Best Completely FREE Cloud Hosting Services [2025]

Many hosting providers claim to offer free cloud hosting, but there’s always a trade-off. While free-forever cloud hosting does exist, it’s difficult to trust a hosting provider that claims to offer its resources with no strings attached. Even the few that are trustworthy have extremely restrictive resource limits.

That’s why I only recommend trying free cloud hosting through a reputable provider’s trial period. Many of our recommended cloud hosts let you try out their platforms with enough resources to run a small site or application, so you can determine if you’re happy with its performance and features.

I’ve tested the biggest cloud platforms and cut the list down to the best options offering free trials, free tiers, and basic free hosting plans. My top pick is Kamatera. You can try out its flexible cloud hosting service through a 30-day free trial with up to $100 in credit. Or keep reading to discover which free or nearly-free cloud host is the best fit for your project.

What We Look For in the Best Free Cloud Hosting Services

To put together this list of the best free cloud hosting services, I focused on the following features:

• Free trials and money-back guarantees. In addition to free tiers, I looked for hosts that offer generous free trials and money-back guarantees so you can test out their services without risk. What differentiates these services from the rest is that these trials come with enough resources to realistically test the service.
• Reliability and uptime. It’s easy to give away cloud hosting like candy, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get the best performance out of it. These hosting providers provide the most cutting-edge infrastructure with reliable redundant servers, which translates to high uptime and loading speeds of less than 2 seconds.
• Multiple deployment locations. Almost all services on this list provide multiple deployment options on their free or cheap offers, ensuring that you’ll always have a nearby location promptly serving your visitors.
• Scalability. With sub-par hosting, your website may slow down or crash once you get more traffic. With the cloud hosting providers on this list, your website or app will have enough capacity to handle more visitors.
• Developer-friendly features. To develop the best websites or apps in the least amount of time, you need a service that makes things easier. All the services on this list are developer-oriented, but a couple really go the extra mile in offering streamlined developer tools.

Quick Look at Our Best Free Cloud Hosts

1. Kamatera: Scalable Custom Cloud Servers With 30-Day Free Trial

Kamatera’s 30-day free trial lets you build and scale a custom cloud instance with up to $100 worth of resources. While you’ll get a fixed (but generous!) 1 TB of cloud block storage and outgoing traffic, you can scale all other resources within the $100 limit. There’s even a handy calculator to see if this will give you enough to try before you get started.

At no point during my trial did Kamatera skimp on performance. Thanks to a cloud network covering 24 locations, our tests revealed loading times of a single second and perfect uptime. You can even speed test each location before you commit to make sure you’re picking the right one for your project.

The one thing that disappointed me during the trial was its customer support, as I often had to wait a while to get a mediocre response – even on the 24/7 channels. But I was genuinely impressed with the range of support documentation and video tutorials available. When support wasn’t available, these often provided a solution to my issues.

Features

• Rapid setup. It takes less than a minute to set up a new cloud instance. Just go straight to the sidebar in Kamatera’s dashboard and under My Cloud, click Create New Server.
• Optional preinstalled OS. To save some time, you can preinstall your operating system of choice on Kamatera’s cloud instances. Options include various Linux distributions and multiple versions of Windows Server. You can also request that cPanel or Plesk come preinstalled.
• Free static IP. Every server comes with a free public static IP, adding to the overall value. You can also add up to 4 IPs to your plan for an extra fee.
• Cheap automatic backup solution. For a small added fee, your server’s storage will be automatically backed up every day and stored in an offsite storage array to further protect against data loss.

See our in-depth Kamatera review for more performance details.

2. HostArmada: High-Speed Shared Cloud Hosting With a 45-Day Guarantee

HostArmada isn’t completely free, but stay with me here. It offers a generous 45 days to try its shared cloud hosting risk-free. You’ll get plenty of time to test it out, get a feel for its performance, and see if it’s the right home for your website or application. If it’s not, it’s really simple to get your money back through its 24/7 support.

Not only does it have a long trial period, but it’s also one of the most affordable cloud hosting providers by far, with plans starting at $2.49. For that low price, you get exceptionally good performance for shared hosting. It uses NGINX for the Start Dock and Web Warp shared hosting plans and LiteSpeed server for the top-tier Speed Reaper plan. In our tests, these servers provided consistently fast loading times under 1.5 seconds.

Unfortunately, HostArmada doesn’t come with a pre-installed CDN, unlike some other hosts. This was evident during my load time tests outside the US. However, it’s easy to set up Cloudflare CDN – you can even ask customer support to handle the integration for you.

Features

• Free website transfers. HostArmada offers up to 5 free website transfers depending on your chosen shared cloud hosting plan.
• Low server occupancy. Unlike most budget cloud hosts, HostArmada doesn’t overload its servers to ensure reliable performance. It also employs KVM virtualization for additional stability and security.
• Unlimited MySQL databases. HostArmada is one of the few hosts to offer unlimited MySQL databases on its low-cost shared cloud hosting plans. This lets you use a separate database for each project, preventing data bloat that often happens when multiple sites share a single database.
• Free daily backups. HostArmada provides one free backup per day with its starter shared cloud hosting plan, with a 7-day retention period. That number increases if you choose a higher-tier plan.

For more on cloud hosting features, see our expert HostArmada review.

3. Cloudways: Simplified Management for Leading Cloud Hosting Services

Cloudways stands out by offering customized managed cloud hosting for other cloud platforms, including DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud. Once you install your CMS of choice, you’re ready to launch your project. This Cloudways Flexible solution also offers one-click installs, restores, and backups.

For a truly hands-off experience, there’s Cloudways Autonomous. This solution caters to WordPress plans for static, dynamic, and e-commerce sites with any traffic level. This removes the need to select a cloud provider and server type, so you can get straight to setting up your site. Also, its autoscaling feature handles spikes in traffic and load balancing without any human intervention.

Cloudways Flexible is more affordable than Autonomous, but note that it’s better suited if you have experience managing cloud servers. If you want to see whether this type of hosting service works for you, you can try it free for 3 days. During the trial period, you’ll have access to 24/7 support and Cloudways Copilot, an AI hosting assistant that detects and fixes server issues.

Features

• Serious security. Cloudways provides free SSL certificates, OS patches, two-factor authentication, auto-healing servers, a firewall, and more to keep your site and server secure.
• Support levels. While you can add advanced support to your Cloudways plan for an extra monthly fee, its beginner-friendly standard support is probably more than enough – plus it’s free and available 24/7. There’s also a well-stocked knowledge base.
• CloudwaysBot. This is a personal smart hosting assistant that keeps you up to date on the status and health of your server via Slack, an API, or email.
• Payment options. With Cloudways Flexible, you pay only for the resources you use, while Cloudways Autonomous charges per hour.

Read our expert review to see more Cloudways features.

4. IONOS: Introductory Credit to Try High-Performance Cloud Hosting

Like Kamatera, IONOS offers a free trial. But where it differs is that IONOS provides $200 in credit for 30 days, which lets you try almost any cloud configuration, including basic and memory-optimized options. Whether you’re a small business with a content-heavy WordPress site or a freelance developer deploying small applications, you’ll get plenty of room for testing.

Each IONOS plan provides access to a dedicated consultant, plus a 24/7 live chat and phone line for support. Unfortunately, I often struggled to get in touch with my personal consultant, and live chat always seemed unavailable, which was disappointing. On the other hand, if you’re familiar with servers, IONOS provides tons of documentation to help you troubleshoot issues.

Another thing I appreciate about IONOS is how easy it makes it to set up and deploy your server. You can configure your servers and network connections through a drag-and-drop whiteboard interface and instantly add resources as needed. The interface is a bit clunky, but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty useful.

Features

• Transparent per-minute pricing. While many cloud hosting providers bill by the hour for certain services, IONOS bills per minute. You can also see a breakdown of what each cloud plan configuration, license, and other resources cost.
• 99.99% uptime guarantee. Most competitors only guarantee 99.9% of uptime, but IONOS guarantees near-perfect performance. At this level, you’re guaranteed to have less than 52 minutes of downtime a year.
• ISO certified servers. IONOS’ data centers in the US, UK, and Europe have all achieved ISO 27001 certification. If your business manages sensitive data, IONOS’ cloud hosting can help you protect it and minimize the risk of a costly data breach.
• Trial and resource extension on request. If you need more test resources or want to extend your cloud server trial, you can simply send a request to your account manager.

To learn more about IONOS, head over to our comprehensive review.

5. Hostinger: Beginner-Friendly Managed Cloud Hosting With 30-Day MBG

With a money-back guarantee, you can try Hostinger for 30 days for free. Plus, this free trial grants you access to the full cloud hosting configuration you’ll want to use, with no trial credit or resource limitations. Each cloud hosting plan also comes with 3 months of free service and a generous discount for your first term if you sign up for four years.

Each cloud hosting plan is fully managed, which means it’ll handle all firmware and software updates for you. It’s a great choice if you’ve never used cloud hosting before. And the proprietary hPanel makes managing your website far simpler than most other hosting providers.

The one thing to note is that Hostinger’s more ideal for complete beginners hosting websites than developers looking to deploy custom applications. That’s not to say that Hostinger doesn’t work for advanced uses, as it still provides plenty of resources for developers. But you won’t get as much control over your cloud server as you would with Kamatera.

Features

• Optimized for WordPress. Each plan includes managed WordPress hosting, which comes with LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress, object caching, auto updates, and a staging tool. There’s even a built-in free plugin for Amazon affiliates.
• Free site migration. If you’ve got a WordPress (or another open source CMS) website, then Hostinger’s team will migrate it to your cloud server for you. Unlike with other hosts, there are no limits to this service.
• Free AI tools. Hostinger’s cloud hosting service comes bundled with several AI tools to help you to set up, maintain, and add to your website. You’ll get tools for content creation, website building, and even a free trial for an AI vibe coding app.
• 24/7 support. You can get in touch with support via live chat and email, and there’s a well-stocked knowledge base with tons of guides to help you get started with your cloud hosting service.

Our expert Hostinger review covers even more pros and cons.

6. Amazon Web Services (AWS): Best for Launching Early-Stage Cloud Projects

Amazon’s cloud computing platform offers a wide array of services, from cloud instances and storage solutions to machine learning and quantum technologies. For web hosting, the best fit is AWS’ EC2 service, which you can try for free for up to 6 months. You’ll get $100 in credit just for signing up, then up to another $100 if you try other services.

You don’t always need to use your free trial credit as some services are free to use forever – as long as you stay within set limits. For example, you’re restricted to 750 computing hours per month with the free EC2 instance. But this is still plenty of time to get a lot of value out of AWS, particularly if you’re a hobbyist developer.

As helpful as AWS’ free offering is, it’s also confusing. Unless you sign up for a trial and start using the service, it’s not a straightforward process to find the free service limitations without asking customer support. While the free trial credit does give you some safety net for the pay-as-you-go pricing for overages, I wouldn’t recommend AWS for long-term use unless you have a clear idea of the resources you need.

Features

• Savings plans. While AWS typically uses pay-as-you-go pricing for flexible scaling, you can choose to commit to a 1- or 3-year term at a consistent level of usage. If you do, you can unlock a discounted usage rate.
• Complete control. EC2’s instances are completely customizable, which puts a lot of responsibility on you. The interface isn’t the prettiest, either, so prepare to work overtime to get everything perfectly configured.
• Free storage and database services. As part of the AWS free tier, you’ll get 750 hours per month of a MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, or SQL database with 20 GB SSD storage capacity.
• Easily scalable into high-performance machines. Once you have an account active with AWS, you can always add more computing instances. Just pick an instance size and location and deploy it within minutes.

Want to know more? Check out our in-depth AWS review.

7. ScalaHosting: Cloud Hosting With Anytime Money-Back Guarantee

While this provider doesn’t offer a free plan, it made my list because of its fantastic anytime money-back guarantee. If you cancel within the first 30 days, you’ll get all of your money back. Cancel any time after that, though, and you won’t lose your entire payment – you’ll get a refund for any resources you haven’t used.

All ScalaHosting’s self-managed cloud plans include full root access, so developers get complete control over their server’s configuration. If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of managing your own remote server, ScalaHosting also offers completely managed cloud VPS options at affordable monthly rates.

Unfortunately, customer support is where this host stumbles. Live chat was quick to respond, but the agent directed me to ticket support as they couldn’t answer my technical questions. Most hosting providers have a system in place to escalate problems to the appropriate team instead of asking customers to do it themselves, so this was frustrating when I came across issues.

Features

• SPanel. ScalaHosting offers its proprietary version of cPanel – called SPanel – with all its cloud hosting plans. SPanel offers all the functionality of cPanel, plus real-time security monitoring, outbound spam monitoring, and direct access to 24/7 live chat support.
• 10 Gbps redundant network. Thanks to its 10 Gbps redundant network, ScalaHosting guarantees 99.9% uptime. It will seamlessly redirect heavy traffic during surges.
• Free server backups. ScalaHosting provides free snapshot backups of your server with all its self-managed cloud plans and daily offsite backups on all managed cloud plans.
• 1-click installer. To simplify the process of configuring your server, there are over 400 different apps and scripts available through ScalaHosting’s 1-click installer. You also get free updates, plus cloning and staging tools.

Our full ScalaHosting review has more on user-friendly features.

Other Notable Free Cloud Hosts

8. Oracle

You can trial Oracle’s cloud server for free or opt for a forever-free service like its Compute Instances. If you go for the free trial, you’ll get a $300 credit toward any of its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) services. After that, you get a generous 200 GB total block storage, 10 GB object storage, and two autonomous databases (20 GB each) – all for free.

My biggest issue is that Oracle doesn’t offer a service level agreement for its free tier. Additionally, there’s limited support in the form of forum access, which can be hit or miss. If you’re looking to run a complex long-term project that requires stability, you might be better off with a paid plan.

9. Google Cloud

If you know your way around a server, you can have the power and performance of Google on your side with a free e2-micro cloud instance. You’ll receive a total of 30 GB of storage and 1 GB of bandwidth, plus $300 credit to use over 90 days of testing time.

Unfortunately, there are strings attached to this great free cloud server deal. You can only deploy the e-2 micro in a handful of US data centers (Oregon, Iowa, and South Carolina). Strangely, your free credits can’t be used to increase your resource quota during your trial, nor can they be used on any AI tools. So, your ability to test Google Cloud for free is pretty limited.

10. Render

Render offers a free cloud hosting plan for small-scale applications. It’s specifically designed to help developers learn how to use industry-standard cloud services and deployment tools. You’ll get one environment for your project, 500 pipeline build minutes a month, and support for up to 2 custom domains.

So, why is it so low on my list? Because it’s not completely free – you still have to pay computing costs. Computing is free but has a very low limit and, after that, you’ll be automatically charged by the second if you’ve got a card on file. Plus, the actual computing costs aren’t all that transparent, and I’ve seen a lot of users confused about getting charged out of nowhere.

11. Microsoft Azure

The good news is that you can get a lot of hosting power with Microsoft Azure’s free cloud server setups. Along with 12 months of free usage, you can set up a fully functional MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQL database with 32 GB storage. That should allow you to just about host whatever site you want. Students can also get a free annual $100 credit for hosting throughout their studies, which is renewable for every year you’re a student.

The bad news is that Microsoft Azure is slow (sloths have been known to be speedier). Its performance in our tests was well below AWS and Google Cloud. It’s still a decent option given the generous resources it offers, but it’s disappointing that all that great stuff isn’t backed by good performance speeds.

Plan Ahead Before You Test the Best Free Cloud Hosting Services

While all the above options can offer you access to cloud hosting for free (or at an extremely low price), not all of them may fit your project. They’re limited in different ways, and while some providers can scale flexibly, others may have fixed plans that don’t suit your project. Even if you don’t intend to pay right away, always check the fine print to make sure you’re not wasting time testing a cloud provider that won’t work in the long run.

If you’re still not sure which route to take, here are my recommendations:

You can try Kamatera’s cloud instances free for 30 days, with customizable resources up to $100 in value. While it isn’t permanently free, it offers the most reliable and scalable solution on the list, letting you instantly upgrade or downgrade resources to match your exact needs.

If you want top quality without breaking the bank, HostArmada offers unparalleled performance for shared cloud hosting. You also get a generous 45-day money-back guarantee, so you can try the service for yourself before making any long-term commitments.

If you need managed cloud hosting, Cloudways is the way to go. If you prefer working with Google Cloud, AWS, or DigitalOcean but aren’t able to do it all on your own, Cloudways offers managed services so you can concentrate on growing your project.

FAQ

What is the best free cloud server hosting service?

That depends on your needs – every free cloud hosting service comes with its own set of pros and cons. However, there are a few standouts. Kamatera offers a free 30-day trial to access a fast, reliable, and secure cloud instance. Its servers are fully customizable and it provides flexible billing options should you choose to go beyond your free trial. Amazon Web Services is another standout for its generous free trial and access to free cloud resources.

Which cloud hosting service is free for students?

Most free cloud hosting services are suitable for students, but some offer more benefits than others. For example, Render is great for developers, so it gives software developers and IT students the chance to work with industry-standard tools for free. Microsoft Azure offers free cloud hosting for students, though credits are limited to $100 per year.

What’s the difference between free trials and free cloud hosting?

Free trials allow you to test the service before committing and often let you try out the web host’s best cloud plans for free. In contrast, free cloud hosting is much rarer and often comes with severe resource limitations. Security concerns and a lack of customer support are other issues. If you read the fine print, you may be liable for overage fees and other charges on free hosting plans should you exceed your limits, too.

Can I get free cloud hosting without a credit card?

Most free cloud hosting providers are only temporarily free and hope that you’ll purchase one of their paid services. However, you can use Google Cloud’s e2 instance for up to 90 days before you have to add a credit card. If you’re willing to try out managed hosting for the top cloud providers, you can try Cloudways’ comprehensive 3-day trial without a credit card.

How can I avoid free cloud hosting scams?

First of all, make sure you’re visiting the legitimate website for a reputable free cloud hosting provider – scammers often create copycat websites that use very similar domains and websites. Always be wary of limited-time free hosting “deals” and offers that sound too good to be true. Take the time to read reviews and search for other user experiences before providing any personal information.

What’s the best free cloud hosting service for developers?

Cloudways is a great choice for developers, as it provides easy server management, full root access, and a one-click installer to help you configure your server. It offers a 3-day free trial so you can see if it’s right for your project. If you’re open to other types of free or budget hosting, take a look at our list of the best free web hosts in 2025.