Render vs Cheaploy: which free tier doesn't sleep?
Render's free tier is generous on paper but spins your service down after 15 minutes of inactivity — first request takes 30+ seconds. Cheaploy gives you always-on ARM compute on your own Oracle Cloud account, with a real Postgres included.
Side-by-side at a glance
| Feature | Render (Free) | Cheaploy + Oracle Always Free |
|---|---|---|
| Web service uptime | Sleeps after 15 min idle | Always on |
| Cold start | 30-60 seconds | None |
| RAM | 512 MB | 12 GB |
| CPU | 0.1 CPU | 2 ARM CPUs |
| Postgres | Free for 90 days, then deleted | 2× Autonomous DB, indefinite |
| Background workers | Paid only ($7+/mo) | Free |
| Bandwidth | 100 GB/mo | 10 TB/mo |
The cold-start problem
Render's spin-down is the single most-complained-about limit in the indie-hacker community. If your landing page only gets 5 visitors a day, every visitor waits 30+ seconds. Cheaploy avoids this entirely by running on persistent ARM compute — there's nothing to wake up.
When Render still wins
- You want a fully-managed PaaS with zero infrastructure surface area.
- You're willing to pay $7-$25/mo per service to skip the cold starts.
When Cheaploy wins
- You want the always-on UX without paying.
- You need a database that doesn't get deleted after 90 days.
- You want to keep your infrastructure portable — your OCI account, your tenancy, your DNS.
Frequently asked
Does Render's free Postgres expire?+
Yes. Render's free Postgres databases expire after 90 days and must be deleted or upgraded. Oracle's free Autonomous Database stays online indefinitely as long as it's used at least once every 7 days — Cheaploy pings it for you.
Can I run a Discord bot or background worker?+
On Render's free tier, workers aren't free at all — they start at $7/month. Cheaploy runs workers on the same ARM compute as your web app, free.
What about build minutes?+
Render's free tier has 500 build minutes/month. Cheaploy builds happen on Oracle's compute, so build minutes aren't a metered resource.
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