Websites have become a necessity in today’s world, as shown by the growth of the cloud market share.
Nowadays there are hundreds of cloud hosting services helping businesses and hobbyists run their websites.
Each service has its pros and cons, and some fit specific user needs more than others.
Netlify’s free tier of service may be what you’re in the market for.
Here’s what you need to know before jumping in.
Contents
- Is Netlify Free or Paid
- Does Netlify Have a Free Trial?
- What Comes With the Netlify Free Trial?
- How To Claim a Netlify Free Trial
- Does Netlify Automatically Charge Users After the Free Trial Ends?
- Can You Cancel Netlify After the Free Trial?
- Is Netlify Worth Paying For?
- What Is a Free Alternative to Netlify?
- Other Ways To Save on Netlify Pricing
- Other Free Trials To Check Out
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Wrapping Up
Is Netlify Free or Paid
Netlify is a month-to-month web hosting service that offers a free membership as well as three separate paid packages.
Each package is priced based on the features given.
Does Netlify Have a Free Trial?
Yes, Netlify offers a free tier for businesses to try before subscribing to a paid plan if desired.
The last thing a user wants to find out is that the service that they are paying top dollar for is lacking a feature or user interface that makes it worthwhile.
How Long Is the Netlify Free Trial?
Netlify’s free membership package does not have an expiration date as it is a free tier rather than a free trial.
This gives the user some time to get familiar with the company, but it may lack some of the things that might give them a greater insight into the service.
Does Netlify Require a Credit Card to Activate a Free Trial?
No, they do not require a credit card to sign up for a free trial.
You will need to enter payment information if you decide to subscribe to a package.
How Much Is Netlify After the Free Trial?
Netlify’s free tier does not have a time limit, so you can continue using it until you decide to upgrade to a paid tier.
What Comes With the Netlify Free Trial?
Netlify’s free tier gives you the chance to try their service without having to pay for all the bells and whistles.
Using Netlify allows you to create a global website without spending money.
Features You Can Test With a Free Trial
Here is a list of the most popular free features that a user can try out.
1. Bandwidth
Netlify’s free trial offers 100GB per month of bandwidth for its users.
If this limit is exceeded, there is an additional fee of $55 per 100GB.
The bandwidth limit resets every month.
The paid tiers start at 1TB of bandwidth per month.
This gap is extremely prominent, further pushing the idea that their free tier is truly a test-run for large businesses.
2. Serverless Functions
Netlify’s serverless functions are single-purpose, programmatic features that are supplied and managed by their provider.
By using serverless functions, developers can focus on better-quality application codes and development.
The free tier of Netlify offers 125k per site/month, with a $25+ fee when exceeded.
3. Forms
You can add a simple attribute to any HTML form in your Netlify site admin panel, allowing you to receive submissions.
JavaScript or any other backend coding program is not necessary.
Netlify’s free tier offers 100 per site/month with a fee of $19+ when exceeded.
4. Identity
Build a community with your website or app by allowing users to create their own identity without needing another service.
This feature is perfect for gated content, site administration, and more.
The free tier offers 1k per site/month with a fee of $99 when exceeded.
5. Build Plugins
Netlify offers a catalog of community plugins that you can use to enhance your website.
You can also create your own plugins to share with others.
The options seem endless and can improve any website build.
Netlify Free Trial Limitations
The free tier has significantly fewer build minutes, concurrent builds, and bandwidth per month when compared to the paid tiers.
Netlify’s free tier does not give users access to password-protected websites or private displays.
Users do not receive slack and email deploy notifications, basic authentication headers, or support with GitHub repositories.
There are also features that make working with Netlify as a team much easier when you subscribe to the paid tiers, like multiple owners and a billing admin role.
Is Netlify Customer Support Included With Free Trials?
Yes, but not much.
Netlify’s free tier offers access to its community forum, which is a site anyone with or without a Netlify membership can see.
If you want access to their email technical support or 24/7 support, you’ll need to purchase a paid tier.
How To Claim a Netlify Free Trial
To begin utilizing Netlify’s free tier, simply sign up with either a GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket, or email account.
Then you can begin to test the features to your heart’s content.
How Do I Get the Most From My Netlify Free Trial
Netlify’s free tier is perfect for personal projects, hobby sites, or trying something new.
It’s also a terrific way to determine whether or not this web-hosting service is beneficial for a larger company or project.
Try Netlify’s free tier for a month or two. If you find yourself exceeding limits for bandwidth or other features, consider looking into one of their paid tiers.
The gap between the free tier and the paid tier features is massive.
Keep in mind how much you’re exceeding your limits each month.
If it’s not by much, it might be more worth it to upgrade tiers rather than pay a big overdraft fee.
If you start small but continue to build your business, you can upgrade to a higher tier at any time.
How Can I Make My Netlify Free Trial Longer?
Netlify’s free tier does not have an expiration date, so you can continue to use it as long as you need.
Does Netlify Automatically Charge Users After the Free Trial Ends?
No. However, you may be charged additional fees if you exceed given limits for the free tier package.
You will not be charged for a paid tier unless you sign-up for one.
Can You Cancel Netlify After the Free Trial?
Yes, you can remove your domain from the internet if you no longer want it there.
In doing this, you are technically canceling your Netlify free tier.
The last thing you want is to get stuck in a service you don’t wish to participate in.
How To Cancel a Netlify Free Trial
If you want to cancel your Netlify domain, start by clicking on the team name in the UI of your admin panel.
There should be a “disable auto-renewal” button under your domains.
How To Remove Card Details From Netlify
To remove credit card details from a Netlify account, you will have to contact billing services.
They will have you change any billable features to non-billable ones and then remove your card information.
Is Netlify Worth Paying For?
Overall, it depends on what you want to use Netlify for.
Netlify’s paid tiers offer a lot more features than the free tier.
Our Netlify review explains more about the features of the paid tiers.
If you’re planning on using Netlify for a side project that’s more of a passion project, the free tier is perfect.
If you plan on creating a business around it, you’ll want to consider the pro or business package.
For users who are somewhere in between the free tier and the pro tier, it may be more worthwhile to find a hosting service with more flexibility in pricing.
Netlify’s overdraft fees can be brutal, especially for the bandwidth feature.
What To Expect From a Netlify Subscription
You can expect an easy-to-use but powerful hosting website that makes workflow easy.
The paid-tier packages are easy to use with multiple team members, making online experiences better and faster.
Building and streamlining your website or app is extremely easy with Netlify’s straightforward AI.
It is able to determine commands and pipelines for you while still being highly customizable.
Out of all of the different types of web hosting, cloud hosting is one of the newest.
Netlify uses cloud hosting to store your website on a network of servers.
In turn, your website can be scaled up or down quickly and easily, depending on your needs.
What Is a Free Alternative to Netlify?
If you’re looking for something similar to Netlify, check out Squarespace – this more commonly known web-hosting service offers a 14-day free trial, so you can get a chance to compare and contrast the services before you make a larger commitment.
Other Ways To Save on Netlify Pricing
For those of you interested in the benefits of a paid tier rather than the free tier, there are some ways you can get a discount on Netlify.
1. Netlify Promo Codes
Occasionally, Netlify partners will offer promo codes on their paid-tier packages to allow businesses to start with them at a lesser cost.
These codes may expire over time, but they’re a great way to learn more about Netlify’s higher-tier features without paying as much.
2. Netlify Discounts
The company itself has also been known to offer discounts to first-time users.
Keep an eye out for discounts running on their site to reduce your subscription payment for the period.
3. Netlify Black Friday & Cyber Monday Specials
These two shopping events provide additional offers when you’re looking into subscribing to a Netlify package.
Be sure to have your computer on when these big days come around.
4. Is There a Netlify Student Plan?
No, there is no Netlify student plan for those in high school or college. Students will be subject to the same restrictions as everyone else.
Other Free Trials To Check Out
Below are some additional free trials for web-hosting services that may be beneficial to check out.
1. AccuWeb Free Trial
Similar to Netlify’s free tier, AccuWeb’s free trial is a terrific way to try out its features without having to pay a monthly subscription fee.
Their free trial does not have an expiration date.
You’ll have access to up to 25 email accounts, ticket support (limited), SSD storage, CloudFare, and free backups.
2. HostGator Free Trial
While HostGator’s free trial isn’t a typical deal, it’s still a financially-affordable way to test out their services.
For as low as $3 per month, you can host your website with HostGator and utilize their features.
HostGator is a suitable option for WordPress users as this hosting service is extremely compatible with WordPress websites.
3. Cloudways Free Trial
Like HostGator, Cloudways is a fantastic option for those who have used and understand WordPress.
It’s considered one of the best-managed hosting for WordPress sites.
The Cloudways free trial lasts for 72 hours (three days) and allows users to create and operate their website on an easy-to-navigate dashboard.
You can host limitless websites on just one server with Cloudways.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are many FAQs when it comes to new web-hosting services.
Below are some that we hear most often about Netlify.
Is Netlify’s starter plan free forever?
Yes, their free tier is free forever.
You are only charged if you go over your plan’s bandwidth, build minutes, forms, large media, or identity caps.
There is also a monthly fee if you’re interested in receiving site analytics, but this is optional.
How many websites can you host on Netlify for free?
You can host up to 500 sites on Netlify, the same number as any paid tier.
There is no option to host more than 500 sites on any tier available.
Wrapping Up
Netlify is a reliable cloud-based hosting service.
Their free tier works best for enthusiasts and website builders just starting out.
While their free tier doesn’t offer many of the service’s most sought-after features, it is still a terrific starting point for companies.
Their paid-tier packages are highly competitive and offer monthly payments rather than a one-time, annual payment.
If you want to start a new project, try the Netlify free tier package today.
