Koyeb Review
Koyeb is a credible, fast, Paris-built alternative to the big US platforms, with per-second billing, honest eco instances from $1.61 and a strong GPU story. The ecosystem is smaller, but what exists works well.
Review last updated 2026-08-20 · How we rate hosts
Scorecard
Pros
- Deploys Docker containers and Git repos to bare-metal-backed instances worldwide
- Per-second billing with scale-to-zero on eco instances
- Serious GPU catalog (A100s, H100s) for AI inference alongside web services
- Global load balancing over 6+ regions on a single anycast domain
Cons
- Smaller ecosystem and community than Render, Railway or Fly
- Free instance is deliberately minimal and cold-starts after an hour idle
- Platform fees ($29/mo Pro) arrive quickly once you outgrow hobby usage
Koyeb plans & pricing
Promotional monthly rates as of August 20, 2026; most require the listed prepaid term and renew at the higher rate shown. Confirm on Koyeb's site before buying.
| Plan | Intro price | Renews at | Storage | Sites | Bandwidth | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free instanceApp Platforms | $0/mo | $0/mo | 2 GB SSD | One free web service (512 MB RAM, 0.1 vCPU) in Frankfurt or Washington DC; scales to zero after 1 hour idle with a cold start on wake | ||
| Eco instancesApp Platforms | $1.61/mo | $1.61/mo | Shared-CPU instances from $1.61/mo in select regions, billed per second with scale-to-zero | |||
| ProApp Platforms | $29/mo | $29/mo | 1 TB/mo | $29/mo platform fee including $10 of compute; 10 users, 100 services, email support. Scale at $299/mo includes $100 compute and a 99.9% SLA |
Our Koyeb review
Koyeb is the European entrant in the post-Heroku field: a Paris-based platform that runs Git repos and Docker containers on high-performance bare-metal infrastructure across six-plus regions, fronted by a global edge network with built-in load balancing. Deployments feel Render-like (connect repo, pick instance, deploy), with per-second billing and autoscaling, including scale-to-zero, as native features rather than add-ons.
Pricing has two layers. Compute is bought by instance size: the eco line starts at $1.61 a month for the smallest shared-CPU configuration in select regions, undercutting nearly everyone for always-cheap workloads, and standard instances scale up from there. Platform plans sit on top: hobby usage is pay-as-you-go, Pro at $29 a month adds $10 of included compute, 10 users and email support, and Scale at $299 brings a 99.9% SLA. A 1 TB monthly bandwidth allowance on paid plans is more generous than most rivals' metered transfer.
The free tier survives in deliberately modest form: one web service with 512 MB of RAM and 0.1 vCPU, restricted to Frankfurt or Washington DC, which scales to zero after an hour without traffic and cold-starts on the next request. Koyeb has written thoughtfully about sustaining free compute amid abuse, and the constraints reflect that: fine for a demo or webhook, not a production host.
Koyeb's sharpest differentiation in 2026 is AI infrastructure. The same deployment workflow provisions GPU instances from RTX 4000s at $0.50 an hour to H100s at $2.50, plus serverless Postgres, making it one of the few Heroku-style platforms where model inference and the web app calling it live on one bill. For teams building AI products in Europe, data residency plus GPUs is a genuinely rare combination.
Verdict: a well-engineered platform that deserves a bigger community than it has. Choose Koyeb for cheap always-on containers, European hosting or GPU-adjacent workloads; choose the larger platforms when you need their deeper marketplaces, templates and Stack Overflow coverage.
Notable facts
- Runs workloads on bare metal across 6+ regions with a global edge network
- Eco instances start at $1.61/mo, billed by the second
- Offers H100 and A100 GPU instances alongside ordinary web services
At a glance
| Founded | 2019 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Data centers | Washington DC, San Francisco, Frankfurt, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo |
| Hosting types | App Platforms |
| Starting price | $0/mo |
| Support | email, tickets, knowledge-base |
| Free migration | No |
Frequently asked questions
Does Koyeb have a free tier?
Yes, one free web service with 512 MB RAM and 0.1 vCPU in Frankfurt or Washington DC. It scales to zero after an hour of no traffic and cold-starts on the next request, so treat it as a sandbox rather than production hosting.
How does Koyeb compare to Render or Railway?
Similar Git-and-Docker deployment model. Koyeb is cheaper at the very low end ($1.61/mo eco instances), stronger on GPUs and European regions, but has a smaller template ecosystem and community. Its $29/mo Pro platform fee arrives sooner than Render's $25 team tier.
Bottom line
Koyeb is a credible, fast, Paris-built alternative to the big US platforms, with per-second billing, honest eco instances from $1.61 and a strong GPU story. The ecosystem is smaller, but what exists works well.
Check current Koyeb pricing →
