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

A free database that never expires, always-on apps from $4/month, flat prices and one-command deploys: what DockHosting does differently, and when it won't fit.

URL: https://blog.dockhosting.dev/why-dockhosting
Published: 2026-11-06 · Updated: 2026-11-06 · Author: Doughmi ILYAS

## Summary

- Free plan: an app, a managed database that never expires and HTTPS, with no credit card.
- Always-on apps cost $4/month on Hobby, with flat pricing and no bandwidth metering.
- Best fit: students, side projects, startups and agencies who want predictable bills; not ideal if you need multiple regions.

ort const meta = {
  title: "Why DockHosting? 9 Differences That Matter When You Pick a Host",
  seoTitle: "Why DockHosting? 9 Differences vs Other Hosts",
  description:
    "A free database that never expires, always-on apps from $4/month, flat prices and one-command deploys: what DockHosting does differently, and when it won't fit.",
  date: "2026-11-06",
  category: "Product",
  tags: ["DockHosting", "PaaS", "Free hosting", "Pricing"],
  tryLabel: "first app",
  command: "dock deploy",
  takeaways: [
    "Free plan: an app, a managed database that never expires and HTTPS, with no credit card.",
    "Always-on apps cost $4/month on Hobby, with flat pricing and no bandwidth metering.",
    "Best fit: students, side projects, startups and agencies who want predictable bills; not ideal if you need multiple regions.",
  ],
  faq: [
    {
      q: "Is DockHosting really free?",
      a: "Yes. The Free plan costs $0 with no credit card: 2 projects, 1 managed database (500 MB, never expires), 512 MB of memory and a .dockhosting.cloud subdomain with HTTPS. Free apps sleep after 1 hour without visits and wake on the next request.",
    },
    {
      q: "What's the catch with the free plan?",
      a: "Free apps sleep when idle, there are no custom domains or persistent storage, and databases aren't backed up. Hobby ($4/month) removes those limits: always on, your own domain, 1 GB persistent storage and daily backups.",
    },
    {
      q: "Where are DockHosting's servers?",
      a: "In one region, eu-central-1 (Europe). Apps and their databases run in the same region on a private network.",
    },
    {
      q: "Can I leave easily?",
      a: "Yes. Your code stays in your repository, apps read standard environment variables like PORT and DATABASE_URL, and databases are standard engines you can export with pg_dump or mysqldump.",
    },
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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.

> **Fair comparisons:** Competitor prices are from their own pricing pages, read on 6 November 2026, and linked in our [Heroku alternatives comparison](/best-heroku-alternatives-2026). Where another platform is the better pick, we say so below.

## 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

| Plan | Price | Memory | Projects / DBs | Custom domains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 512 MB | 2 / 1 | - |
| Hobby | $4 | 1 GB | 3 / 2 | 1 |
| Pro | $9 | 3 GB | 10 / 6 | 5 |
| Team | $19 | 8 GB | Unlimited / 15 | 20 |

**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

```bash
dock deploy
```

The [dock CLI](https://dockhosting.dev/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](/deploy-laravel-queues-scheduler-redis).
- **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](https://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](https://app.dockhosting.dev/register?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=why-post&utm_campaign=why-dockhosting) (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](/deploy-nodejs-app-one-command), [Django](/deploy-django-app-production), [FastAPI](/deploy-fastapi-app), [Flask](/deploy-flask-app), [Laravel](/deploy-laravel-queues-scheduler-redis), [Spring Boot](/deploy-spring-boot-app), [Next.js](/deploy-nextjs-docker), [WordPress](/host-wordpress-site), a [Discord bot](/host-discord-bot-24-7) or a [Telegram bot](/host-telegram-bot).

**Related:** [Free backend hosting compared](/free-backend-hosting) · [Railway app alternatives](/railway-alternatives)

## FAQ

### Is DockHosting really free?

Yes. The Free plan costs $0 with no credit card: 2 projects, 1 managed database (500 MB, never expires), 512 MB of memory and a .dockhosting.cloud subdomain with HTTPS. Free apps sleep after 1 hour without visits and wake on the next request.

### What's the catch with the free plan?

Free apps sleep when idle, there are no custom domains or persistent storage, and databases aren't backed up. Hobby ($4/month) removes those limits: always on, your own domain, 1 GB persistent storage and daily backups.

### Where are DockHosting's servers?

In one region, eu-central-1 (Europe). Apps and their databases run in the same region on a private network.

### Can I leave easily?

Yes. Your code stays in your repository, apps read standard environment variables like PORT and DATABASE_URL, and databases are standard engines you can export with pg_dump or mysqldump.