Why DockHosting? 9 Differences That Matter When You Pick a Host

There are a lot of places to host an app in 2026. We built DockHosting because the options we kept trying made us choose between free but fragile (databases that expire, apps that sleep after 15 minutes) and solid but costly (metered bills that are hard to predict). Here's what we do differently, compared with the platforms you're probably also looking at.

1. A free database that never expires#

The Free plan includes one managed database: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, Redis or ClickHouse, with 500 MB. It doesn't pause when idle and it isn't deleted after a trial period.

For comparison: Render's free Postgres expires 30 days after creation, and Heroku, Fly.io and DigitalOcean App Platform have no free database.

2. Always on from $4 a month#

Hobby is $4/month ($40/year): your app never sleeps, with 1 GB of memory, 3 projects, 2 databases, your own domain, 1 GB of persistent storage and daily backups. Heroku's cheapest always-on dyno and Render's Starter instance are both $7, and that's before you add a database.

3. Flat prices, no bandwidth bills#

No metering and no bandwidth overage. A traffic spike from Hacker News doesn't turn into a surprise invoice. Plan changes are prorated, there's a 7-day grace period if a payment fails, and payments run through Paddle, so we never see your card.

4. No credit card to start#

Sign up, deploy an app and create a database without entering payment details. Several platforms now ask for a card before you can try them.

5. One command, no Dockerfile#

dock deploy

The dock CLI detects Node.js, Python, Go, Ruby, PHP, Laravel, WordPress, Spring Boot, static sites or your own Dockerfile. It installs dependencies with the right tool, builds an image, switches traffic with zero downtime and keeps the previous image for rollbacks. Prefer Git? Connect a GitHub repository and every push deploys.

6. Priced for your country#

Since November 2026, prices are lower in 42 countries. In India, Hobby is ₹149 a month. In Brazil it's R$12. In Indonesia, Egypt, Pakistan, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya and 34 more countries, plans start at $2 a month. The dashboard shows your local price, and checkout charges it.

7. Databases on a private network#

Attach a database and its connection string arrives as DATABASE_URL, MONGODB_URI, REDIS_URL or CLICKHOUSE_URL, reached over a private network with no public port by default. Paid plans add daily backups (kept 3, 7 or 30 days), public access for tools like psql, and admin panels on Pro.

8. Framework extras that usually cost a second server#

• Laravel: migrations, config:cache, a managed queue worker and the scheduler run on every deploy. See the Laravel guide.
• Django and Rails: migrations run automatically before traffic switches.
• Background workers: deploy as separate projects and share a managed Redis queue.

9. First deploys that explain themselves#

When a deploy fails, the App output tab shows what your app printed while starting, with the failing line. A wrong port, a missing variable or a database problem can be fixed right there. If it's still stuck, there's a button to ask support, and tickets live in your dashboard.

When DockHosting isn't the right choice#

We'd rather you pick the right host than the wrong one:

• You need several regions. We run in one region (eu-central-1). For apps that must sit next to users worldwide, Fly.io is built for that.
• You need root access to a machine. Use a VPS.
• Your app is mostly static with a few functions. Static hosting or serverless may be all you need, though we serve static sites with free HTTPS too.
• You need a database bigger than 20 GB on one plan. Our largest per-database storage is 20 GB on Team.

Try it in two minutes#

1. Create a free account (no card).
2. Install the CLI: curl -fsSL https://cli.dockhosting.dev/install.sh | sh (Windows: irm https://cli.dockhosting.dev/install.ps1 | iex).
3. Run dock login, then dock deploy in your project folder.

Pick a guide for your stack: Node.js, Django, FastAPI, Flask, Laravel, Spring Boot, Next.js, WordPress, a Discord bot or a Telegram bot.

Related: Free backend hosting compared · Railway app alternatives