I've launched a machine learning web app on Google Cloud, but I'm already seeing charges pile up—around $3 in just the first week! This isn't sustainable since the app isn't generating any income yet. My setup includes a Vercel-hosted frontend, two APIs—one for data processing and another for connecting to my ML model—and a MySQL database for storing data. I want to find a free alternative for MySQL hosting that will work with my existing setup. I've tried using CockroachDB and Firebase, but I found both quite confusing. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
4 Answers
How much traffic have you been getting? If it’s not too critical, you could set up a server and host it yourself. If you’ve got an old computer lying around, it might even be free or very cheap!
You might want to check out Supabase's free plan. It's a bit different since it uses Postgres instead of MySQL, but it could fit your needs!
Thanks, I'll look into that!
Why not go for a VPS or a mini PC just for the DB? You can set up WireGuard to secure your connections between everything.
One option is to just buy a VPS and host your own database. I really don't get why so many people pay for AWS or Google Cloud when a simple VPS can do the trick.
Well, AWS and Google offer free tiers to attract new customers, but they end up getting stuck in vendor lock-in because it can be convenient for newbies. I can see the appeal, even if I wouldn’t choose that route myself.
Yeah, but he’s asking for free options right now, which makes more sense!
I’ve been thinking about that! I have a Linux laptop running Pi-hole, but it’s pretty underpowered. What kind of specs do you think I’d need for around 2GB of database storage? I'm unsure about the traffic, as I've only been testing it myself.