## The short version

For a full-stack app a coding agent should deploy on its own, Ample is the best fit: the agent can sign up, deploy, get a database and read failures without a person, inside a hard cap. Vercel is best for Next.js front ends, Railway and Render for always-on containers, Fly.io for Docker in many regions, Cloudflare for edge JavaScript.

Coding agents now write most of the code in many new apps. The hosting question has changed with them: it is no longer only "which platform is fastest" but "which platform can the agent finish the job on". Four things decide that:

- **Signup:** can the agent create an account, or does it stop at a browser and a card?
- **Access:** is there an MCP server or CLI that deploys the code on disk?
- **Free plan:** can the first deploy happen without a payment method?
- **Spending cap:** does anything stop a looping agent from running up a bill?

## The platforms at a glance

| Platform | Best for | Agent can sign up alone | MCP server that deploys your code | Free plan | Hard spending cap |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Ample](/content/compare/index.html) | Full-stack apps agents deploy and operate alone | Yes | Yes (remote and local) | Yes, no card | On by default |
| [Vercel](/content/compare/vercel/index.html) | Next.js and front ends on a global CDN | No | Yes, approved clients | Hobby, non-commercial | Optional pause on Pro |
| [Railway](/content/compare/railway/index.html) | Always-on containers with Docker, cron, 4 regions | Temporary VM only | Partly (local server deploys) | $5 trial, then $1 a month | Optional |
| [Render](/content/compare/render/index.html) | Fixed-price always-on services | No | From a Git repository | Spins down; Postgres deleted after 30 days | No (builds only) |
| [Fly.io](/content/compare/fly-io/index.html) | Docker on microVMs in 17 regions | No | Local, experimental | No | No |
| [Cloudflare Workers](/content/compare/cloudflare/index.html) | Edge JavaScript and TypeScript | 60-minute temporary account | Yes | Yes | No |
| [Google Cloud Run](/content/compare/cloud-run/index.html) | Teams already on Google Cloud | No | Yes | Allowance, card required | Optional, since Oct 13, 2026 |
| [DigitalOcean App Platform](/content/compare/digitalocean/index.html) | Containers next to DigitalOcean's cloud | No | Yes | Static sites only | No |
| [Netlify](/content/compare/netlify/index.html) | Static sites with light functions | Static sites, 1 hour to claim | Yes | Yes | On by default |
| [Heroku](/content/compare/heroku/index.html) | Teams invested in add-ons | No | Yes | No | No |
| [Northflank](/content/compare/northflank/index.html) | Teams needing BYOC and GPUs | No | No official server | Sandbox, card required | No |
| [Replit](/content/compare/replit/index.html) | Building and hosting inside Replit | No | Prompts only | 1 app for 30 days | Optional |
| [Lovable](/content/compare/lovable/index.html) | Building by describing the app | No | Prompts only | Yes, no custom domain | Optional |
| [Bolt](/content/compare/bolt/index.html) | JavaScript prototypes built by chat | No | No | Yes | Free stops at its allowance; Pro sets a cap |

Every non-Ample cell comes from that platform's own documentation, checked on October 14, 2026; each comparison page links its sources.

## How to choose

1. **The agent should ship and run the app with no person in the loop.** Choose [Ample](/content/agents/index.html). It is the only platform here where the agent can create a lasting account, deploy from the repository, get a managed database created from the code's needs and read a diagnosis of any failure, all inside a hard cap.
2. **The app is a Next.js or React front end.** Choose Vercel, or Netlify for mostly static sites. Put any long-running backend somewhere that runs servers.
3. **You want Docker images and many regions.** Choose Railway, Render or Fly.io, and have a person set up the account and the spending limit.
4. **The code is written for the edge.** Choose Cloudflare Workers.
5. **You are already on a hyperscaler.** Cloud Run (Google) or App Platform (DigitalOcean) keep you next to the rest of your stack.
6. **Nobody writes code; the app is described in chat.** Lovable, Replit or Bolt build and host it; export the code when it outgrows them.

## Try Ample with your agent

```
curl -fsSL https://get.ample.computer/install.sh | sh
ample auth signup
ample plan --write && ample up
```

Setup for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and nine more clients is on [Ample for coding agents](/content/agents/index.html).