Vibe coding · Free vibe coding stack · Part 3

Free hosting for vibe coding (2026)

How to host your vibe-coded project for free — Cloudflare Pages, Vercel Hobby, Netlify, GitHub Pages, and Render, plus when Hobby is not enough (Stripe / commercial).

~12 min read

Part 1 of Free vibe coding stack covered free cloud AI API keys. Part 2 was courses. Keys and training still leave you on localhost:3000. Part 3 is hosting — a live HTTPS URL for the frontend you just vibe-coded.

This chapter is Git frontend hosts. Databases and file storage are next in this series — Neon is the start-here Postgres, not a website host. Auth comes after that.

Provider map

Checked 17 Aug 2026 from official docs. Quotas move — re-check the dashboard before you promise a client a $0 bill. *Cloudflare Functions share the Workers Free 100k req/day cap. *Render bills extra bandwidth if you add a card and exceed the include; without a card, Free services can suspend.

Deploy from GitHub in Cursor

Same loop on every host below: push the repo, connect the GitHub app, pick the branch, wait for a *.pages.dev / *.vercel.app / *.netlify.app / *.github.io / *.onrender.com URL. Paste this into Cursor if you want the agent to walk you through one host:

Help me deploy this project to Cloudflare Pages or Vercel.
Walk me through: (1) putting the repo on GitHub if it is not there,
(2) connecting the host, (3) the correct build command and output folder,
(4) env vars for any API keys (never commit .env),
(5) the live URL. Do not add Stripe or ads on a free Hobby plan.

Cloudflare Pages

Cloudflare Pages is the generous static pick. Official docs: requests to static assets are free and unlimited on free and paid plans. You get 500 builds per month, one concurrent build, 100 projects, 100 custom domains per project, 20,000 files, 25 MiB max file.

The “unlimited” headline stops at Functions. Pages Functions share your Workers Free quota — 100,000 requests per day, resetting midnight UTC. A brochure site that never invokes Functions stays in the unlimited bucket. An API-on-the-edge app does not.

1. Create a free Cloudflare account at dash.cloudflare.com.
2. Workers & Pages → Create → Pages → Connect Git (GitHub or GitLab).
3. Set the build command and output directory your framework expects (or leave empty for a plain HTML folder).
4. Deploy. Add a custom domain in project settings when you have one.

Vercel Hobby

Vercel is still the lowest-friction path for Next.js and most React apps Cursor scaffolds. Hobby is $0. Fair-use (as of 29 Jul 2026) includes about 100 GB Fast Data Transfer per month, 1M edge requests, 1M function invocations, 200 projects, 50 domains per project. Exceed a cap and that feature typically pauses until the window resets — Hobby cannot buy extra usage.

The binding constraint is not bandwidth. It is the commercial-use rule: Hobby teams are non-commercial personal use only. Pro is $20/mo. See Hobby vs paid.

1. Sign up at vercel.com with GitHub.
2. Add New → Project → import the repo. Accept the detected framework.
3. Add env vars in Project → Settings → Environment Variables (same names as local .env).
4. Every push to the production branch ships. Pull requests get preview URLs.

Netlify

Netlify still fits Jamstack sites that want forms and deploy previews. New accounts since 4 Sep 2025 are on credit-based Free: 300 credits per month, hard limit, no auto-recharge. When credits hit zero, projects pause and visitors see “Site not available” until the next cycle or you upgrade. Bandwidth is 20 credits per GB; each production deploy is 15 credits; deploy previews are 0 credits.

Older (legacy) Free accounts may still show a 100 GB-style bandwidth include. Do not assume that if you signed up this year — check Usage & billing.

1. Sign up at app.netlify.com with GitHub.
2. Add new site → Import from Git → pick the repo and build settings.
3. Watch the credit ledger if you deploy to production often (15 credits a pop adds up).

GitHub Pages

GitHub Pages is static only — no serverless, no SSR. Official limits: published site ≤ 1 GB, recommended source repo 1 GB, deploy timeout 10 minutes, soft 100 GB bandwidth / month, soft 10 builds/hour unless you use Actions. Custom domains work. It is not allowed as free hosting for e-commerce, commercial SaaS, or sites whose main job is taking payments.

1. Push a public repo (or use Actions from a private repo on a paid GitHub plan if you already have one).
2. Settings → Pages → deploy from main / /docs or a GitHub Actions workflow.
3. Wait for https://<user>.github.io/<repo>/.

Render (static)

Render static sites are free to deploy: Git-connected, CDN, TLS, PR previews. They count against the Hobby workspace include: 5 GB outbound bandwidth / month (then $0.15/GB if you have billing set up), 500 pipeline minutes, 2 custom domains included.

Do not mix this up with Free web services. Those are a different product: they spin down after 15 minutes idle, take about a minute to wake, and eat 750 Free instance hours / month. Fine for a toy API. Bad if you tell someone your “free static site” will cold-start.

1. Sign up at dashboard.render.com.
2. New → Static Site (not Web Service) → connect the repo → build command + publish directory.
3. Confirm the URL ends up on the CDN path, not a sleeping Node process.

Hobby vs paid — Stripe is the trigger

Free tiers are for hobby, demos, and learning. If you need a payment provider on the live URL, plan on a paid hosting tier.

Vercel Hobby vs Pro is the worked example. Fair use says Hobby is personal / non-commercial. Commercial includes:

• Any method of requesting or processing payment from visitors (Stripe Checkout counts)
• Advertising the sale of a product or service
• Getting paid to create, update, or host the site
• Affiliate linking as the primary purpose of the site
• Ads (including AdSense)
• Asking for donations

There is no “under $10 MRR is still Hobby” clause. One paying customer, or even a donate button, is the policy line. Pro is $20 / month per deploying seat, with a usage credit and the ability to pay for overages. Hobby cannot buy extra bandwidth.

Same idea, other hosts:

• Cloudflare — static can stay $0; Functions / Workers traffic can blow the 100k/day Free cap. Paid Workers starts around $5/mo.
• Netlify — Free cannot buy credits. Personal is $9/mo (1,000 credits + recharge). Pro starts at $20/mo.
• GitHub Pages — policy, not a price list: no store / SaaS on Pages.
• Render — static is cheap until bandwidth; always-on backends are Starter web services (~$7/mo), not Free.

Also: Replit and Hostinger

These are not in the free Git CDN map. They solve different jobs.

Replit is build-and-host in the browser. If you never left Replit, publishing there is simpler than exporting to GitHub → Vercel. It is still a platform plan with usage limits — not unlimited Cloudflare-style static. Use it when the project already lives there.

Hostinger is cheap traditional hosting: cPanel, WordPress, shared PHP. Useful if someone wants a classic site builder, not a Git push. It is paid, not a free frontend CDN. Do not pick it as the default for a Cursor Next.js app.

Practical tips

• Env vars in the dashboard — never commit .env. Rotate keys if they hit GitHub.
• Custom domain + HTTPS — all five Git hosts issue certificates; DNS is the slow part (A / CNAME at your registrar).
• Preview deploys — share the PR URL, not localhost screenshots.
• Quotas move — screenshot Usage the week you launch; Netlify credits and Vercel fair-use are the two that surprise people.
• One host per project — do not dual-deploy “for backup” until you know which URL is canonical.

What’s next in Free vibe coding stack

Hosting is the public URL. Coming parts in this series:

• Database & storage — free Postgres / files (Neon start-here)
• Auth — free user login stacks
• Email & SMS — transactional mail without a credit card day-one
• Monitoring — Search Console, analytics, and alerts
• Payments — Checkout when Hobby is no longer enough

Browse tools we actually use on vibecoderslife.com/tools (Vercel, Hostinger, Replit, GitHub, Cursor — affiliate links marked where active).

FAQ

How do I host a vibe-coded project for free?

Push the repo to GitHub, connect Cloudflare Pages (static) or Vercel Hobby (Next/React), and use the *.pages.dev or *.vercel.app URL. Stay off Stripe, ads, and paid client work while you are on Hobby-class plans.

Is Vercel Hobby enough if I add Stripe?

No. Vercel’s fair-use rules treat payment processing as commercial. Upgrade to Pro (or host somewhere whose terms allow it) before Checkout goes live.

Cloudflare Pages vs Vercel?

Cloudflare wins on unmetered static bandwidth. Vercel wins on Next.js DX and previews. If the site is HTML/CSS/JS, start on Pages. If Cursor just scaffolded Next, start on Vercel and read the Hobby rule before you sell anything.

Is Cloudflare Pages really unlimited?

Static asset requests are. Builds are 500/month. Functions share Workers Free at 100,000 requests/day. Do not promise “unlimited API” on the free plan.

Do I need a credit card?

Usually not for these five free Git hosts. Render may ask for a card if you exceed included bandwidth or pipeline minutes; without one, extra usage can suspend Free services instead of billing.