Free Container Hosting in 2026: How to Deploy Apps Without Paying
Free container hosting has become harder to find since Heroku retired its free tier. But developers still need affordable ways to host side projects, run demos, and learn containerization without burning through their budget.
The Problem with "Free" Hosting
Most platforms advertise free tiers but come with significant catches:
- Render: Services sleep after 15 min, 30+ second cold starts
- Railway: $5 credit gets consumed quickly with always-on billing
- Fly.io: Complex setup, easy to exceed limits
- AWS/GCP: Complex billing, unexpected charges
A Better Approach: Pause Capability
SnapDeploy takes a different approach with its free tier:
- 100 hours per month of container runtime
- Pause/resume your containers at any time
- Only counts running time - paused containers don't use hours
Example Scenarios
Side Project Developer
Run 3 hours/day during development, pause overnight. Monthly usage: ~60 hours (within free tier)
Freelancer Running Demos
2-hour demos, 3x per week. Monthly usage: ~24 hours (within free tier)
Student Learning Docker
Study sessions only. Monthly usage: ~40 hours (within free tier)
Getting Started
- Sign up at snapdeploy.dev (no credit card required)
- Connect your GitHub repository or upload code
- Deploy with one click
- Use the pause feature to maximize your free hours
Maximizing Your Free Hours
Strategy 1: Pause during off-hours. If you work 8 hours/day, pause overnight and weekends.
Strategy 2: Use separate containers for dev/prod. Pause development when not coding.
Strategy 3: Monitor usage in the dashboard to avoid surprises.
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