Render FAQ
This page lists answers to questions that many folks have as they're getting up and running with Render.
Languages and technologies
Which languages does Render support?
Render natively supports Node.js / Bun, Python, Ruby, Go, Rust, and Elixir.
You can deploy an app in virtually any language (.NET, Java, PHP, etc.) via a Docker image.
Which datastores does Render support?
Render offers managed Postgres databases, along with Key Value instances that are compatible with virtually all Redis clients.
You can also run your own custom database instance (MariaDB, MongoDB, etc.) backed by a persistent disk.
Billing
What can I do on Render for free?
See Deploy for Free.
What does Render bill for?
Render bills each workspace monthly for the items listed below. For details on all of these, see the pricing page.
| Billable | Description |
|---|---|
Workspace plan |
Each workspace has an associated plan: Hobby, Pro, Scale, or Enterprise. This plan determines the workspace's features, limits, and monthly fee. The Hobby plan does not have a monthly fee. See the fees for other plans on the pricing page. |
Compute and storage costs |
Prorated by the second. If a service is active for ten seconds in a given month, you are billed only for those ten seconds. You are billed for each of the following:
|
Pipeline minutes |
Includes a monthly included amount. Render's build pipeline is responsible for building your project before it's deployed. This includes running each service's build and pre-deploy commands. Each workspace receives a monthly included amount of pipeline minutes (see the pricing page), which are consumed while running these commands. Render also offers a performance pipeline tier for teams with builds that require additional memory and/or CPU. Performance pipeline minutes carry an additional charge and do not provide a monthly included amount. You can set a monthly spend limit for pipeline minutes. If you reach this limit in a given month, Render stops running new builds for your services until the next billing period. |
Outbound bandwidth |
Includes a monthly included amount. Outbound bandwidth includes all network traffic sent by your services to destinations outside of Render. This data includes web pages, API payloads, and so on. Each workspace receives a monthly included amount of outbound bandwidth shared across all services (see the pricing page). If you exceed this, Render bills you for a supplementary amount. Inbound bandwidth (traffic to your services) is free. As part of Render's DDoS protection, Render does not bill for bandwidth usage incurred from a DDoS attack. |
Custom domains |
Each plan includes a set number of custom domains across all services. Additional domains cost $0.25 each per month. See the pricing page for included amounts by plan. |
All of my services run on free instances. Can I still be billed?
Yes, if you've added a payment method. If you exceed your monthly included amount of outbound bandwidth or build pipeline minutes, Render bills you for a supplementary amount. You can set a monthly spend limit for pipeline minutes.
If you haven't added a payment method:
- Exceeding your included outbound bandwidth suspends your services for the remainder of the month.
- Exceeding your included pipeline minutes pauses new builds for the remainder of the month. Your services keep running their most recent builds.
Service behavior
My app runs fine locally. Why does it fail to deploy?
Please see Troubleshooting Your Deploy.
Why is my free service sometimes slow to respond?
Free web service instances spin down if they receive no incoming traffic for 15 consecutive minutes. These services take about a minute to spin back up when they next receive a request.
Paid compute plans do not spin down.
Learn more about free instance limitations, including for Render Postgres and Key Value.
Why do files saved to my service's filesystem disappear?
By default, Render services have an ephemeral filesystem, which means that any changes you make to local files are lost every time a service redeploys or restarts.
For long-term data storage on Render, we recommend one of the following:
- For storage of relational data, create a Render Postgres database.
- For storage of key-value data, create a Render Key Value instance.
- For storage of arbitrary files, attach a persistent disk.
- You can also use a persistent disk to run a custom database instance instead of Render Postgres, such as MySQL.
Can I deploy multiple apps to a single Render service?
It might be possible, but you shouldn't. Run each of your applications in a separate service to ensure proper resource isolation for security and performance.
Let's say you want to deploy an architecture consisting of a frontend site, a backend API, and a datastore. We recommend deploying these as follows:
| App | Service type(s) |
|---|---|
| Frontend site | |
| Backend API | |
| Datastore |
Render Postgres or a custom database backed by a persistent disk |
To help identify which service types are right for your use case, see this flowchart.
Account administration
Can I transfer existing services from one workspace to another?
No, it is not currently possible to transfer existing services between workspaces. Instead, you can:
- Invite team members to collaborate on services in your current workspace
- Recreate your services in the workspace you want to move them to
Render support
Which types of issues can Render's support team help with?
Please see When to contact support.