It is not rocket science to host your Nodejs application. But, you need to find a reliable Node js server so that you can deploy the application. In this post, we have mentioned 5 free cloud servers that you can use to deploy your Node js application. All the platforms that we have mentioned will provide you with reliable and free nodejs hosting. But, there are some limitations associated that may not interrupt deploying a medium-sized or small-sized Node Js application. Also, you may need to enter your credit card details to use any of these services. Go through the complete post to find the best free nodejs hosting for your application.
Requirements
Now, we present you with all the options for free Node Js hosting platforms, here are some prerequisites that you need to perform. With these, the process of deploying the application may become easier for you.
- You must have a GitHub account and also, you should know about fork repositories
- Also, the code that you have written should be present on GitHub.
- In the end, you must be able to add any third party to your account.
Best Free NodeJs Hosting Platforms
Heroku
Starting the list with one of the common cloud-based application platforms on which you can get free node.js hosting. This application was started in 2007 and has managed to survive in the industry. You can use Heroku to host multiple languages and Node.js is no exception. The process that you need to follow is quite easy and you can complete the process in few steps. This platform has pre-defined settings so that you can easily deploy the application.
But, the catch is that there are some limitations to using this platform. Surely, it does provide you free nodejs hosting but with some basic limitations that you need to keep in mind. Check out the list below.
- It can be used by only one user
- Sleeps if there is no activity for 30 minutes.
- You will get 512 MB memory only.
- There are only 1000 dyno hours available for your whole project if you enter your credit card details. If you won’t, you get only 550.
In case you do not want these limitations, you can go for the premium version of this free cloud server. For the premium version, you need to pay for it. The premium plans are affordable.
Amazon Web Services
How come the list can be complete without Amazon Web services. This is the best cloud server and supports a lot of websites or applications available on the internet. It supports a lot of services and fortunately, Node.js is one of them. Usually, there are different services available on AWS, but, usually, people start with Elastic Beanstalk. With this, all you have to do is to upload the code that you have written, and then AWS will handle the deployment of the application.
You will not have to pay anything extra for the elastic beanstalk service, but, you need to pay for the AWS. Other than this, you will also get the option for Lambda. This will offer you serverless hosting. If you are not sure how you can access the Amazon Cloud Hosting, you can visit the official website for the tutorial.
Vercel
You may not be familiar with this name but have known this website with the name Zeit. It is one of the free hostings and is also serverless. It can be used for free nodejs hosting. There are some great features provided on this platform and the unique URL feature is one of the best ones. The help of the Unique URL for every pull request makes the testing of the branch easier. This is also called deploy preview.
While comparing Heroku and vercel, both these platform provides the users powerful CLI so that you can easily deploy the application. Other than this, you can also take a look at the app logs with the help of the CLI.
Related Article: Managed Cloud Hosting
Glitch
Now, the next Node js server on the list is Glitch.com. In case you are making a fun project or application, this node server is the best for you. In case you are looking for a cloud server for your serious business, this may not be your first choice. This can be preferred when it comes to fun applications o the prototypes.
Other than this, on this free hosting platform, you can create an application anonymously. But, you need to know that you will have to log in to the portal using Facebook or GitHub because if you won’t, there are chances that the anonymous application will get deleted after 5 days.
Moreover, you need to know that you will not be able to use the domain of your choice. Also, there are some limitations. They are as mentioned below:
Your project may sleep after 5 minutes if you are not using and. Also, it may stop automatically after 12 hours of inactivity.
- The free nodejs hosting limit is 512 like Heroku.
- Other than this, it can handle only 4000 requests every hour.
- Also, you will get 512 MB storage for assets and 200MD disk space.
- Glitch is developed by the stack overflow, Trello, and stack exchange team.
Microsoft Azure
The next biggest free cloud server is Microsoft Azure. Microsoft Azure will offer you different services that you can use according to your need so that you can easily deploy your nodejs application. This platform provides you with all the resources and fully managed solutions to provide you with free nodejs hosting.
Other than this, one thing that you need to know is that you will get free nodejs hosting for 12 months and also, will credit $200. This can be used in the first 30 days to get the additional services. Simply, this may not be a complete free node js server, you will get enough services before you actually pay for the hosting.
Google Cloud Platform
The last free nodejs hosting platform on this list is the Google Cloud platform. With this, you can deploy your node.js application on the same infrastructure on which Youtube or Google search works, then this platform is what you need. On this platform also, you are going to get to choose different services and products according to your need. You may want to choose the Google app engine so that you can easily write the code and need not worry about the infrastructure. Also, for this, you are going to pay only for the resources that you will use while deploying the application.
Alternatives for Free Node JS Application
Now, if you are not satisfied with the free nodejs hosting platforms that we have mentioned, you can go for the different alternatives mentioned below. These are the paid alternatives but are surely reliable ones.
- A2 Hosting: This is a traditional host that provides you with the node server. To use the services on this platform, you will have to pay 3.99$ per month and this is the basic plan. In this plan, you can deploy 1 website, 5 databases, an SSL certificate, Cpanel, and other important things.
- Digital Ocean: This is another affordable node js server platform. To use this platform, you need to be experienced in this field because you need to control the infrastructure on your own. The plan for this cloud server starts at just 5$ per month. Other than this, you can scale your website according to your requirement.
- platform.sh: Now, this one is the opposite of the digital ocean. In case you do not know how to manage the infrastructure, this cloud server can be a good option. This is a platform-as-a-service so it will manage the infrastructure for you. But, one thing that you need to know is that platform.sh is a partner with AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google cloud platform. When it comes to the cost, this may not be an affordable option for everyone. It costs 50$ per month but you can get a trial and you do not have to add the credit card details for it.
- Nodechef: This cloud server is not so costly and not so affordable. For this, you need to pay 9$ per month. It provides you hosting with the help of the Docker containers. You will get the data center from the list of four continents. Also, you will be able to choose either SQL or NoSQL databases. So, with this Node server, you will get some good scaling options as per your need.
Which One to Choose!!
Well, to choose the best cloud hosting, you should be aware of your requirements. For example, if you are tech-savvy, you may want to go for a big cloud service so that you can easily manage the infrastructure.
But, the three major names are available on the list: Amazon Web Services, Google cloud platform, Microsoft Azure. These three free nodejs hosting platforms can offer some great features and are surely reliable if you are deploying your first application.
Moreover, Heroku offers some good options to the users for its free version. Vercel can also provide you with a great CLI so that you can manage or deploy your website in a better and efficient way.
In case you do not find the free hosting reliable, you can go for the paid node server also. We have provided you with some affordable node js hosting if you do not want to go for the free ones.
We hope that this post has helped you choose a free nodejs hosting to deploy your first application.
