I'm still fairly new to web development and currently learning React for front ends and Python with Flask or FastAPI for back ends. Most of my personal projects are React single-page applications paired with Python containers, and I'm trying to find a cheap, efficient way to deploy them.
I'm familiar with keeping the front end and back end separate, but I'm unsure whether I should host them together or use different services. Since I already use Google services, I'm considering Firebase and Cloud Run, although I'm open to better options. At work I mostly develop in a Windows Server environment and run Python applications through IIS, so I'm also wondering whether learning a more Linux-focused deployment setup would be worthwhile.
5 Answers
Whatever platform you choose, configure billing alerts immediately. The important tradeoff isn’t always the base price—it’s whether the service stays running or scales down when nobody is using it. A tiny project can unexpectedly become expensive if resources are left running or the pricing model isn’t understood.
Coolify on a basic VPS is a nice middle ground. It gives you a dashboard and simpler deployments while still letting you host multiple applications on one inexpensive server. It’s also a practical way to start learning Linux without having to configure every deployment step manually.
If you want the easiest managed workflow, services such as Railway, Render, or Vercel are worth checking out. They can connect to a repository and deploy with minimal server configuration. They’re great for getting projects online quickly, though a VPS usually gives you more control and can be cheaper once you host multiple apps.
A small VPS is probably the best fit. You can serve the React build as static files through Nginx and run the Python application behind Gunicorn or Uvicorn. A $5-ish server can handle several small projects, avoids vendor lock-in, and gives you useful Linux and deployment experience.
You could use Cloudflare Pages for the React front end and Cloud Run for Flask or FastAPI. Cloud Run is convenient because it deploys containers and can scale down when idle, so it may cost very little for personal projects. Just remember that scaling to zero means the first request after inactivity can have a noticeable cold start, especially with Python.
That makes sense. I’ve mostly worked with Windows Server so far, but I’m starting to think that getting comfortable with Linux would make my deployment experience more broadly useful.