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Netlify free plan — the fine print

Detail page for Netlify. The highest-staleness claims, dated and sourced.

Last verified: 2026-06-07

Credits, not a flat allowance

New accounts get 300 credits/month on the free Starter plan — a hard cap you can't top up on free. [confirmed] Bandwidth, compute, and each published update draw it down; when it runs out, all your sites pause and visitors see a "Site not available" page until the next cycle. [confirmed]

The model changed twice in the past year, so re-check live at netlify.com/pricing before relying on any number. [unclear] (pricing model in flux)

The one-hour claim window on an anonymous deploy is confirmed [confirmed]. Netlify takes the link down after that — but the changelog doesn't spell out the exact unclaimed end-state. [unclear] (checked 2026-06-07) Send the link or claim it before the hour is up; once claimed it's permanent on the free plan.

Custom domain timing

The default URL is a random *.netlify.app name, fine to share as-is. Pointing your own domain at it is free but a separate ~10-min DNS step. [estimate] (not re-verified against a Netlify timing doc — checked 2026-06-07)

Where your data lives

Netlify says plainly it won't train AI on your code or content unless you opt in [confirmed], and runs primarily on US cloud infrastructure [unclear] (residency detail is from a support-forum note, not a formal doc — checked 2026-06-07). Fine for a public site; weigh it if a form or function behind it collects regulated personal data.

Sources