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Render vs Koyeb: which free plan?
Render has fewer strings attached on its free plan (score 88 vs 65). Koyeb can still be the better choice for the cases below.
Both checked against their official pricing pages on 1 Nov 2026.
| Type | Cloud platform | Serverless containers |
|---|---|---|
| Free-tier score | 88 / 100 | 65 / 100 |
| Card to sign up | Not required | Required |
| Free plan ends | Never (free Postgres expires after 30 days) | Never |
| Sleeps when idle | Spins down after 15 min without traffic; about 1 min to wake | Scales to zero after 1 hour without traffic |
| Commercial use | Not stated | Not stated |
| Own domain on free | Yes | No |
| Free subdomain | *.onrender.com | *.koyeb.app |
| Free limits |
|
|
| The catch | The free service sleeps after 15 minutes, so the first visitor waits about a minute. | 0.1 vCPU is very slow, and the service scales to zero after an hour idle. |
| Paid from | $7/mo (Starter instance) | $29/mo (Pro (plus compute)) |
| Source | Official pricing for Render (opens in a new tab) | Official pricing for Koyeb (opens in a new tab) |
Which one should you pick?
Pick Render if…
- you do not want to add a card
- you need your own domain on the free plan
- your project is: hobby full-stack apps and APIs
Pick Koyeb if…
- your project is: one small hobby API
Questions
Which is better for free, Render or Koyeb?
Render has fewer strings attached on its free plan (score 88 vs 65). Koyeb can still be the better choice for the cases below.
Does Render or Koyeb need a credit card?
Render: no. Koyeb: yes.
What is the catch with Render and Koyeb?
Render: The free service sleeps after 15 minutes, so the first visitor waits about a minute. Koyeb: 0.1 vCPU is very slow, and the service scales to zero after an hour idle.