Cheap Website Hosting
A static site can be hosted for nothing in 2026. The catch most roundups skip: two of the most-recommended free hosts forbid running a business on their free plan. Here is what each one really allows, and what a Framer site actually costs.
The short answer
The cheapest website hosting is free, if the site is static. Cloudflare Pages has no published bandwidth cap and no published commercial-use restriction on its free plan, which makes it the strongest $0 host for most sites — business sites included.
Be careful with the other two famous free options. Vercel's free plan is non-commercial, and GitHub Pages is not allowed to host an online business or e-commerce site. Both are excellent for personal projects. Neither is a free home for a company's website.
Hosting options compared
| Host | Price | Bandwidth | Commercial use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare Pages | $0 | No published cap | No restriction published |
| Vercel Hobby | $0 | 100 GB/mo | Personal, non-commercial only |
| Vercel Pro | $20/seat/mo | 1 TB/mo | Yes |
| GitHub Pages | $0 | 100 GB/mo (soft), 1 GB site | Not for a business or e-commerce |
| Netlify Free | $0 | About 15 GB/mo (credit-based) | No restriction published |
| Shared hosting | A few dollars/mo | Varies by plan | Yes |
| Framer (its own hosting) | $10–30/mo + $20/editor | 50–100 GB/mo | Yes |
Read from each host's own documentation in September 2026. “No restriction published” means the host's plan and limits pages state none — not that commercial use is expressly granted. Hosts change these terms; check before you deploy.
The commercial-use trap
This is the part that costs businesses real money, because it only surfaces after the site is live.
Vercel Hobby is free, fast and genuinely good — for personal, non-commercial use. A client's site or a company site belongs on Vercel Pro at $20 a seat. GitHub Pages states that it is not intended for or allowed to be used as a free web host to run your online business, an e-commerce site, or anything primarily directed at facilitating commercial transactions.
Neither restriction is hidden; both are simply left out of most “best free hosting” lists. If the site sells something, represents a company, or is built for a client, rule these two out of the free column before comparing anything else.
Why static hosting is nearly free
A static site is a folder of files. A host copies it to a content delivery network once, and every visitor is handed those same files from a nearby edge server — no code runs, no database is queried. That costs the host almost nothing per visit, which is why several of them give it away.
A dynamic site — WordPress, anything with a login or a server-rendered page — needs a server doing work for every request. That work is what shared and VPS hosting charge for. The cheapest hosting decision is therefore often not which host, but whether the site needs a server at all. Most marketing sites, portfolios and landing pages do not.
What a Framer site costs to host
A published Framer site lives on Framer's hosting, and a custom domain needs a site plan: $10 a month on Basic or $30 on Pro, plus $20 a month for each additional editor, with bandwidth capped by plan. Framer has no code export, so while the site stays in Framer, that is the bill.
Converted to code, the same site is static — which puts it in the free column above. That is the trade: instead of paying for hosting every month indefinitely, you convert the site and host it yourself.
Staying on Framer
- · $10–30 a month for a custom domain
- · $20 a month per extra editor
- · Bandwidth capped by plan
- · No way to take the site elsewhere
Converted and self-hosted
- · Hosting from $0 on a static host
- · No per-editor charge from the host
- · Bandwidth set by your host, not a plan
- · The code is yours to move anywhere
Where FNJ fits
FNJ converts a published Framer site into a static bundle or a Next.js project and deploys it to your own hosting account. It serves nothing itself, so it never charges for traffic — the bandwidth is whatever your host gives you.
On Starter the one-click deploy targets Vercel; keep the non-commercial rule above in mind if the site is a business. Studio and Agency also unlock Cloudflare Pages, which publishes no bandwidth cap. On any plan you can download the project and put it on whichever host you choose, Cloudflare Pages included. FNJ is subscription-only, with no free tier — see pricing.
Related: How to self-host a Framer site · Framer's limits, plan by plan · Framer vs owning your code · Framer to code, every route
FAQ
What is the cheapest way to host a website?
For a static site — HTML, CSS and JavaScript with no server-side code — the cheapest hosting is free. Cloudflare Pages has no published bandwidth cap and no published commercial-use restriction on its free plan, which makes it the strongest $0 option for most sites in 2026, business ones included. A site that needs a server, such as WordPress, costs more: shared hosting starts at a few dollars a month, and introductory prices usually renew higher.
Can I host a business website for free?
Yes, but not on every free host. Vercel's free Hobby plan is for personal, non-commercial use, so a business site there needs Vercel Pro. GitHub Pages states it is not allowed to be used as a free host to run an online business or e-commerce site. Cloudflare Pages and Netlify's free plan publish no such restriction. If the site makes money or represents a company, check the host's terms before you deploy, not after.
Is Vercel free for commercial use?
No. Vercel's free Hobby plan is for personal, non-commercial projects under Vercel's fair-use rules. A client's site, a company site or anything monetised needs Vercel Pro, which is $20 per seat per month and includes 1 TB of data transfer. Many hosting roundups list Vercel as a free option without mentioning this, which is how businesses end up in breach of its terms.
Why is static hosting so much cheaper than regular web hosting?
Because there is no server doing work per visit. A static site is a folder of files that a CDN copies to its edge and hands out as-is, which costs the host almost nothing at scale — so several hosts give it away. A dynamic site needs a server running code and often a database for every request, and that is what you are paying for with shared or VPS hosting.
How much does it cost to host a Framer website?
On Framer's own hosting, a custom domain needs a site plan — $10 a month on Basic or $30 on Pro — plus $20 a month for each additional editor, with bandwidth capped by plan. Framer has no code export, so that is the only option inside Framer. Converting the published site to static code moves it onto a static host instead, where hosting itself can be $0; you pay for the conversion rather than for hosting every month.
Is free hosting fast enough?
For a static site, usually yes, and often faster than cheap paid hosting. Cloudflare Pages, Vercel and Netlify all serve from global CDNs, so a visitor gets files from a nearby edge location rather than one shared server. Low-cost shared hosting is typically a single server in one region, which is slower for a global audience, not faster.
Does FNJ host my site?
No. FNJ serves nothing itself: it deploys to your own Cloudflare Pages or Vercel account, so the hosting is yours and FNJ never charges for traffic. On Starter the one-click deploy targets Vercel; Studio and Agency also unlock Cloudflare Pages, which publishes no bandwidth cap. On any plan the project is yours to download and put on whichever host you like.
Move a Framer site to hosting you control
Paste your published Framer URL and get a static bundle or a Next.js project, deployed to your own account — so the hosting bill is your host's, and on a static host that can be nothing.
Example: https://your-site.framer.website