Render Pricing
Explained — What It Really Costs
Free for static sites only. Web services, Postgres and Redis all require a paid plan — the old free web tier was discontinued in 2023.
// the numbers
Render Plans & What They Include
Render uses a per-service pricing model: every web service, background worker, cron job, database and Redis instance is billed separately. There is no free tier for web services anymore — Render removed it in 2023 — so any always-on app starts at $7/month per service. Static sites remain free.
The headline numbers look cheap, but a typical full-stack app (one web service, one Postgres, one Redis) lands around $19–$30/month once you add a real database and key-value store. Bandwidth, build minutes and extra instances are billed on top.
Unlimited static sites, 100 GB bandwidth/mo, global CDN.
0.5 vCPU, 512 MB RAM. The cheapest always-on service.
1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM. Typical production tier for a small app.
2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM and up. Scales further per instance.
// billed on top
Add-ons & Metered Costs
// what the headline price hides
Hidden Costs of Render
Free web tier is gone
Render removed its free web service tier in 2023. Anything that needs to stay online costs at least $7/mo per service — prototypes are no longer free.
Per-service billing stacks up
A web service + Postgres + Redis are three separate line items. A modest app easily reaches $25–$40/mo before any traffic scaling.
US jurisdiction
Render is a US-incorporated company subject to the CLOUD Act. For EU teams handling personal data, that is a compliance cost that does not show up on the invoice.
Runsite runs the equivalent web service from €5/mo, includes a permanent free tier (no card, no expiry), and bills in EUR with hard spending caps — so a surprise overage is structurally impossible.
// comparison
Runsite vs Render
Side-by-side. No marketing fluff — just facts.
| Feature | Runsite | Render |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | ✓ Permanent, no expiry | ✗ Removed free tier |
| Web Starter (0.5 vCPU, 512MB) | €5/mo | $7.00/mo |
| Managed PostgreSQL | €5/mo | $10.00/mo |
| Object Storage | ✓ €0.025/GB | ✗ Not available |
// in-depth comparison
Render vs Runsite: What You Need to Know
Render is reasonably priced for a single small service, but its pricing is deceptively granular — per-service billing means a real full-stack app costs far more than the $7 headline. The loss of a free web tier and US jurisdiction are the two costs that hurt EU indie developers most.
Pricing FAQ
Render Pricing — Common Questions
Does Render still have a free tier?
Only for static sites. Render removed its free tier for web services in 2023. Any always-on app, including hobby projects, starts at $7/month per service. Managed PostgreSQL is free for 30 days, then paid.
How much does a real app cost on Render?
A typical full-stack app — one web service, one managed Postgres, one Redis instance — costs roughly $19–$30/month before traffic scaling. Each component is billed separately, so the total grows with every service you add.
Why is my Render bill higher than expected?
The most common reasons are per-service billing (each web service, worker, database and Redis is a separate charge), bandwidth overages beyond the included 100 GB, and scaling to higher instance tiers. There is no hard spending limit, so usage-based charges accumulate.
Is there a cheaper EU-based alternative to Render?
Runsite offers equivalent web services from €5/month, a permanent free tier with no credit card, and EU-only hosting in Frankfurt with GDPR compliance built in. Pricing is in EUR with hard spending caps, so you never get a surprise invoice.
Migrate from Render to Runsite
Move your services, databases and env vars to Frankfurt without rewrites.
Predictable Pricing — in EUR, with a Hard Cap
A permanent free tier and spending limits you actually control. The opposite of a surprise Render bill.
Start Free on Runsite →