Features
- Auto-deploy from Git with zero configuration
- Managed PostgreSQL and Redis databases
- Free tier for static sites and web services
- Built-in DDoS protection and auto-scaling
Pros
- Heroku-like simplicity at better pricing
- Free SSL, custom domains, and CDN
- Infrastructure as code with render.yaml
Cons
- Free tier services sleep after inactivity
- Limited regions (US and EU only)
- Less flexible than Fly.io for multi-region
Overview
Render is a modern cloud platform that positions itself as the successor to Heroku, offering a similarly simple developer experience with better pricing and modern features. It supports web services, static sites, cron jobs, background workers, and managed databases.
Render automatically detects your project’s language and framework, builds it, and deploys it with Git push. The platform supports Docker for custom environments, and provides native runtimes for Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, Rust, and other languages.
With its render.yaml blueprint file, you can define your entire infrastructure as code, including services, databases, environment variables, and their relationships. This makes it easy to replicate environments and onboard new team members.
When to Use
Choose Render for web applications and APIs that need a simple deployment experience with managed databases. It is a great Heroku alternative with modern pricing and features.
Getting Started
# Connect your Git repo at render.com, or use the CLI
npm install -g @render/cli
render deploy