What does it really cost to host a small app?
One web service that never sleeps, on six platforms, by how much memory it needs. Some charge a plan fee, some bill by the second, one is free up to a point — so pick a size.
Last checked: 13 Nov 2026 · every price read off the vendor's own page · no affiliate links
The short answer
Cheapest that never sleeps: Northflank, free up to 1 GB (Sandbox tier: 2 services, up to $20/mo of resources).
Cheapest you pay for: Fly.io, at every size here — $2.19 a month for 256 MB, $12.70 for 2 GB.
Heroku's price climbs fastest: $7.00 for 512 MB, $50.00 for 1 GB, $250.00 for 2 GB.
Render has no 1 GB size — at 1 GB you pay for Standard, 2 GB, $25.00 a month.
Heroku has no 2 GB size — at 2 GB you pay for Performance-M, 2.5 GB, $250.00 a month.
When the cheapest is not the answer
- Most apps also need a database, and it is often the bigger bill. Fly.io's own worked example: a small app at $3.69 a month next to Managed Postgres at $38.00.
- A free tier has limits. Northflank's Sandbox covers 2 services, 2 jobs and 1 database, up to $20 a month of resources; past that you are on pay as you go.
- Usage billing moves with your traffic. Fly.io and Railway bill by the second; a busy month costs more than the figures here, a quiet one less.
- Bandwidth is not counted. Each platform includes some and charges for more.
Read this page as the cost floor for one small service, not the answer for your whole stack.
Who made this page
An AI agent read each platform's pricing page in a real browser and copied the sentence behind every figure; code checked each sentence was really on the page before it could be used.
A disclosure: Alan, who publishes this, runs his own product on Fly.io. It comes out as the cheapest paid option at every size here, which is a reason to check the sums rather than take them on trust — every row below links to the vendor's own page. There are no affiliate links on this page and nothing on it earns a commission.
How the numbers are worked out
monthly cost = the cheapest option that never sleeps with at least that much memory + any plan fee
| Platform | 256 MB | 512 MB | 1 GB | 2 GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fly.iousage only, no plan fee | $2.19shared-cpu-1x, 256 MB | $3.69shared-cpu-1x, 512 MB | $6.70shared-cpu-1x, 1 GB | $12.70shared-cpu-1x, 2 GB |
| NorthflankSandbox tier: 2 services, up to $20/mo of resources | freefree Sandbox | freefree Sandbox | freefree Sandbox (nf-compute-50, $12 of the $20 allowance) | $24.00pay as you go, nf-compute-100-2 |
| DigitalOceanApp Platform; the fixed sizes allow one instance | $5.00App Platform shared (fixed), 512 MiB | $5.00App Platform shared (fixed), 512 MiB | $10.00App Platform shared (fixed), 1 GiB | $25.00App Platform shared, 2 GiB |
| RailwayHobby: $5 minimum, billed on use | $5.00Hobby ($5 minimum covers it) | $6.00Hobby, usage | $11.01Hobby, usage | $21.01Hobby, usage |
| RenderHobby workspace $0 + compute | $7.00Starter, 512 MB | $7.00Starter, 512 MB | $25.00Standard, 2 GB (no 1 GB size) | $25.00Standard, 2 GB |
| HerokuBasic is the cheapest dyno that never sleeps | $7.00Basic, 0.5 GB | $7.00Basic, 0.5 GB | $50.00Standard-2X, 1 GB | $250.00Performance-M, 2.5 GB (no 2 GB size) |
Railway. Railway bills the memory and CPU you actually use, by the second. Assumed: the app holds its full memory all month and averages 5% of one vCPU. Memory $0.00000386 per GB-second is $10.01 per GB over a 30-day month; CPU $0.00000772 per vCPU-second is $20.01 per vCPU, so 5% of one is $1.00. The Hobby plan's $5 minimum includes $5 of that usage.
Left out: Render free instance — Render's own table lists it as "Free ( limitations apply )" without saying it stays on, so it is left out of an always-on comparison; Heroku Eco ($5) — Heroku's own table: "Sleeps after 30 minutes of inactivity"; Koyeb — its page does not make clear what the free instance includes, so it is left out rather than guessed at.
There are no affiliate links on this page. The research is done by AI agents reading each platform's own pricing pages. Platform names and logos are trademarks of their owners, used only to identify the products compared. No analytics cookies, no tracking scripts, no third-party requests. A personal project, separate from the author's day job.
Questions people ask
What is the cheapest way to host a small app that never sleeps?
Northflank's free Sandbox keeps a service always on up to 1 GB, within its $20 a month of resources. Of the paid options, Fly.io is cheapest at every size compared: $2.19 a month at 256 MB, $3.69 at 512 MB, $6.70 at 1 GB and $12.70 at 2 GB.
How much does Heroku cost for 1 GB or 2 GB of memory?
Heroku's Basic dyno is $7 a month with 0.5 GB. For 1 GB the cheapest option is Standard-2X at $50 a month. There is no 2 GB size: the next step is Performance-M with 2.5 GB at $250 a month.
Does Render have a 1 GB instance?
No. Render's Starter instance has 512 MB for $7 a month, and the next size up is Standard with 2 GB at $25 a month.
Does Heroku's Eco plan stay on?
No. Heroku's own pricing table says Eco dynos ($5) sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity, so they are left out of this always-on comparison.
Do I have to pay extra for a database?
Yes. Every price on this page covers only the app service; databases are billed separately and can outweigh the app bill. Fly.io's own worked example puts a small app at $3.69 a month next to Managed Postgres at $38.00. Northflank's free Sandbox includes one database within its $20 a month resource allowance.
Answers use the figures on this page, last checked 13 Nov 2026.