sites, and background jobs. Free tier includes 750 hours/month of web service runtime, a perpetually free PostgreSQL database (512MB storage), and unlimited bandwidth for static sites.
Render is a modern Heroku alternative—simpler and more affordable. Deploy any Git repository as a web service with auto SSL, builds, and global CDN. The free tier includes a perpetually free PostgreSQL database (512MB), perfect for small projects.
I deployed an Express + PostgreSQL todo app on Render. Everything was done via the web UI; environment variables were auto‑injected, and HTTPS worked out of the box. The free tier covered all resources, and the 15‑minute spin‑down wasn’t an issue.
The free PostgreSQL is Render’s killer feature—many PaaS either lack a free DB or impose strict limits.
To keep your web service awake, use a free uptime monitor like UptimeRobot to ping it every 10 minutes, or upgrade to a paid plan ($7/month) for always‑on instances.