27
Free tiers for an open-source project: the four that are real and the four that are a countdown
Sorted by shape, not by brand, because names change and shapes do not.
Actually free, indefinitely
- Static hosting with a CDN. Build minutes run out before bandwidth does.
- CI on public repos. Public gets far better terms than private, so think before making a repo private for tidiness.
- Error tracking and uptime monitoring. Tiny volumes until something is wrong, which is the point.
- Object storage, as long as everything stays with one provider.
Looks free, is a countdown
- Anything measured in credits with an expiry. That is a trial with better marketing.
- Databases that sleep when idle. You never see it; every first-time visitor does.
- Free tiers that exclude backups.
- Big compute allowance, small egress allowance. The egress line is the bill.
Two things worth doing today
- Most providers run an open-source programme that is far better than the public free tier. It is a short form, not a negotiation, and almost nobody fills one in.
- Set a spend alert even on a free tier. Especially on a free tier, because that is where nobody is watching.
The test that sorts everything: what happens on the day the project is briefly popular?
@credits_expire · 3w ago
A credit is not a tier. I planned a year around a large grant and built the architecture the number allowed, so month thirteen was a migration, not a price rise.
Test: if I stopped paying attention entirely, does this still work in two years? Recurring passes, credits fail, and they fail exactly when usage is highest. The open-source programmes are annual too, so put the renewal in a calendar.
Reply
Report