What’s the best way to host my MERN stack app cheaply for a few months?

If you want your app running continuously and without cold starts, I recommend getting a small VPS for around $4 to $6 a month from providers like DigitalOcean or Hetzner. You can also pick up an affordable domain for $2 to $5 and point it to your VPS. Set up Node, Mongo, and Nginx, and you'll be all set! This setup is great for learning real deployment processes.

Netlify also allows for a custom domain on their free tier. Might be worth checking out!

Another option is to buy your domain from Namecheap, host your frontend on Vercel for free, and run your backend on Railway or Fly.io using their cheapest plan. This way, you avoid sleeping apps and it will only cost you a few bucks each month. Perfect for a couple of months of practice!

For a cheap domain, definitely check out Namecheap — they often have deals for new users around $1. Just keep an eye on the renewal prices because they can bump up after the first year. 🙂

It's worth noting that many traditional free Node.js hosting services have switched to paid options, usually starting around $5 per month. Some still offer basic free tiers, but be cautious as they might put your app to sleep after a while — Vercel, for instance, provides stable free Node hosting if you configure it right. Good luck!

Setting up a deployment manually is a great learning experience, but it can get a bit repetitive. I've been using tools like Runable to automate parts of my workflow, which helps save time after you've initially set things up.