When you're validating a new project or building your first MVP, fixed hosting costs can add up quickly. AWS, Google Cloud, and DigitalOcean all charge for meaningful compute power.
However, there is an outlier that many developers overlook because of its enterprise reputation: Oracle Cloud.
Oracle Cloud offers a generous "Always Free" tier that includes:
- Up to 4 ARM Ampere A1 Compute instances
- 24 GB of RAM
- 200 GB of Block Storage
- 10 TB of outbound data transfer per month
It is more than enough to run your entire stack, multiple Docker containers, a database, and a reverse proxy, completely for free.
The catch? Getting it configured securely and navigating their Virtual Cloud Network (VCN) can be incredibly frustrating.
What I'm Building
I am putting together a concise, zero-to-production guide specifically for indie hackers and developers. It will cover:
- Provisioning the Always Free ARM instances.
- Setting up the correct ingress/egress rules on the Oracle VCN.
- Configuring a secure Docker environment with Traefik or Caddy as a reverse proxy.
- Automating the setup so you can deploy MVPs in minutes without spending a dime.
If you're tired of paying $20/month just to host a side project that gets 10 visitors a day, this guide is for you.
👉 Join the Waitlist to get the guide when it's ready! (Or check out the landing page at cloudguide.invaron.no)
Let me know in the comments what specific pain points you've had with cloud providers that you'd want covered in the guide!
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