Developer Tools
Render
Managed hosting for services, static sites and databases.
What it is
Render hosts web services, static sites, cron jobs and managed databases with automatic deploys from Git. It positions itself as a simpler alternative to the large clouds. It covers the common shape of a web product — service, database, cron, static site — without asking you to learn a cloud console. What it gives up is depth: fine-grained networking, IAM and exotic managed services are not on the menu.
Render pricing
Render publishes 4 plans. Paid tiers start at $0.25/mo, and a free tier is listed alongside them.
| Plan | Price | What the vendor’s page says |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby | $0/mo | Hobby $0/mo + compute; Pro $25/mo + compute; Scale $499/mo + compute; Enterprise custom pricing — every workspace tier is quoted '+ compute' |
| SSD disks | $0.25/mo | Web service compute: free instance 512 MB RAM under 1 CPU; paid from $7/mo (512 MB) to $1,000/mo (64 GB, 8 CPU); SSD disks $0.25/GB per month |
| Pro | $25/mo | Hobby $0/mo + compute; Pro $25/mo + compute; Scale $499/mo + compute; Enterprise custom pricing — every workspace tier is quoted '+ compute' |
| Scale | $499/mo | Hobby $0/mo + compute; Pro $25/mo + compute; Scale $499/mo + compute; Enterprise custom pricing — every workspace tier is quoted '+ compute' |
Prices read from the vendor's own pricing page on 2026-09-09. Vendors change plans without notice — check the source before you budget. Source
Cheaper alternatives to Render — same category, ordered by verified starting price.
Key features
Git-based deploys
Builds and ships on push, with preview environments per pull request.
Managed Postgres and Redis
Provisions datastores alongside services in the same project.
Background workers and cron
Runs queues and scheduled jobs as first-class service types.
Strengths and trade-offs
What works well
- Handles services, static sites and databases in one place
- Automatic deploys and free TLS
- Predictable per-service pricing
Where it falls short
- Cold starts on free instances
- Fewer regions than AWS or GCP
- Limited fine-grained networking control
Who it is for
Teams that want managed hosting without assembling cloud primitives themselves.
Pick it or skip it
Pick Render if
- Solo developers and prototypes: Hobby is $0/month plus compute, with up to 25 services, 5 GB bandwidth and a free 512 MB instance
- Small production teams: Pro is $25/month per workspace plus compute and includes unlimited seats and services, so headcount does not change the bill
- Bursty or scheduled workloads — compute bills by the second, so a cron job or a service you turn off after 24 hours is billed for those hours only
- Dormant side projects: a workspace with no services and no activity in a month has its subscription fee waived
Skip it if
- You read $25 as the whole bill — every tier is '+ compute'. Paid instances run $7/month (512 MB) to $1,000/month (64 GB), and Postgres is billed separately from $6/month
- You serve heavy traffic: only 5 GB (Hobby) or 25 GB (Pro) of bandwidth is included, then $0.15 per GB, and build minutes overflow at $5 per 1,000
- You need SAML SSO, SCIM, advanced RBAC or HIPAA — those begin at Scale, $499/month per workspace plus compute
- You want long log history: retention is 7 days on Hobby and 14 on Pro, reaching 30 days only at Scale
Our verdict
A solid middle ground. If you need VPC-level control or exotic services, you will outgrow it.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does Render cost?
- Workspace plans are Hobby $0/month, Pro $25/month, Scale $499/month and Enterprise custom — each quoted '+ compute'. Compute is billed on top: web service instances run from $7/month for 512 MB to $1,000/month for 64 GB, with a free 512 MB instance available, and Postgres is priced separately from $6/month.
- Is Render's $25 Pro plan the total monthly bill?
- No. The $25 is the workspace subscription; the instances you run are added to it, as are bandwidth over 25 GB at $0.15 per GB and build minutes over 1,000 at $5 per 1,000.
- Does Render have a free tier?
- Yes. Hobby is $0/month with up to 25 services, 5 GB of bandwidth, one team seat, 7-day log retention and a free instance with 512 MB RAM and less than one CPU.
- Does Render charge per user?
- Not on Pro and above: Pro, Scale and Enterprise list unlimited team seats. Hobby is limited to a single seat.
- How much does Render cost?
- Render publishes 4 plans: Hobby at $0/mo, SSD disks at $0.25/mo, Pro at $25/mo, Scale at $499/mo. Every figure is read from the vendor's own pricing page; the pricing section above shows the source sentence for each tier.
- Does Render have a free plan?
- Yes. Render offers a free tier with limits; paid plans unlock higher usage or team features.
- Who is Render best for?
- Teams that want managed hosting without assembling cloud primitives themselves.
- What are the main drawbacks of Render?
- The trade-offs we noted: Cold starts on free instances; Fewer regions than AWS or GCP; Limited fine-grained networking control.
- When should you not use Render?
- Skip Render if: You read $25 as the whole bill — every tier is '+ compute'. Paid instances run $7/month (512 MB) to $1,000/month (64 GB), and Postgres is billed separately from $6/month; You serve heavy traffic: only 5 GB (Hobby) or 25 GB (Pro) of bandwidth is included, then $0.15 per GB, and build minutes overflow at $5 per 1,000; You need SAML SSO, SCIM, advanced RBAC or HIPAA — those begin at Scale, $499/month per workspace plus compute.
What we checked
- Public APIOffers a documented API you can build against.Yes
- Mobile appHas a native app for iOS or Android, not just a mobile website.No
- Open source / self-hostableSource is open and the tool can be run on your own infrastructure.No
- SSO (SAML)Supports SAML single sign-on on at least one plan.Yes
“Not checked” means exactly that — we have not verified it, and we do not guess.
Evidence and freshness
Status: Vendor pricing page verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-09
- Render — Pricing ↗
Checked 2026-09-09 · Supports: Hobby $0/mo + compute; Pro $25/mo + compute; Scale $499/mo + compute; Enterprise custom pricing — every workspace tier is quoted '+ compute', Hobby: up to 25 services, 5 GB bandwidth included, 1 team seat, 1 workspace, 7-day log retention, 500 build minutes/mo then $5 per 1K minutes, Pro: unlimited seats and services, 25 GB bandwidth, full-stack previews, horizontal autoscaling, 14-day log retention, 1K build minutes then $5 per 1K, Scale: multiple workspaces, 1 TB bandwidth, SAML SSO & SCIM, advanced RBAC, HIPAA-compliant workspaces, organization audit logs, Bandwidth beyond the included amount is $0.15 per GB on every tier; custom domains 2 included then $0.25/domain/month, Web service compute: free instance 512 MB RAM under 1 CPU; paid from $7/mo (512 MB) to $1,000/mo (64 GB, 8 CPU); SSD disks $0.25/GB per month, Postgres is priced separately: free tier, then $6/mo (256 MB) up to $11,000/mo (1024 GB); expandable storage $0.30/GB, Compute bills by the second — a paid web service turned off 24 hours later is billed for 24 hours; cron jobs and workflows bill only while running, If a workspace has no services (live or suspended) and no activity during a month, the workspace subscription fee for that month is waived
Limit: Vendor pricing page was reviewed by an editor on this date; this record is not a ToolCompare benchmark. Prices and limits change.
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