Stay if you need a global CDN
Netlify serves from a global CDN. If most of your visitors are outside the EU, that is a real advantage. Hostim runs in one region, so distance costs latency.
Hostim vs Netlify
The differences that decide where a site should live.
| Feature | Hostim.dev | Netlify |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat price per app | Credits per account |
| Free plan | No, 5-day trial without a card | Yes, 300 credits a month |
| Entry paid price | €2.50/month | $9/month (Personal, 1,000 credits) |
| Bandwidth | Included in the app price | 20 credits per GB, from the same pool |
| Deploys | Included, about 25–30 seconds per built site | 15 credits per production deploy |
| What happens at the limit | There is no traffic limit to hit | Balance zero pauses every project until the next cycle |
| CDN | No | Yes, global CDN |
| Deploy previews per PR | DIY previews: one app per PR from a GitHub workflow | Yes, built in |
| Forms and functions | No | Yes: forms, serverless and edge functions |
| Backend containers and managed databases | Yes: Docker containers, managed Postgres, MySQL, Redis | No Docker containers, no managed MySQL/Redis |
| Server location | Germany (EU) | Global CDN, no region choice on the pricing page |
Sources: netlify.com/pricing, checked 28 October 2026.
The credit math
Netlify's plans are quoted in credits, so it helps to turn them into bandwidth and deploys.
On the Free plan you get 300 credits a month. At 20 credits per GB, that is 15 GB of bandwidth if nothing else is used. Each production deploy costs 15 credits, so 20 deploys use all 300 credits before the site serves a single request.
On Pro, $20 a month buys 3,000 credits. That is 150 GB of bandwidth with no deploys. Every deploy, every request and every GB-hour of compute draws from the same balance, and when it reaches zero every project on the account pauses until the next cycle. On the Free plan you cannot buy extra credits. Credits reset on the account billing date, not on the 1st of the month.
Hostim does not use credits. One app is €2.50 a month, traffic is included, and the deploy count does not change the bill. For the full story on the change, read our post on Netlify credit pricing.
Who should stay on Netlify
Stay if you use the platform features
Built-in deploy previews, forms, serverless functions and edge functions are all on Netlify. Hostim has none of them built in. A small hobby site that fits inside the free plan is also fine where it is.
Honest limits of Hostim
Hostim has no CDN. A static site runs as one nginx container in one region, Germany. Visitors far from the EU get higher latency. There is no preview button: previews per pull request are DIY previews, one app per PR from a GitHub workflow. There is no form handling, no serverless functions and no edge functions. If you need a global CDN, put Cloudflare (free plan) in front, or stay on a CDN-first host such as Netlify.
Move a site from Netlify
Build the site locally, then upload the build folder. No Dockerfile is needed for this mode.
- Build the site. Run the generator's build command. For example
npm run buildfor Astro, Docusaurus or a Next.js static export,hugo --minifyfor Hugo, orjekyll buildfor Jekyll. - Deploy the build folder.
hostim deploy site --source dist --plan sa-1-1. Usepublicfor Hugo,buildfor Docusaurus,outfor a Next.js static export and_sitewith--staticfor Jekyll. - Point the domain. Pass
--domain www.example.comand Hostim issues a Let's Encrypt certificate automatically. Then move the DNS record from Netlify to Hostim.
The per-generator commands and the nginx behaviour are in the static sites guide, and the hosting model is on static site hosting.
Comparisons
See how Hostim compares.
Side by side against the platform you are moving from, or a round-up covering several at once.
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Netlify alternative FAQ
What is the cheapest Netlify alternative?
Hostim costs €2.50 per month for one app, flat, with traffic included. Netlify Personal costs $9 per month for 1,000 credits, and credits are used by deploys, bandwidth, compute and requests. There is no free plan on Hostim, but there is a 5-day trial with no credit card.
Does Hostim have a CDN?
No. A site runs as one nginx container in Germany, so visitors far from the EU get higher latency. If you need a global CDN, put Cloudflare (free plan) in front of Hostim, or use a CDN-first host such as Netlify.
What happens when a Netlify account runs out of credits?
Every project on the account pauses until the next billing cycle. On the Free plan you cannot buy extra credits. Credits reset on the account billing date, not on the 1st of the month.
Can I host a Next.js site on Hostim instead of Netlify?
Yes, if it is a static export: set output: "export", build, then deploy the out folder. An app that needs server-side rendering runs as a Node container on Hostim. See Next.js hosting for that setup.
Do I need a Dockerfile to move from Netlify?
No. If the build folder has an index.html and no Dockerfile, the CLI adds an nginx Dockerfile and config itself. Keep a Dockerfile only if you want Hostim to build the site in Docker, for example from a Git repository.
Start now
Put something live today.
Open the dashboard and deploy a Docker image, a Git repo or a template. The 5-day trial project needs no card.