Which free hosting lets me run a business site? GitHub Pages, Netlify, Vercel, Cloudflare Pages: what each one's terms say

Two of the four: Netlify's Free plan and Cloudflare Pages allow a business site, while GitHub's terms, effective August 27, 2026, say Pages is not for “your online business, e-commerce site,” and Vercel's fair use guidelines, last updated September 14, 2026, restrict Hobby to “non-commercial personal use only.” Netlify's Free plan announcement says “you can deploy commercial projects.” Cloudflare's agreement, last updated September 12, 2025, sets no personal-use limit but bars collecting card details on free services.

Each host's terms and docs were read on October 23, 2026. This page sets the 4 rules side by side and applies them to 10 kinds of site. Each host has its own page here that goes through it case by case, linked below. Terms change, so check the host's own page before you launch.

The rule at each host

• GitHub Pages: no. GitHub's Terms for Additional Products and Features, effective August 27, 2026, say Pages “is not intended for or allowed to be used as a free web hosting service to run your online business, e-commerce site, or any other website that is primarily directed at either facilitating commercial transactions or providing commercial software as a service (SaaS).” The terms allow “donation buttons and crowdfunding links.” No paid GitHub plan is named as an exception. Details: Can you use GitHub Pages for a commercial or business site?
• Netlify Free: yes. Netlify's Free plan announcement of November 12, 2024 says “On the Free plan, you can deploy commercial projects, personal sites, or other creative explorations.” Its Self-Serve Subscription Agreement, last updated September 8, 2020, sets no use-type limit, and lets Netlify “disable or remove any website project on Netlify’s Free Usage Tier without notice.” The limit that bites is the budget: 300 credits a month on accounts created since September 4, 2025. Details: Is Netlify free?
• Vercel Hobby: no. Vercel's fair use guidelines, last updated September 14, 2026, say “Hobby teams are restricted to non-commercial personal use only. All commercial usage of the platform requires either a Pro or Enterprise plan.” Commercial means a deployment “used for the purpose of financial gain of anyone involved,” and “Asking for Donations does not fall under commercial usage.” Details: Can you use Vercel's Hobby plan for a commercial site?
• Cloudflare Pages Free: yes, with a card rule. Cloudflare's Self-Serve Subscription Agreement, last updated September 12, 2025, lists 10 things you may not do, and none of them bars running a business site. One of them: you may not “process or collect personal or business credit card information on any web property that is receiving Free Services.” Cloudflare's plans page pitches the Free plan “For personal or hobby projects that aren't business-critical,” and Cloudflare doesn't say whether that line limits use. Details: Is Cloudflare Pages free for commercial use?

Case by case at the 4 hosts

Each ruling links to the host document it comes from. Yes means the host allows business use in general, or lists no rule against the site, and names no exception. No means a host rule names the site. “Doesn't say” means a host rule may reach the site and the host doesn't name it, so the host has the final say.

What decides the rows:

• GitHub rules out stores, checkouts, and SaaS by name, and its limits doc adds that Pages shouldn't handle “credit card numbers.” For the rest, its Acceptable Use Policies say the primary focus of what you post, Pages included, “should not be advertising or promotional marketing,” which leaves landing pages, local-business sites, ads, and affiliate sites unruled.
• Netlify states commercial use in one general sentence and names no exception, so most rows read Yes. Paid client hosting reads “doesn't say”: Netlify's Acceptable Use Policy, which “applies to all uses of Netlify Services and website,” says “Users must not modify, create derivative works based on or in any manner commercially exploit the Netlify Services or website,” and Netlify doesn't name client work. On accounts created since September 4, 2025, the 300 monthly credits, not the terms, end a busy Free site: when they run out, “all of your web projects (sites/apps) are paused,” per Netlify's credit docs.
• Vercel names 5 examples of commercial use: payment from visitors, “Advertising the sale of a product or service,” “Receiving payment to create, update, or host the site,” affiliate linking as the primary purpose, and ads. A local business's site advertises what it sells, so that row reads No. A portfolio that offers your services is close to “Advertising the sale of a product or service,” but Vercel doesn't name it, so ask Vercel Support.
• Cloudflare lists what you may not do, and running a business isn't on the list. The card rule stops a checkout form on your own site, and it doesn't mention a checkout or donate page on the payment provider's own site. The rule against signing up “on behalf of a third party” leaves client accounts unclear.

Free plans side by side

More free hosts, including Tiiny Host, Carrd, and Google Sites, are in free landing page hosting with a form. How each host behaves when a page gets busy is in free hosting traffic limits compared.

Convika for a one-page business site

Convika hosts landing pages, one HTML page each, with a form that keeps entries and stats on who visited. Section 7 of its terms allows commercial use on every plan, Free included: a page that sells or advertises a product or service, a startup or waitlist page, a portfolio that offers your services for hire, or a client's page you build, host, and bill the client for. On commercial use, the one thing it bars is reselling Convika itself without permission, for example selling access to Convika accounts, its API, or its MCP server as your own hosting product.

Drop the page's HTML file in the box, up to 2 MB, to see it on a preview link with no account. The link works for 3 minutes. To keep the page, sign up free and publish it: Convika adds a form that keeps 50 entries a month on Free and emails you each one, shows visits, referrers, UTM campaigns, devices, countries, and button clicks for 90 days, and connects 1 custom subdomain, such as www.yourbrand.com.

Free includes 1 published page and 10,000 page views a month, with a small “Convika: share your HTML as a link, free” badge. Pro removes the badge and the form cap. Pro costs $12 a month. Convika hosts one HTML page per site and connects subdomains such as www, not a bare domain, so a site with several routes or a build step fits Netlify or Cloudflare Pages better.

Which one to pick

• One landing page that sells, takes signups, or advertises your business: Pick Convika's Free plan, with the form and stats built in.
• A business site with several pages or a build step: Pick Netlify's Free plan, counting deploys against the 300 monthly credits of accounts created since September 4, 2025, or Cloudflare Pages, as long as card numbers aren't typed into your own pages (a checkout on the payment provider's site isn't named either way).
• A Next.js app or anything already on Vercel: Pick Vercel Pro at $20 a month. Hobby is for non-commercial use only.
• An open-source project's site, docs, or a personal blog: Stay on GitHub Pages.

Frequently asked questions

Is there free hosting that allows commercial use?

Yes. Netlify's Free plan announcement says “you can deploy commercial projects,” and Cloudflare's agreement sets no personal-use limit on free services, though it bars collecting card details on them. Convika's terms allow commercial use on every plan, Free included. GitHub rules out running an online business or store on Pages, and Vercel Hobby is for non-commercial personal use only.

Can I use GitHub Pages for a business website?

No, not to run the business online. GitHub's terms rule out “your online business, e-commerce site,” any site “primarily directed at … facilitating commercial transactions,” and SaaS. A page that only describes a local business isn't named either way. The page GitHub Pages commercial use goes through 10 kinds of site.

Can I use Vercel's free plan for a business site?

No. Vercel's fair use guidelines say “Hobby teams are restricted to non-commercial personal use only.” Advertising a product or service, taking payment, running ads, and being paid to build the site all count as commercial. A business site needs Vercel Pro, $20 a month.

Is Netlify's free plan OK for a business site?

Yes. Netlify's Free plan announcement says “you can deploy commercial projects,” and Netlify's terms set no use-type limit. The catch is the budget: on accounts created since September 4, 2025, Netlify Free has 300 credits a month, a production deploy costs 15, and every project pauses when the credits run out.

Is Cloudflare Pages OK for a business site?

Yes. Cloudflare's agreement sets no personal-use limit on free services, and no rule in it bars the site. The one rule aimed at selling: you may not “process or collect personal or business credit card information on any web property that is receiving Free Services.” Cloudflare's plans page pitches the Free plan “For personal or hobby projects that aren't business-critical,” and Cloudflare doesn't say whether that line limits use. Requests to static files are free and unlimited.

Can I take payments on a free host?

Yes, on Netlify's Free plan, which allows commercial projects and sets no card rule. On Cloudflare's free services, card numbers may not be collected on your own site, and a checkout on the payment provider's own site isn't named either way. GitHub Pages rules out sites built for “commercial transactions,” and Vercel Hobby rules out “Any method of requesting or processing payment from visitors of the site.”

Can I host a client's website on a free plan?

Yes, on Convika's Free plan, whose terms let freelancers and agencies build a client's page, host it, and bill the client, on every plan. Netlify doesn't name client work, and its Acceptable Use Policy says users must not “in any manner commercially exploit the Netlify Services or website.” Vercel Hobby rules out “Receiving payment to create, update, or host the site.” Cloudflare bars signing up for an account “on behalf of a third party” without its written permission, and GitHub doesn't name client work.

Does a paid plan lift GitHub Pages' business rule?

No. GitHub's terms give Pages to “Each Account” and name no paid plan as an exception. GitHub Pro, Team, and Enterprise Cloud can publish Pages from a private repository, but the business rule still applies.

Can I run a business site on Lovable's free plan?

Yes. Lovable's terms license its services “for your personal or internal business purposes,” including websites you build and make available. On Lovable's Free plan the site lives on a lovable.app address, and connecting your own domain needs a paid plan. The page Can I use Lovable's free plan for a business site? goes through it.

Can I use my own domain on a free host for a business?

Yes. Netlify's Free plan includes custom domains with SSL, Cloudflare Pages connects up to 100 per project, and Convika's Free plan connects 1 custom subdomain, such as www.yourbrand.com. GitHub Pages and Vercel Hobby connect custom domains too, but GitHub rules out running an online business or store on Pages, and Vercel Hobby is for non-commercial personal use only. You still buy the domain from a registrar.

Sources

Each source was read on October 23, 2026 (JST). Dates in parentheses are the document's own.

• GitHub Terms for Additional Products and Features (effective August 27, 2026)
• GitHub Pages limits (no date on the page)
• GitHub Acceptable Use Policies (no date on the page)
• GitHub Pages custom domains (no date on the page)
• Creating a GitHub Pages site (no date on the page)
• Netlify Free plan announcement (November 12, 2024)
• Netlify Self-Serve Subscription Agreement (last updated September 8, 2020)
• Netlify pricing (no date on the page)
• Netlify: How credits work (last updated August 12, 2026)
• Netlify: Credit-based pricing plans (last updated September 1, 2026)
• Netlify Acceptable Use Policy (last updated March 8, 2023)
• Vercel fair use guidelines (last updated September 14, 2026)
• Vercel Hobby plan (last updated September 14, 2026)
• Vercel Pro plan (last updated September 15, 2026)
• Cloudflare Self-Serve Subscription Agreement (last updated September 12, 2025)
• Cloudflare plans (no date on the page)
• Cloudflare Pages limits (last updated September 5, 2026)
• Cloudflare Pages Functions pricing (last updated September 8, 2026)
• Cloudflare Workers pricing (last updated October 2, 2026)
• Lovable Terms of Service (last updated August 28, 2026)