Deploy model
Drop in your Express app with a Dockerfile. Hostim handles HTTPS, custom domains, attached PostgreSQL or Redis, and graceful restarts. Health check path is configurable so your /healthz endpoint controls rollout.
Why Express on EU bare metal for the United Kingdom
Express remains the go-to Node.js framework for UK indie devs and agencies. The deployment shape is trivial: one Dockerfile, one process. What matters is the surrounding platform — TLS, custom domain, database, env vars. Hostim provides all four with no config files. The UK GDPR question is closed by EU adequacy. Cost: a single Express container starts at €2.5/month, managed PostgreSQL on the free tier.
Latency, residency and British regulators
Latency. Typical RTT from London to our Falkenstein region is around 22 ms. After Brexit the UK kept GDPR almost unchanged as UK GDPR. EU adequacy was renewed in 2025, so a UK app hosted in Germany serves UK users without extra legal paperwork. Latency from London to Falkenstein is typically 22 ms.
Regulator. ICO (Information Commissioner's Office).
Local law. UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Hostim is operated by HOSTIM.DEV UG, a German company, with all data in Falkenstein, Germany — there is no transfer outside the EU for application data.
Local alternatives you may have considered: Krystal, Civo, Linode (now Akamai), Mythic Beasts.
How Hostim runs Express
Express hosting is a Node.js process bound to a port, fronted by HTTPS. The platform should handle the certificate, the routing, and the restart policy — your code only handles the HTTP layer.
Common pitfalls
Express with synchronous file IO blocks the event loop and will time out under load. Use streaming or push large work to a worker container that talks to the same database.
Typical env vars
NODE_ENV, PORT, DATABASE_URL, JWT_SECRET
FAQ
Is Hostim cheaper than Heroku for an Express app?
Almost always. A Hobby Express app on Heroku is around $7/month plus database; the same on Hostim is €2.5 + free-tier PostgreSQL.
How is the latency from London?
Typical RTT from London to Falkenstein is 22 ms. For Express APIs that mostly hit their own database, this is invisible to users.
Can I use a .co.uk domain?
Yes. Bring your domain, point it at Hostim, and we issue and renew an HTTPS certificate automatically.
Does ICO accept EU hosting for UK users?
Yes. The EU has confirmed UK adequacy through 2031, and UK GDPR is almost identical to EU GDPR. No extra legal paperwork is needed.
Ready to deploy Express?
Spin up an app in minutes. Managed database on the free tier, custom domain included.
The numbers behind this
Platform figures from the published price list, docs and our own benchmark.
€2.50/month
Hostim entry app plan
Plan sa-1-1: 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM. Flat price, billed hourly, no usage meter.
€0
Managed database free tier
PostgreSQL 256 MB, MySQL 256 MB, Redis 128 MB, volume 1 GB. No cap on how many free instances you create.
Included on every plan
Database high availability
PostgreSQL and MySQL run as a primary plus hot standby with automatic failover, shared plans included.
2,708 TPS
Managed PostgreSQL write throughput
pgbench, 4 clients, 300 s, plan drp-50 (2 vCPU / 4 GB). AWS RDS db.t4g.medium scored 1,080 TPS on the same test.
€0/GB
Traffic charges
No ingress fees and no per-GB egress line on app plans.
1 today (Falkenstein, Germany)
Regions
Bare metal, EU only, with more regions planned. No AWS, GCP or Azure underneath.
“Managed PostgreSQL runs as a replicated cluster with automatic failover on every plan, shared and dedicated alike.”
— Hostim.dev docs, managed PostgreSQL
Sources
- Hostim.dev price list — Hostim.dev (checked 2026-08-06)
- Pricing model — plan-based billing, no metering — Hostim.dev docs (checked 2026-08-06)
- Managed PostgreSQL — high availability and failover — Hostim.dev docs (checked 2026-08-06)
- PostgreSQL benchmark: AWS RDS vs Hostim vs self-hosted on Hetzner — Hostim.dev blog, July 2026 (checked 2026-08-06)