Every side project hits the same wall: you need a domain and a few basic services before you have even validated the idea, and the "free" options are scattered across dozens of sites, half of them outdated.
I maintain FreeDomain, an open-source curated list of free domain options and free developer resources — free subdomains, DNS, hosting and the small services you need to get a project live at zero cost. I keep it updated because I build a lot of small products myself (a flight-booking platform, a learning-products platform, a few SaaS tools) and I kept re-researching the same free tiers.
What I have learned maintaining it:
- Free subdomains are fine for validation; move to a paid domain the day real users arrive.
- Always read the renewal terms — "free for year 1" and "free forever" are very different things.
- Keep a note of where each project's DNS lives. Future-you will not remember.
The list is here: https://github.com/mujtbabbas/FreeDomain
If it saves you time, a ⭐ on the repo helps other developers find it — and I am working towards a small GitHub milestone with it. Additions and corrections via PR are welcome.
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