Render
Build, deploy, and scale your apps with unparalleled ease
Founded
2018
Starting Price
$0
Category
CI/CD & DevOps
Last updated March 24, 2026
About Render
Render is a unified cloud platform that simplifies deploying web services, static sites, background workers, cron jobs, and databases. With infrastructure-as-code blueprints, autoscaling, zero-downtime deploys, and managed PostgreSQL, Render provides a modern Heroku alternative with transparent pricing and a generous free tier.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Free tier includes static sites, web services, and a PostgreSQL database — good for getting started
- Infrastructure-as-code blueprints make environments reproducible with a single YAML file
- Autoscaling handles traffic spikes automatically without manual intervention
- Transparent, predictable pricing without surprise overages
- Managed databases with point-in-time recovery reduce DBA burden
Key Features
Auto-Deploy from Git
Connect your GitHub or GitLab repo and Render automatically builds and deploys on every push
Infrastructure as Code Blueprints
Define your entire infrastructure in a single YAML blueprint file for reproducible deployments
Managed PostgreSQL
Fully managed PostgreSQL databases with point-in-time recovery, automatic backups, and scaling
Autoscaling
Automatically scale instances up or down based on traffic patterns for optimal performance and cost
Zero-Downtime Deploys
Health-checked rolling deployments ensure your app stays available during updates
Preview Environments
Automatic preview environments for pull requests with unique URLs for testing
Private Networking
Secure communication between services via private network without exposing traffic to the public internet
Pricing
Free
$0
- Static sites
- Web services (750 hours/mo)
- PostgreSQL (90 days)
- Automatic HTTPS
- Auto-deploy from Git
Featured In
#4
Best Tools That Stop Developers From Blocking on Infrastructure (2026)
Best for growing teams that need autoscaling and managed databases without hiring a platform engineer — the step up from simple PaaS that doesn't require a cloud engineering degree.
#2
5 PaaS Platforms With a \u00240 Hobby Tier That's Actually Free, Not a Trial (2026)
Best free tier for full-stack projects — Render's free web services and PostgreSQL database let you deploy a complete backend + database application at \u00240/month, something no other free PaaS tier offers.