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Mohit Chaprana
Mohit Chaprana

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a cheaper Vercel alternative — 10 free projects, $9/mo Pro

#javascript #webdev #opensource #showdev

Hey dev.to! 👋

Quick math problem: How much does it cost to deploy 5 side projects on Vercel?

Answer: $240/year. (Hobby tier only allows 3 projects and is non-commercial. Pro is $20/user/month.)

That felt wrong to me. So I built xHost.

The Numbers

xHost Vercel
Free projects 10 3
Pro price $9/mo $20/user/mo
Team of 5 $29/mo $100/mo

What is xHost?

Deploy web apps in ~30 seconds:

  1. Connect GitHub
  2. Select repo
  3. Live

No YAML. No build config. Auto-detects your framework.

What's Included Free

  • 10 static projects
  • 100 GB bandwidth/month
  • 100 build minutes/month
  • 1 custom domain
  • 1 GB storage

That's enough for most indie hackers to never pay a dime.

Full-Stack Support

Not just static sites. xHost supports full-stack apps with compute slots:

  • MERN stack
  • Django
  • Other compute workloads

Static/JAMstack deploys instantly. Full-stack gets dedicated compute resources.

Pricing Tiers 

Starter (Free)  →  10 projects, 100 GB bandwidth
Pro ($9/mo)     →  25 projects, 500 GB bandwidth  
Teams ($29/mo)  →  50 projects, 1 TB bandwidth
Agency ($59/mo) →  100 projects, 5 TB bandwidth
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Annual billing saves 17%.

Who's It For?

✅ Indie hackers with multiple projects
✅ Freelancers deploying client sites
✅ Agencies managing portfolios
✅ Anyone who thinks $20/user/mo is too much for simple deploys

Who's It NOT For?

❌ Teams needing Vercel's edge middleware
❌ Complex ISR configurations
❌ Enterprise compliance requirements

Use Vercel for those. Seriously — it's great for complex needs.

Try It

xhost.live

No credit card for free tier. Deploy your first project in under a minute.

Questions I expect:

Q: Why should I trust a new platform?
A: Don't put production apps on it until you're comfortable. Start with side projects. See how it works.

Q: What frameworks are supported?
A: Auto-detects React (CRA, Vite), Vue, Next.js, static sites. Full-stack with MERN, Django via compute slots.

Q: What's the catch?
A: Fewer advanced features than Vercel. No edge functions, no advanced caching. Trade-off for simplicity and cost.

Would love feedback. What would make this useful for your workflow?

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