12 of the Best Node.js Hosting Platforms for 2025 (Free + Paid)

In a rush? Here are some key details:

Hosting categories explained

To make it easier to choose a hosting provider that fits your situation, I’ve grouped the options into categories based on their hosting models. This way, you can quickly find the right fit for your project’s size, budget, and technical requirements.

With this out the way, let’s now look at the individual hosts and what they bring to the table:

Platform as a service (PaaS)

1. Heroku

Heroku is a pioneer in PaaS, offering a user-friendly environment for deploying and managing Node.js apps. Deployment is simple with Git commands, and the platform has a wide range of add-ons for features like databases, caching, and logging. Scaling your app is easy, too – just increase the number of “dynos” (Heroku’s term for application containers).

Key features

• Automatic builds triggered by Git pushes.
• Add dynos to handle increased traffic or workload.
• One-click setup for add-ons like PostgreSQL, Redis, and Papertrail.

Pricing

• Cost: Eco plan at ~$0.005/hour ($5/month flat)
• Resources: 1x – 4x compute, 512 MB RAM
• Deployment options: Git and Docker
• Features included:
  • Custom domains
  • Unified logs
  • Support for 2 process types
  • Container orchestration
  • Automatic OS patching
  • Automated SSL certificate management
• Limitations:
  • Available for personal accounts only
  • Applications sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity

2. Render

Render is a modern alternative to Heroku, offering straightforward pricing, automatic SSL, and continuous deployment from GitHub or GitLab. It features a clean, intuitive dashboard for managing services, custom domains, and logs, making it a popular choice for developers looking for simplicity and flexibility.

Key features

• New commits trigger automatic builds and deployments via Git.
• Includes managed databases, static site hosting, cron jobs, and background workers.
• Pay based on CPU and RAM usage, with clear plans.

Pricing

Tiers:

• Free: $0/month, 512 MB RAM, 0.1 CPU
• Starter: $7/month, 512 MB RAM, 0.5 CPU

“Services” plans come with the following:

• Web services with HTTP/2 and full TLS
• Support for Node.js, Python, Go, Rust, Ruby, and Elixir
• Private services and custom Docker containers
• Background workers
• SSD storage ($0.25/GB per month)

3. Railway

Railway is a developer-friendly PaaS with a simple interface, flexible pricing, and strong Git integration. Deployments trigger automatically from your repository, and it supports ephemeral environments to test pull requests. While it doesn’t offer a free tier, new users can take advantage of a free trial to explore its features.

Key features

• Quick setup for PostgreSQL, Redis, and more.
• Automatic deployments triggered by Git with branch-based previews.
• Easy handling of environment variables and a logging dashboard for monitoring.

Pricing

• Cost: Hobby plan at $5/month (includes $5 in monthly resource usage)
• Resources: 8 GB RAM / 8 vCPU per service
• Workspace: Single developer
• Support: Community-based
• Extras: seven-day log history

4. NodeChef

NodeChef focuses on Node.js (though it also supports other languages) and offers easy Docker-based deployments plus integrated databases (MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Redis). It aims to provide a Heroku-like workflow but with more built-in options for data services.

Key features

• Built-in databases and caching layers
• Docker containers for easy scaling and environment consistency
• Automatic SSL and a straightforward control panel

Pricing

Starts at $9/month ($0.01/hour):

• App memory: 128 MB
• Bandwidth: Unmetered
• App instances: 1
• Database engine: MongoDB
• Database memory: 100 MB
• Database storage: 1 GB
• Redis cache: 0 MB

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

1. Amazon Web Services (AWS)

You’ve probably heard of Amazon Web Services because it powers like…the entire Internet. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s pretty, pretty popular. Through its many integrated services, AWS makes a great option for hosting Node.js applications.

While there are a lot of different services to choose from, you’ll most likely want to start with Elastic Beanstalk (docs), which “makes it easy to deploy, manage, and scale your Node.js web applications using Amazon Web Services.” You just need to upload your code, and then AWS handles deployment and provisioning. Plus, there’s no special charge for the Elastic Beanstalk service – you still only pay for the actual AWS services that you use.

Another interesting option is Lambda, which offers a serverless hosting approach (which would fit better in the previous section). If you aren’t super familiar with AWS yet, you can check out the “Deploy a Node.js Web App” project guide to learn the basics and get your app up and running.

Key features

• EC2 for customizable virtual servers
• Elastic Beanstalk for simplified app deployment
• AWS Lambda for serverless Node.js functions
• Huge marketplace of third-party solutions and integrations

Pricing

Navigating Amazon EC2 pricing is not as easy as checking a price list. It’s all based on usage, your exact setup, plus what you actually want to run.

Here’s an example of their cheapest “nano” setups:

• t4g.nano: $0.0042/h (~$3/month), 2 vCPUs, 0.5 GB RAM
• t4g.micro: $0.0084/h (~$6/month), 2 vCPUs, 1 GB RAM
• t4g.small: $0.0168/h (~$12/month), 2 vCPUs, 2 GB RAM
• t4g.medium: $0.0336/h (~$24/month), 2 vCPUs, 4 GB RAM

2. Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

If you want to host your Node.js app on the same infrastructure that powers Google Search and YouTube, Google Cloud Platform might just be the best Node.js hosting for you.

Like Amazon Web Services, you’ll have your choice of a ton of different products and services. One that you’ll definitely want to consider is Google App Engine, which lets you “focus just on writing code, without the worry of managing the underlying infrastructure”. And, like AWS, you’ll only pay for the resources that you actually use.

For a guide to getting started with hosting Node.js apps on Google Cloud Platform, check out Google’s Node.JS App Engine quick-start guide.

Key features

• Compute Engine (VM-based) and GKE (managed Kubernetes) for flexible deployments
• App Engine for automatic scaling without server management
• Cloud Run for container-based serverless Node.js apps
• Deep integration with Firebase, BigQuery, and other Google tools

Pricing

There is a free tier available with generous limits – you can run one instance/app with no cost. Then you’ll need to pay if you start consuming more resources. All based on the calculator.

3. DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean, the popular cloud infrastructure service, also makes a good option for Node.js hosting and lets you spin up a new Node.js Ubuntu droplet with just a few clicks. Or, you can also create your own droplet and set everything up yourself.

It’s not the best option for inexperienced users because you’ll need to manage the infrastructure yourself, but the prices are affordable and DigitalOcean makes it super easy to scale your application as needed. On the other hand, it’s not like AWS or Google Cloud are meant for beginners either.

Alternatively, you can also sign up for Cloudways and pick a hosting setup powered by DigitalOcean. Cloudways provides an easy to set-up interface for beginners which compensates for the price.

Key features

• Droplets: simple, predictable VPS pricing and setup
• Deploy Node.js with minimal config, similar to Heroku
• Managed databases available (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis)
• Global data centers, though fewer than AWS/GCP

Pricing

You can get started with a new droplet for as little as $4.00 per month, and you’ll have your choice of eight different data centers on three different continents. Here’s how it plays out:

• $4.00/month: 512 MB RAM, 1 vCPU, 500 GB transfer, 10 GB disk
• $6.00/month: 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 1,000 GB transfer, 25 GB disk
• $12.00/month: 2 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 2,000 GB transfer, 50 GB disk,
• and so on…

Serverless / front-end-centric

1. Vercel

Vercel, well-known for its close association with Next.js, is a top choice for deploying front-end applications. It also supports Node.js-based serverless functions. Deployment is as easy as linking your GitHub or GitLab repository, with automatic builds triggered by every push.

Key features

• Zero-config deployments for frameworks like Next.js and React.
• Serverless functions for APIs (supports Node.js, and more).
• Automatic SSL and a global CDN for fast and secure delivery.

Pricing

Hobby plan (free):

• Quick repo import and deployments.
• Automatic CI/CD pipelines.
• Serverless compute with built-in DDoS mitigation.
• Web Application Firewall (WAF) and traffic insights.
• Community support.

Pro plan (starting at $20/month):

• Includes everything in Hobby.
• 10x more infrastructure usage.
• Advanced observability tools and infrastructure scalability.
• Enhanced WAF protection.
• Email support for faster assistance.

2. Netlify

Netlify is a front-end deployment platform similar to Vercel, featuring tight CI/CD integration with GitHub/GitLab and a focus on static and JAMstack websites. It supports Node.js via serverless functions, letting you deploy back-end logic with minimal setup.

Key features

• Deploy Node.js code as serverless functions
• Auto-build and deploy when you push to Git
• Global edge network for fast delivery of static content.

Pricing

Free plan:

• Single user seat.
• Global edge network and live site previews.
• 100GB bandwidth and 300 build minutes.
• Features like instant rollbacks, secrets management, static assets, and dynamic serverless functions.

Pro plan:

• Cost: Starts at $19/month.
• Includes everything in Free, plus:
  • Background functions and password-protected sites.
  • 1TB bandwidth and 25,000 build minutes.
  • Team audit logs (7-day history) and shared environment variables.
  • Support for organization-owned private Git repos.
  • Slack and email notifications.
  • Email support for priority assistance.

3. Fly.io

Fly.io takes a unique approach by allowing you to deploy containers directly to their global edge network. This enables you to run full Node.js applications close to your users, reducing latency. While not purely “serverless,” Fly.io simplifies infrastructure management by handling tasks like load balancing and service discovery.

Key features

• Run any framework or language as a container – Docker-based deployments
• Deploy your app in multiple regions easily, reducing latency
• Automatic TLS/SSL and built-in service discovery

Pricing

Fly.io uses a pay-as-you-go model with a cost calculator for tailored estimates.

Example costs:

• Small setup: 1 machine, 1 shared CPU core, 256 MB RAM: $4.58/month.
• High-performance setup: 1 machine, 4 dedicated CPU cores, 1 GB RAM: $120/month.

Why go serverless?

✅ Reduced server management
✅ Pay for usage
✅ Fast deployments
⛔ Limited persistent processes
⛔ Runtime restrictions
⛔ Vendor lock-in

Traditional (shared/VPS) hosting

1. A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting is one of the few “traditional” hosts to offer a dedicated Node.js hosting package. That is, you’re typically looking at cloud or dedicated options for Node.js, but A2 Hosting lets you use their shared plans.

This makes A2 Hosting quite an affordable option, with plans starting at $5.99 per month. This already offers great performance, but if you really wanted to up your performance game, then you could always opt for one of the higher level plans.

However, the downside of A2 Hosting is that it won’t be as easy to scale your application as it would be with one of the many cloud Node.js hosting providers on this list.

Key features

• “Turbo Servers” custom-tuned for performance (on certain plans)
• Developer-friendly tools
• Automatic backups and security

Pricing

The plans start at $5.99 per month, for which you get:

• Unlimited websites
• Unlimited SSD storage
• Comprehensive security suite
• Enhanced automatic backups
• DIY performance tools
• LiteSpeed Lite

2. Hostinger

Hostinger is known for its low-cost hosting plans. While its shared hosting primarily targets PHP and WordPress, you can run Node.js on Hostinger VPS plans. You’ll have root access, letting you install and configure Node.js (and other runtimes) as needed.

Key features

• An alternative to cPanel for managing servers and domains
• Plans start at relatively low monthly fees
• Choose from several global data centers to reduce latency

Pricing

Hostinger allows you to run Node.js applications on their VPS hosting. Here’s how the prices play out:

What’s the best Node.js hosting for your needs?

You’ve just gone through a lot of content, so for the summary and final recommendations, I want to simplify things as much as possible and only highlight one top host per each category.

Here goes:

Platform as a service (PaaS)

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

Serverless / front-end-centric

Traditional (shared/VPS)

Any questions about picking the best hosting for Node.js? Ask away in the comments!