## What Render bills for Hosting costs on Render depend on which services you run, which [instance types](/content/docs/compute-plans/index.html) you choose, and how much outbound traffic you send. Most small teams land somewhere between **$0 while exploring** and **a few hundred dollars per month** for a production web app with a managed database and cache. Render bills each workspace monthly for: - **Workspace plan fee** (flat monthly rate on paid tiers) - **Compute** (per service, prorated by the second) - **Storage** (Postgres and persistent disks, per GB) - **Outbound bandwidth** (above your plan's included amount) - **Build pipeline minutes** (above your plan's included amount) Every paid instance is prorated by the second: if a service runs for ten seconds in a month, you pay for ten seconds. Rates change over time; this article explains the cost model so you can estimate from the [Render pricing page](/content/pricing/index.html) rather than relying on embedded numbers that go stale. ## Workspace plans Every Render workspace sits on a plan that sets team limits, included bandwidth, and included build pipeline minutes. - **Hobby** ($0/month): 5 GB bandwidth, 500 pipeline minutes, up to 25 services, single-service previews - **Pro** ($25/month): 25 GB bandwidth, 1,000 pipeline minutes, unlimited services, full-stack previews, [autoscaling](/content/docs/scaling#autoscaling/index.html) - **Scale** ($499/month): 1 TB bandwidth, 5,000 pipeline minutes, multiple workspaces, HIPAA-eligible, SAML SSO - **Enterprise** (custom): contractual SLAs, dedicated support If a Pro or Scale workspace has no services and no activity during a month, the subscription fee is waived. See the full comparison at [Render pricing](/content/pricing#features/index.html). ## Compute pricing by service type Render prices compute differently depending on the service type. Don't assume one billing model fits all. ### Web services, private services, and background workers These bill as **monthly plans**, prorated by the second while the service is running. Web services offer instance types from Free to Pro Ultra; private services and background workers start at Starter (no Free tier) and go up to Pro Ultra. See current rates at [Render pricing: Services](/content/pricing#compute-pricing/index.html). - Free web services spin down after 15 minutes of inactivity and count against your workspace's 750 Free instance hours per month. - Paid instances (Starter and above) run continuously unless you suspend them. - [Scaled services](/content/docs/scaling/index.html) bill for each running instance independently. ### Cron jobs Cron jobs bill **per minute while running**, not as a monthly plan. There is a **$1/month minimum** per cron job service. Instance types go up to Pro Plus (no Pro Max or Ultra). See [Render pricing: Cron Jobs](/content/pricing#cron-jobs/index.html). ### Workflows (Beta) Workflows bill **per hour of task compute**, with a $1/month minimum per workflow service. Task instance types range from Starter to Pro Ultra depending on your workspace plan. See [Render pricing: Workflows](/content/pricing#workflows/index.html). ## Render Postgres [Render Postgres](/content/docs/postgresql/index.html) bills a fixed monthly rate per instance type plus storage. - **Instance compute**: ranges from Free (256 MB, 30-day limit) through Basic, Pro, and Accelerated tiers. See [Render pricing: Postgres](/content/pricing#postgresql/index.html). - **Storage**: $0.30 per GB per month, prorated by the second. You choose storage at creation (1 GB or any multiple of 5 GB) and can increase it later without downtime. Free Postgres databases expire 30 days after creation. After expiry, you have a 14-day grace period to upgrade before deletion. Free databases are capped at 1 GB. ## Render Key Value [Render Key Value](/content/docs/key-value/index.html) provides Redis-compatible caching and job queues. It bills a fixed monthly rate per instance type. - **Free**: 25 MB, 50 connections, no persistence - **Paid tiers** (Starter through Pro Ultra): persistence enabled, higher connection limits See [Render pricing: Key Value](/content/pricing#key-value/index.html). ## Persistent disks [Persistent disks](/content/docs/disks/index.html) attach to paid web services, private services, or workers. Storage is billed at **$0.25 per GB per month**, prorated by the second. Free web services cannot attach disks. ## Bandwidth and pipeline minutes Outbound bandwidth above your workspace's included amount is billed at **$0.15 per GB**. Inbound traffic is free. Build pipeline minutes above your included amount are billed at **$5 per 1,000 minutes** (standard pipeline). Pro and Scale workspaces can opt into a Performance pipeline at **$25 per 1,000 minutes** for faster builds. ## Free tier limits [Free instances](/content/docs/free/index.html) help you try Render before committing to paid tiers: - **Free web services** spin down after **15 minutes of inactivity** and restart on the next request (spin-up takes about one minute). - Each workspace gets **750 Free instance hours per calendar month**. If you use them all, Free web services suspend until the next month. - **Free Postgres** databases expire **30 days after creation**, with a **14-day grace period** after expiry before deletion. Storage is capped at **1 GB**. - **Free Key Value** instances have 25 MB and no persistence. Static sites and managed TLS remain free to deploy. Outbound bandwidth and pipeline minutes still count against your workspace plan limits. ## Cost snapshot (July 2026) As of July 2026, an always-on Starter web service plus a Basic-256mb Postgres instance on a Hobby workspace typically ran about **$13/month** before bandwidth and storage growth. Check [Render pricing](/content/pricing#compute-pricing/index.html) for current rates before budgeting. ## What drives your bill up **Traffic and concurrency.** More simultaneous users usually means larger instance types or more scaled instances. Each instance is billed independently. **Database and disk storage.** User-generated content grows Postgres storage ($0.30/GB/month). Uploaded files on persistent disks grow at $0.25/GB/month. **Background work.** Email, reports, and webhooks often need a dedicated worker running continuously. **Egress.** API-heavy or media-heavy apps send more outbound bandwidth. Above your plan's included amount, Render bills $0.15 per GB. **Workspace plan.** Pro ($25/month) unlocks autoscaling, full-stack previews, and more included bandwidth. Scale ($499/month) adds SSO, SCIM, HIPAA eligibility, and organization-level controls. ## Cost optimization ### Right-size instances Use [service metrics](/content/docs/service-metrics/index.html) to see CPU, memory, and HTTP latency. Downgrade instance types that sit idle. Upgrade only when metrics show sustained pressure. ### Optimize Postgres Add indexes, fix slow queries, and enable [connection pooling](/content/docs/postgresql-connection-pooling/index.html) before jumping to a larger database tier. ### Add Key Value caching A [Render Key Value](/content/docs/key-value/index.html) instance can cut repeated database reads. A small cache is often enough for session storage or hot query results. ### Archive cold data externally Render does not provide S3-style object storage. If you need cheap long-term file storage, use an external object store (AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, etc.) and keep hot data in Postgres or on a persistent disk. ## Estimation worksheet 1. List every service: web, worker, Postgres, Key Value, cron, workflows, disks. 2. Look up each instance type on [Render pricing](/content/pricing#compute-pricing/index.html). 3. For always-on services, use the monthly rate. For cron and workflows, estimate runtime and multiply by the per-minute or per-hour rate. 4. Add Postgres storage (GB × $0.30) and disk storage (GB × $0.25). 5. Add your workspace plan fee ($0 on Hobby, $25 on Pro, $499 on Scale). 6. Estimate outbound GB beyond your plan's included bandwidth (× $0.15). 7. Add 10–20% headroom for traffic spikes, storage growth, and extra scaled instances. Preview environments and [service previews](/content/docs/service-previews/index.html) bill as separate running instances. Render prorates everything by the second, so partial months cost less than full-month estimates. ## Next steps - [Render pricing](/content/pricing/index.html): full instance type tables and workspace feature comparison - [Deploy for free](/content/docs/free/index.html): Free web service, Postgres, and Key Value limits - [Outbound bandwidth](/content/docs/outbound-bandwidth/index.html): what counts toward egress - [Scaling Render services](/content/docs/scaling/index.html): manual scaling and autoscaling on Pro+ workspaces ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I run a small business app on Render for $0? ### How long do Free Postgres databases last? ### Does Render charge for HTTPS certificates? ### How does autoscaling affect my bill? ### Does Render include object storage like S3? ### What happens if I exceed included bandwidth? ### Where do I see my actual spend?