Where should I deploy my app?

The short answer depends on where you are in the project. For most side projects and early-stage apps, a managed PaaS platform is the right call. You push code, the platform handles the rest.

Render is the easiest starting point. It has a generous free tier, built-in PostgreSQL, and simple pricing. The free tier has cold starts, but for an MVP that’s fine.

Railway is the best Heroku replacement. It’s modern, fast to deploy, and includes PostgreSQL and Redis. If you’re currently on Heroku, Railway is the most common landing spot.

Fly.io is the pick for global apps or anything using WebSockets. You can deploy to 30+ regions worldwide, which keeps latency low for international users. It has a steeper learning curve than Render or Railway, but gives you more control.

Vercel is the obvious choice for Next.js and frontend-heavy projects. Zero-config deploys, automatic preview environments on every PR, and a global CDN. The catch: the free tier is personal use only, and it’s serverless-only so you can’t run persistent backend processes.

Heroku is still operational but Salesforce froze all new feature development in early 2026. Existing apps will keep running, but there’s no roadmap. Avoid starting new projects there.

Once your app is established and you’re comfortable with some DevOps basics, a self-hosted VPS gives you significantly more for your money. You configure your own server, but the tradeoff in cost and control is usually worth it at scale. DigitalOcean is the easiest place to start.

AWS, GCP, and Azure are the big cloud platforms and power most of the internet. They’re the right choice for teams with dedicated infrastructure engineers, not for solo developers or early-stage startups. The complexity and cost overhead is real.

The deployment platform guide has a full comparison with current pricing, pros and cons, and recommendations for each option.