5 of the Best Cloud Hosting Services That Are Free
Cloud hosting isn’t just for large corporations anymore; even small businesses can benefit from the cost-saving and efficiency benefits it offers. If you are looking to get started with cloud hosting, here are 5 of the best services that offer both free plans and advanced paid plans. As always, be sure to read over the company’s terms of service before committing to anything, but these services all seem like legitimate providers based on our research. In no particular order, here are 5 of the best cloud hosting services that are free.
1) Heroku
Heroku, a company now owned by Salesforce is one of the oldest cloud hosting services available. Heroku allows users to set up their servers and deploy applications without having to do anything too complicated. The downside is that Heroku has its operating system, which means you might find yourself locked into only being able to use certain languages or software. Still, it’s a popular choice among developers and small businesses with limited budgets because they can scale up quickly at very little cost. You can also easily transfer your application from Heroku to another provider if you decide you want more control over your server configuration. If you don’t mind losing some of your flexibility but still want a free option, Heroku could be worth checking out. Dokku: If there’s something specific about Heroku that doesn’t suit your needs—maybe it uses an old version of Ruby on Rails—then Dokku may be for you. Dokku is designed to make it easy for anyone who wants to run their mini-Heroku setup on their local computer. It’s mostly geared towards development work since setting up an entire infrastructure isn’t usually necessary for testing out ideas or playing around with programming projects before committing them to production. However, if you’re looking for a way to get started with running code on your server outside of Heroku and are willing to put in a bit of time learning how everything works, then Dokku could be perfect. Digital Ocean: Another good option is Digital Ocean, which provides virtual private servers (VPS) starting at $5 per month. VPSes have less overhead than dedicated physical hardware, so they’re cheaper than other options while offering plenty of power for most day-to-day tasks like running web apps or managing databases. They’re great for getting started with basic web hosting requirements without paying through the nose.
2) Google App Engine
Google App Engine is a platform that allows developers to create and host web applications on Google’s infrastructure. App Engine applications are easy to build, easy to maintain, and easy to scale as your traffic and data storage needs change. App Engine applications are powered by Google’s servers and use Google’s storage, databases, libraries, and other services, but they’re coded just like any other app you might develop yourself—in languages such as Python or Java. If you already have some experience with web application development and want a fast way to get started with hosting your application on Google infrastructure, App Engine is a good place to start. And it’s free for up to 1GB per day of application processing for all standard services – request an invite using our sign-up form today! It will be up and running in seconds (no credit card required). If you’ve got less than 100MB worth of data (e.g., a few photos), try out Datastore for free right now. You can also check out our tutorials, which provide step-by-step instructions for building sample applications. With App Engine, you don’t need to worry about configuring hardware or software, installing software updates, managing operating systems, or performing maintenance tasks such as backups. You can focus on developing your application without worrying about how it will perform at scale. When your application becomes popular and starts generating lots of traffic, you simply tell us how much capacity you need (in units called CPUs) and we’ll automatically provision enough resources to handle your load. You pay only for what you use — there are no minimum fees or up-front commitments necessary.
3) Microsoft Azure
You can use Azure for your cloud hosting needs. As a general-purpose cloud computing platform, Microsoft Azure provides computing, storage, database, and big data capabilities—as well as integrated developer tools—for all your cloud hosting needs. Microsoft is one of a handful of companies with enough name recognition to get you in front of more potential clients than most other free cloud hosts. However, they’ll require that you pay them monthly to use their services. While it might be worth it if you have a lot of traffic or are trying to attract enterprise customers, it may not be worth it if you’re just starting. If your business is small, consider using another service on our list instead. It’s also worth noting that there are certain features available only through paid plans. This includes things like advanced networking options, SQL Server databases, and HDInsight (Microsoft’s Hadoop implementation). Even if you don’t need these things right away, however, it’s good to know what’s available so you’ll be ready when your company does. If you do want to go with Microsoft, here’s how to sign up for their free plan. Wix: Wix offers a completely web-based way to build your website without any coding required. The standard version of Wix is completely free—all you have to do is enter information about yourself and set up payment details, then Wix builds your website automatically from there.
4) Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a leading cloud hosting service that offers businesses and individuals access to a wide array of services. No matter what you’re looking for, Amazon has you covered with anything from data storage and processing power to database management and website hosting. On top of being one of the most affordable options out there, AWS allows business owners to get up and running on a whole new system with minimal hassle or financial investment. Many businesses are using AWS to host webpages on their domain while they continue building out their in-house IT infrastructure. A good alternative that’s also free if you don’t want or need all of Amazon’s extra services. If you have your server already, then setting up an account with AWS will only cost you $0.15 per hour of usage time—which is incredibly inexpensive! However, if you don’t have your server, it’ll cost $0.12 per hour plus additional costs based on how much disk space and bandwidth you use each month. There’s a 30-day free trial period available as well so that users can test out everything before making any commitments or payments. The biggest drawback to AWS compared to other cloud hosts is that it doesn’t allow users to set up their servers anywhere outside of its physical location in Virginia or any other US state—this could pose problems for some customers who want full control over where their servers are physically located at all times.
5) IBM Bluemix
Bluemix provides developers, IT professionals, and innovators with an intuitive way to easily build, deploy and manage applications from a single cloud console. These IBM-hosted applications enable users to create Internet-enabled apps and services faster than ever. Based on open standards like Node.js, Docker, Cloud Foundry, and Kubernetes, Bluemix is designed for today’s hybrid cloud environments—on-premises or off—and lets you scale your app in minutes instead of months. It’s easy to use and can help boost collaboration across teams within your organization or even between business partners. Learn more about Bluemix here.