The Cheapest Cloud Hosting Providers for Startups

If you're launching a new tool, keeping burn rate low is critical. While giants like AWS offer massive scalability, their pricing is notoriously opaque. Here are the most cost-effective hosting methods for lean startups.

1. Unmanaged VPS (The "Hard Way")

Providers like Hetzner or DigitalOcean give you a raw Linux instance for as low as $4 to $6 a month. From a pure hardware-to-dollar ratio, this is the cheapest route. However, you pay in engineering time. Security patches, Docker installations, SSL renewals, and deployment scripts are entirely your responsibility.

2. Serverless Frontend Platforms

If your app is 100% frontend static files or uses serverless functions cautiously, platforms like Netlify and Cloudflare Pages offer incredibly generous free tiers. As long as you don't breach bandwidth or function execution limits, your bill is zero.

3. Independent PaaS Platforms (The "Best Value")

Platform as a Service (PaaS) tools bridge the gap. Remoud, for example, offers a "Hobby" tier for entirely free hosting. If you exceed the free tier, upgrading to a professional container plan is a fraction of the cost of Heroku, while saving you dozens of DevOps hours compared to a raw VPS.

Beware the "Cloud Creep"

Always estimate bandwidth costs before committing. AWS outgoing data can cost upward of $0.09/GB. Modern PaaS providers often provide extremely generous unmetered or cheap traffic allowances, making bills highly predictable.