35+ Free Heroku Alternatives Telegram Bot Hosting For Free (2026)
Free heroku alternatives telegram bot hosting all are Fee.
35+ Free Heroku Alternatives to Host Your Telegram Bot (2025) – No Credit Card Needed. Heroku removed it’s free tier. Discover 35+ best free Heroku alternatives to host your Telegram bot for free in 2026. No credit card required. Includes Railway, Render, Fly.io, Oracle Cloud & more.
35+ Free Heroku Alternatives to Host Your Telegram Bot for Free (2026)
Best Heroku Alternatives
The best free Heroku alternatives for hosting a Telegram bot in 2026 are Railway.app (easiest setup), Render.com (most reliable), Fly.io (most flexible), Oracle Cloud Free Tier (most powerful — 24GB RAM free forever) and Koyeb (no credit card needed). All five offer always-on free tiers with full support for Python and Node.js.
Main Story
If you’ve been using Heroku to host your Telegram bot for free, you already know the bad news — Heroku permanently killed its free tier on November 28, 2022. Since that day, millions of developers have been scrambling to find free alternatives to keep their bots alive and running 24/7.
Here’s the good news: the cloud hosting landscape has exploded with competition since Heroku’s decision and in 2026 there are now 35+ legitimate platforms where you can host your Telegram bot completely free of charge — many of them better than Heroku ever was.
Whether you’re a beginner building your first Python bot using python-telegram-bot or an experienced developer running multiple production bots with databases, this complete guide covers every free hosting option available in 2026 — ranked by ease of use, uptime reliability, language support and features.
By the end of this post, you will know exactly which platform to use, how to deploy your bot in minutes and how to keep it running 24/7 without spending a single dollar. The Blog Is About Free Heroku Alternatives Telegram Bot Hosting For Free.
Why Did Heroku Remove Its Free Tier?
In August 2022, Heroku — owned by Salesforce — announced what became one of the most controversial decisions in the indie developer world: all free dynos, free Postgres databases, and free Redis add-ons would be permanently deleted on November 28, 2022.
The platform cited widespread free-tier abuse as the primary reason. Cryptocurrency miners were exploiting thousands of free dynos to generate income. Spam bot operators ran mass messaging campaigns. Poorly maintained projects sat idle consuming server resources for months. The sheer volume of abuse made the free tier financially unsustainable for Salesforce.
The result was devastating for the developer community. Millions of Telegram bots, Discord bots, hobby APIs, student projects and open-source tools went offline overnight.
The silver lining: Heroku’s exit from the free tier triggered fierce competition among rival platforms. In 2025, there are more generous, more reliable and more developer-friendly free hosting options than ever before. Many platforms explicitly targeted Heroku’s displaced developer base with improved free tiers and Heroku-like workflows.
What to Look for in Free Telegram Bot Hosting
Not all free hosting platforms work well for Telegram bots. Before choosing one, evaluate these critical factors:
Always-On Uptime (Most Important): Telegram bots using long-polling need a persistent connection to Telegram’s servers. If your hosting platform puts your app to sleep after inactivity your bot misses messages during downtime. Look for platforms with no idle/sleep mode.
Sufficient Free RAM: Your bot needs at least 256MB RAM to run comfortably. Python bots with libraries like python-telegram-bot typically consume 80–150MB. Node.js bots are slightly lighter.
True Free Tier (No Hidden Credit Card Tricks): Some platforms advertise “free” but require a credit card that gets charged once the trial ends. Look for platforms with genuinely free permanent tiers.
Environment Variables: You must store your Telegram BOT_TOKEN securely as an environment variable — never hardcode it in your code. Every serious hosting platform supports this.
GitHub CI/CD Integration: Auto-deploy on every git push keeps your workflow smooth. The best platforms connect directly to GitHub and redeploy automatically.
Persistent Storage: If your bot stores user data, conversation history, or configurations, you need either a database add-on or persistent file storage.
Quick Comparison Table — All 35 Platforms
| # | Platform | Free RAM | Sleep Mode | Always Free? | Credit Card? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Railway | 512MB | None ✅ | Yes ($5 credit) | No | All bots |
| 2 | Render | 512MB | None (worker) ✅ | Yes | No | Reliable 24/7 |
| 3 | Fly.io | 256MB × 3 | None ✅ | Yes | Optional | Docker bots |
| 4 | Koyeb | 512MB | None ✅ | Yes | No | EU/US bots |
| 5 | Oracle Cloud | 24GB total | None ✅ | Forever | Required | Multiple bots |
| 6 | Cyclic.sh | 1GB | None ✅ | Yes | No | Node.js bots |
| 7 | GCP e2-micro | 1GB | None ✅ | Forever | Required | Full VM |
| 8 | Cloudflare Workers | 128MB | None ✅ | 100K/day | No | Webhook bots |
| 9 | Vercel | 1024MB | Serverless | Yes | No | Webhook bots |
| 10 | AWS Lambda | 3008MB | None | 1M/month | Required | Serverless |
| 11 | Deta Space | 128MB | Partial | Yes | No | Python bots |
| 12 | PythonAnywhere | 512MB | Partial | Yes | No | Python only |
| 13 | Supabase Edge | — | Serverless | 2M/month | No | TS + database |
| 14 | Google Cloud Run | 1GB | Scale-to-zero | Yes | Required | Container bots |
| 15 | Netlify Functions | 1024MB | Serverless | 125K/month | No | Webhook bots |
| 16 | Zeabur | 512MB | None ✅ | $5 credit | No | Asia bots |
| 17 | Back4App | 256MB | None ✅ | Yes | No | Node + database |
| 18 | Northflank | 512MB | None ✅ | 1 service | No | Docker |
| 19 | Qoddi | 512MB | None ✅ | 3 apps | No | Multi-bot |
| 20 | Adaptable.io | 512MB | None ✅ | Yes | No | Zero-config |
| 21 | Glitch | 512MB | 5 min ⚠️ | Yes | No | Beginners |
| 22 | Replit | 512MB | Yes ⚠️ | Yes | No | Learning |
| 23 | Hugging Face | 16GB CPU | Partial | Yes | No | AI bots |
| 24 | IBM Cloud Lite | 256MB | None ✅ | Forever | No | Enterprise |
| 25 | Val.town | — | Serverless | Yes | No | TypeScript |
| 26 | Pipedream | — | Serverless | 500/month | No | Automation |
| 27 | Fl0.com | 512MB | None ✅ | Yes | No | Docker |
| 28 | Porter Cloud | 512MB | None ✅ | $5 credit | No | Kubernetes |
| 29 | Napkin.io | 256MB | Serverless | Yes | No | Quick prototypes |
| 30 | Zeet.co | 512MB | None ✅ | $10 credit | No | DevOps |
| 31 | AWS EC2 t2.micro | 1GB | None ✅ | 12 months | Required | Full VPS |
| 32 | Azure B1s VM | 1GB | None ✅ | 12 months | Required | Full VPS |
| 33 | CodeSandbox | 1GB | Yes ⚠️ | Yes | No | Development |
| 34 | Stormkit.io | — | Serverless | 25K/month | No | JS/TS |
| 35 | Codesphere | 1GB | None ✅ | Yes | No | IDE + hosting |
🥇 Tier 1: Best Free Heroku Alternatives (Top 7)
These are the platforms you should try first. All offer always-on uptime, no credit card requirements, easy GitHub deployments, and generous free resources — the complete package.
1. Railway.app — Best Overall Free Heroku Alternative
Best for: All developers — the closest experience to Heroku
Railway is universally regarded as the number one replacement for Heroku’s developer experience. It launched specifically to serve Heroku refugees and it shows — the dashboard, workflow and deployment process feel intentionally familiar.
Railway offers $5/month free credit on the Hobby plan (no credit card required for the Trial plan). Most simple Python or Node.js Telegram bots running continuously consume roughly $0.50–$1.50 in compute per month, well within the free credit. Railway supports every major language and framework natively — it auto-detects your stack from your repository.
Free Plan Details:
- $5/month free credit
- 512MB RAM, shared vCPU
- No sleep mode — always on
- All major languages and frameworks
- GitHub auto-deploy on every push
- Custom domains with free SSL
- Environment variables dashboard
- Real-time deployment logs
How to Deploy in 5 Minutes: Connect your GitHub repository → Railway auto-detects Python or Node.js → Add BOT_TOKEN as an environment variable → Click Deploy. Your bot is live.
Pro Tip: Set your start command explicitly in Railway’s settings. For Python:
python bot.py. For Node.js:node index.js. This prevents Railway from guessing incorrectly on complex projects.
2. Render.com — Most Reliable Always-On Free Tier
Best for: Developers who need guaranteed 24/7 uptime
Render is a cloud platform built for modern applications. For Telegram bots, the critical feature is their Background Worker service type — unlike Web Services that sleep after 15 minutes of inactivity, Background Workers run continuously even on the free plan.
This distinction is the single most important thing to know about Render: always deploy your bot as a Background Worker, not a Web Service.
Free Plan Details:
- 750 hours/month (covers a full month for one bot)
- 512MB RAM per service
- No sleep mode for Background Workers
- Python, Node.js, Ruby, Go, Rust & PHP support
- GitHub and GitLab auto-deploy
- Free PostgreSQL database (90-day expiry on free tier)
- Custom domains with free SSL
Critical Warning: When creating a new service on Render select “Background Worker” — not “Web Service.” Web services on the free tier spin down after 15 minutes of inactivity causing your polling bot to lose its connection and miss messages.
3. Fly.io — Most Flexible Free Docker-Based Hosting
Best for: Developers who want Docker control and multiple bots
Fly.io offers one of the most genuinely generous free tiers in cloud hosting. You get 3 shared-CPU VMs with 256MB RAM each plus 160GB outbound bandwidth and 3GB persistent volumes — all free, forever, no tricks. Because it’s Docker-based you can run a Telegram bot in any language any framework any runtime.
The flyctl command-line tool is excellent. Running fly launch in your project directory automatically detects your stack, generates a Dockerfile and configures deployment in under a minute.
Free Plan Details:
- 3 always-on VMs (256MB RAM, shared CPU each)
- 160GB outbound bandwidth/month
- 3GB persistent volume storage
- Any language via Docker containers
- GitHub Actions CI/CD integration
- Global regions (US, Europe, Asia-Pacific, etc.)
- Credit card optional for small free-tier usage
Pro Tip: Store your BOT_TOKEN securely using
fly secrets set BOT_TOKEN=your_token_here. Fly.io injects secrets as environment variables at runtime — they’re encrypted and never visible in logs or deployment history.
4. Koyeb — Best No-Credit-Card Always-On Free Tier
Best for: Developers who want zero financial commitment
Koyeb’s Hobby plan offers 2 nano services (512MB RAM, 0.1 vCPU each) with absolutely no sleep mode and no credit card requirement. It’s one of the few platforms that combines genuinely always-on uptime with a true zero-friction signup. Koyeb has data centers in Washington D.C. and Frankfurt, Germany, giving you low-latency options for both US and European audiences.
Free Plan Details:
- 2 nano services running simultaneously
- 512MB RAM per service
- 0.1 vCPU per service
- No sleep mode ever
- US East and EU West regions
- GitHub and Docker deployments
- Custom domains with SSL
- No credit card required — ever
5. Oracle Cloud Free Tier — Most Powerful Free Hosting Available
Best for: Developers who want maximum resources for free, forever
Oracle Cloud’s Always Free tier is the single most powerful free hosting offer anywhere on the internet, and most developers are unaware of it. You get a choice of either 2 AMD VMs (1GB RAM each) or far more impressive 4 Ampere A1 ARM VMs with a combined 24GB RAM and 4 OCPUs — completely free, with no time limit, no expiry and no tricks.
This is a full virtual machine. You have root access, can install any software, run any language, set up a database, run multiple bots simultaneously and configure the server exactly as you wish. The 24GB ARM option is particularly extraordinary — it gives you more RAM than most paid hosting plans.
Free Plan Details:
- 4 Ampere A1 ARM VMs (24GB total RAM, 4 OCPU total) — free forever
- OR 2 AMD VMs (1GB RAM, 0.125 OCPU each) — free forever
- 200GB block storage
- 10GB object storage
- Free Autonomous Database (20GB)
- Free Load Balancer
- No time limit — truly permanent
- Credit card required to sign up (will not be charged on free tier)
Pro Tip: Choose the Ampere A1 ARM instance (not the AMD one) to get the maximum 24GB RAM. Install Ubuntu 22.04, then use systemd to create a service file for your bot so it automatically starts on boot and restarts if it crashes. wow!
6. Cyclic.sh — Best Free Platform for Node.js Telegram Bots.
Best for: Node.js developers who want zero-configuration deployment
Cyclic is purpose-built for Node.js applications with a deployment experience that requires literally zero configuration. Connect your GitHub repository and Cyclic deploys your bot automatically on every push. No Profile, no Dockerfile & no build scripts needed.
What makes Cyclic unique is the inclusion of a free DynamoDB database with every deployment — perfect for bots that need to store user data, conversation state or configuration without setting up a separate database service.
Free Plan Details:
- Unlimited apps on the free tier
- 1GB RAM per app
- No sleep mode — always on
- Built-in DynamoDB database
- GitHub auto-deploy on push
- No credit card required
- Node.js native support (other runtimes limited)
Currently Shut Down Thy their Service.
7. Google Cloud e2-micro VM — Google’s Always-Free Linux Server.
Best for: Developers comfortable with Linux command line
Google Cloud’s Always Free tier includes one e2-micro instance (0.25 vCPU, 1GB RAM) in select US regions — completely free forever. Unlike free trials that expire this is a permanent always-free offering. You get a full Linux virtual machine with root access where you can install Python, Node.js or any other runtime.
Set up system to run your Telegram bot as a system service, and it will restart automatically on crashes and server reboots providing rock-solid 24/7 uptime for free and permanently.
Free Plan Details:
- 1 e2-micro VM (0.25 vCPU, 1GB RAM)
- 30GB HDD storage
- 1GB egress bandwidth/month
- Permanent — no expiry
- Full root Linux access
- US regions only (Oregon, Iowa and South Carolina)
- Credit card required to sign up (won’t be charged)
🥈 Tier 2: Solid Free Platforms (Platforms 8–20)
8. Cloudflare Workers — 100,000 Free Requests Per Day.
Best for: Developers wanting ultra-fast globally distributed webhook bots
Cloudflare Workers run at the edge across 300+ global locations, meaning your bot responds to Telegram in milliseconds from wherever your users are. The free tier includes 100,000 requests per day — more than enough for virtually any Telegram bot. Workers use the V8 JavaScript engine and support TypeScript and WebAssembly natively.
Important limitation: Cloudflare Workers are stateless and serverless, so they only work with webhook mode — not long-polling. You must configure your bot to receive messages via a Cloudflare Workers URL.
Free Plan: 100K requests/day, 128MB memory, 10ms CPU time per request, 1GB KV storage & no credit card required.
9. Vercel — Serverless Functions for Webhook-Based Bots
Best for: Node.js and Python developers already using Vercel
Vercel’s serverless functions handle Telegram webhook requests with generous free limits 100GB bandwidth, unlimited function invocations and up to 60 seconds execution time on the Hobby plan. If you’re already hosting a Telegram bot’s website or admin panel on Vercel running the bot logic in the same project is extremely convenient.
Free Plan: 100GB bandwidth/month, 1024MB per function, 60-second timeout, all major languages, no credit card required. Webhook mode only.
10. AWS Lambda — 1 Million Free Invocations Per Month, Forever
Best for: Developers integrated with the AWS ecosystem
AWS Lambda’s free tier is genuinely permanent — even after your 12-month AWS free trial expires, you keep 1 million free Lambda invocations and 400,000 GB-seconds of compute per month. For a Telegram bot receiving messages via webhooks, this is effectively unlimited for personal projects. Lambda supports Python, Node.js, Go, Java, Ruby and .NET.
Free Plan: 1M invocations/month permanently, up to 3008MB RAM, multiple languages, credit card required webhook mode only (API Gateway may have costs).
11. Deta Space — Free Python and Node.js Micro-VMs
Best for: Python developers wanting simple deployment with a built-in database
Deta Space offers a completely free personal cloud platform with “Micros” — lightweight VMs designed for Python and Node.js. Each Micro gets a unique HTTPS URL automatically making webhook setup trivial. Deta Base (NoSQL key-value database) and Deta Drive (file storage) are included completely free — ideal for bots that need data persistence without external database setup.
Free Plan: Unlimited Micros, 128MB RAM each, Deta Base database free, Deta Drive storage free & no credit card required.
12. PythonAnywhere — Python-Specialist Hosting
Best for: Python-only developers who prefer a browser-based IDE
PythonAnywhere is a Python-focused cloud platform with a permanent free Beginner tier. It includes a MySQL database, a browser-based code editor and a Linux console. The free tier doesn’t offer a true always-on background process, but you can run your bot from the console or use their scheduled tasks feature. The platform is particularly popular among Python learners because everything is preconfigured.
Free Plan: 1 web app, 512MB storage, MySQL database, browser IDE, scheduled tasks (1 on free tier) and Python only.
13. Supabase Edge Functions — Webhook + Free PostgreSQL Database
Best for: TypeScript developers needing a real relational database
Supabase Edge Functions (built on Deno Deploy) handle Telegram webhooks while giving you access to a full free PostgreSQL database with 500MB storage. This combination is powerful for bots that store user profiles, track conversation history or manage complex data relationships. The free tier includes 2 million function invocations per month.
Free Plan: 2M invocations/month, 500MB PostgreSQL, TypeScript (Deno) only, webhook mode, no credit card required.
14. Google Cloud Run — Container-Based Serverless
Best for: Docker users wanting Google’s infrastructure
Google Cloud Run’s Always Free tier includes 2 million requests per month at no cost. By default, Cloud Run scales to zero (sleeping), but setting --min-instances=1 keeps your bot always warm. Works with any language via Docker containers and integrates deeply with Google’s ecosystem of services.
Free Plan: 2M requests/month, 360,000 GB-seconds compute, 1GB RAM containers, Docker-based and credit card required.
15. Netlify Functions — 125K Free Calls Per Month
Best for: Developers with existing Netlify sites
Netlify Functions provide 125,000 free serverless invocations per month with 1024MB RAM and a 10-second timeout per call. Ideal for lightweight webhook bots. The tight integration with Netlify’s frontend hosting makes it perfect if you’re building a Telegram bot alongside a website in the same project.
Free Plan: 125K calls/month, 1024MB RAM, 10-second timeout, Node.js and Go, webhook only and no credit card required.
16. Zeabur — Rising Star for Asian Developers
Best for: Developers in Southeast Asia and East Asia
Zeabur is a rapidly growing deployment platform with $5/month free credit and data centers in both the US and Asia-Pacific regions. One-click GitHub deployments, zero-config language detection, and no credit card requirement make it very accessible. Particularly fast for users in Southeast Asia due to its regional infrastructure.
Free Plan: $5/month credit, 512MB RAM, no sleep mode, US and Asia-Pacific regions and no credit card required.
17. Back4App — Parse Platform with Built-In Database
Best for: Developers wanting a backend-as-a-service with database
Back4App runs on the open-source Parse Platform and offers 250MB database storage and 1GB monthly transfer on its free tier. Cloud Code functions run Node.js server-side logic triggered by webhooks — perfect for bots needing a structured database for user data, analytics, or content management.
Free Plan: 250MB database, 1GB transfer/month, Cloud Code (Node.js), built-in user management and no credit card required.
18. Northflank — 1 Free Always-On Docker Service
Best for: DevOps-oriented developers wanting full container control
Northflank’s Developer plan includes 1 free service with 0.2 vCPU and 512MB RAM — no sleeping, no credit card. It’s more enterprise-oriented with advanced features like deployment pipelines, secret management, and job scheduling. For developers who want infrastructure-as-code control over a free Telegram bot host, it’s an excellent choice.
Free Plan: 1 service, 0.2 vCPU, 512MB RAM, no sleep, GitHub and Docker support and no credit card required.
19. Qoddi — 3 Free Always-On Apps
Best for: Developers running multiple bots simultaneously
Qoddi offers a permanently free tier with 3 apps at 512MB RAM each — all always-on, no sleep. GitHub auto-deployments, all major languages, custom domains, and free SSL are included. Running 3 separate Telegram bots simultaneously on a single free account makes Qoddi exceptional value.
Free Plan: 3 apps, 512MB RAM each, no sleep mode, GitHub CI/CD, all languages and no credit card required.
20. Adaptable.io — Zero Configuration GitHub Deployment
Best for: Developers who want Heroku-like zero-config simplicity
Adaptable connects directly to your GitHub repository and deploys your app with literally zero configuration. It detects Python or Node.js automatically, installs dependencies, configures the runtime, and keeps your process running continuously. No Procfile, no Dockerfile, no setup scripts — just push code and it works.
Free Plan: 1 app, zero-config deployment, no sleep mode, Python and Node.js and no credit card required.
🥉 Tier 3: Good Options With Limitations (Platforms 21–30)
21. Glitch.com — Browser IDE With Sleep Mode Workaround
Glitch is a beloved browser-based platform for Node.js apps. Projects sleep after 5 minutes of inactivity on the free tier, but a simple workaround fixes this permanently: create a free UptimeRobot account, add an HTTP monitor pointing to your Glitch project URL, and set the check interval to 5 minutes. UptimeRobot will ping your app every 5 minutes, keeping it awake indefinitely.
Free Plan: 512MB RAM, unlimited public projects, browser IDE and sleep after 5 min idle (fixable with UptimeRobot ping).
Sleep Fix: Sign up at uptimerobot.com → New Monitor → HTTP(s) → paste your Glitch URL → 5-minute interval → Save. Done. Your bot stays awake forever for free.
Their Service Is Closed Now.
22. Replit — Best Platform for Beginners Learning Bot Development
Replit supports 50+ programming languages with a full browser IDE, making it the go-to platform for beginners. The free tier sleeps apps, but the same UptimeRobot ping trick works here. Replit’s community templates mean you can find Telegram bot starter code and deploy it in one click, making it unbeatable for learning.
Free Plan: 512MB RAM, 50+ languages, full browser IDE, sleep mode (fixable) and Always On available at $7/month.
23. Hugging Face Spaces — 16GB RAM Free for AI Bots
If your Telegram bot uses AI or machine learning — natural language processing, image generation, sentiment analysis — Hugging Face Spaces is unbeatable. CPU Spaces get 16GB RAM for free with full access to the Hugging Face model hub and pre-installed ML libraries including Transformers, Diffusers and Gradio.
Free Plan: 16GB RAM, CPU-based, all major ML libraries, Python, permanent free tier and no credit card required.
24. IBM Cloud Lite — Enterprise-Grade Free Forever
IBM Cloud’s Lite plan offers permanently free Cloud Foundry runtime services. While limited at 256MB RAM, it supports Python, Node.js, and Java apps with no time expiry. IBM also offers free Cloudant database, Watson AI APIs (natural language, speech-to-text) and Object Storage — making it excellent for feature-rich AI bots on a budget.
Free Plan: 256MB RAM, forever, Node.js/Python/Java, Cloudant database free, Watson AI APIs free and no credit card required.
25. Val.town — Tiny TypeScript Functions That Actually Work
Val.town lets you write serverless TypeScript functions (“vals”) directly in the browser. Each val gets an HTTP endpoint URL that can serve as a Telegram webhook. The free tier includes unlimited vals, HTTP triggers, scheduled runs and email triggers. Perfect for lightweight bots that respond to commands without complex state management.
Free Plan: Unlimited vals, HTTP endpoints, scheduled runs, TypeScript only, webhook mode and no credit card required.
26. Pipedream — Workflow Automation for Connected Bots
Pipedream is a workflow automation platform where you build event-driven Node.js pipelines. The free tier includes 500 workflow executions per month with access to 800+ pre-built integrations — Google Sheets, Gmail, Slack, Twitter, GitHub, Stripe, and more. If your Telegram bot needs to interact with external services, Pipedream’s native integrations save enormous development time.
Free Plan: 500 executions/month, Node.js, 800+ integrations, webhook triggers, no credit card required.
27. Fl0.com — Docker-First Platform With Always-On Free Apps
Fl0 is a developer-focused platform specializing in containerized deployments. The free tier offers 1 app with 512MB RAM, no sleep mode, GitHub auto-deployments, and environment variable management. While less feature-rich than Railway or Render, Fl0 is rock-solid for a single always-on Telegram bot.
Free Plan: 1 app, 512MB RAM, no sleep mode, Docker support, GitHub CI/CD, no credit card required.
28. Porter Cloud — Kubernetes-Powered With $5 Monthly Credit
Porter abstracts Kubernetes complexity into a developer-friendly interface. The free tier includes $5/month credit — enough for a continuously running lightweight bot. Porter integrates with GitHub and supports any Dockerized application. Ideal for developers who want to learn Kubernetes while still running their bot for free.
Free Plan: $5/month credit, Kubernetes-based, 512MB RAM, GitHub CI/CD, no sleep mode and no credit card required.
29. Napkin.io — Write Serverless Bot Functions in the Browser
Napkin.io lets you write and host serverless Node.js functions entirely in the browser — no terminal, no CLI, no configuration. Each function gets a unique HTTPS URL endpoint automatically. Free tier supports unlimited functions with HTTP triggers. Perfect for rapid prototyping of webhook-based Telegram bots without any local setup.
Free Plan: Unlimited functions, HTTP triggers, 256MB RAM, browser-based editor, Node.js and webhook mode only.
30. Zeet.co — The Most Generous Credit-Based Free Tier
Zeet provides a unified DevOps platform with $10/month free credit — the highest free credit of any platform in this list. It supports GitHub, Docker, Helm charts, and Terraform. Ideal for developers managing multiple projects who want a single dashboard for all deployments including their Telegram bot.
Free Plan: $10/month credit, Docker/Helm/Terraform support, no sleep mode, all languages, no credit card required.
🖥️ Tier 4: Free VPS and Server Options (Platforms 31–35)
31. AWS EC2 t2.micro — Amazon’s 12-Month Free Linux Server
New AWS accounts receive 750 hours/month of a t2.micro instance (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM) free for 12 months. This is a full Linux VPS with root access — install any runtime, configure any software, run multiple bots. After 12 months the trial expires, but 12 months gives you ample time to evaluate paid options or migrate.
Free Plan: 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 30GB SSD, 12-month trial, credit card required and Ubuntu/Amazon Linux supported.
32. Microsoft Azure B1s VM — 12-Month Free Windows or Linux Server
Azure’s free account includes 750 hours/month of a B1s VM (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM) free for 12 months plus $200 in credits for the first 30 days. Unlike AWS, Azure supports both Windows Server and Linux on the free VM. Particularly useful if you’re already using Microsoft services or developing in a Windows ecosystem.
Free Plan: 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 64GB managed disk, Windows or Linux, 12-month trial and credit card required.
33. CodeSandbox — Cloud IDE With Container Hosting
CodeSandbox runs full Docker containers in the browser with 1GB RAM on the free tier. While containers hibernate when idle (use the UptimeRobot ping workaround), the in-browser VS Code environment makes development and hosting in the same place very convenient for developers who work across multiple devices.
Free Plan: 1GB RAM, browser-based VS Code, hibernate on idle (fixable), Python and Node.js, no credit card required.
34. Stormkit.io — 25K Free Deployments for JavaScript Bots
Stormkit targets JavaScript and TypeScript developers with serverless API hosting. The free tier allows 25,000 deployments per month with serverless function endpoints that work as Telegram webhook handlers. Integrates natively with GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket.
Free Plan: 25K deployments/month, Node.js/TypeScript, serverless functions, webhook mode only and no credit card required.
35. Codesphere — Cloud IDE With Persistent Container Hosting
Codesphere combines a VS Code-based cloud IDE with persistent container hosting. The free Starter plan includes 1GB RAM and 1GB storage with containers that run continuously in the background. Unlike most free cloud IDEs Codesphere’s workspaces can run long-polling Telegram bots that stay alive indefinitely.
Free Plan: 1GB RAM, 1GB storage, VS Code-based IDE, persistent containers and no credit card required.
Polling vs Webhook — Which Should You Use for Your Telegram Bot?
Before deploying, you need to understand the two methods Telegram bots use to receive messages — this choice determines which hosting platforms work for you.
Long Polling means your bot continuously sends requests to Telegram’s servers asking “are there any new messages?” Telegram holds the connection open until a message arrives, then responds immediately. Your bot processes the message and immediately opens another long-poll request. This requires an always-on server with a persistent process but is simpler to set up — no URL configuration needed.
Webhooks mean you register a public HTTPS URL with Telegram. When a user sends your bot a message, Telegram immediately sends an HTTP POST request to your URL with the message data. Your server processes it and responds. This works with serverless platforms (Cloudflare Workers, Vercel, AWS Lambda) and is more efficient but requires a publicly accessible HTTPS URL.
| Feature | Long Polling | Webhook |
|---|---|---|
| Requires always-on server | Yes | No |
| Works with serverless | No | Yes |
| HTTPS URL required | No | Yes |
| Setup complexity | Simple | Moderate |
| Response speed | Fast | Faster |
| Resource efficiency | Lower | Higher |
| Best platforms | Railway, Render, Fly.io, Oracle | Cloudflare, Vercel, Lambda |
Recommendation for beginners: Use long polling on Railway, Render or Fly.io. It’s simpler, requires no URL setup, and works out of the box with any Telegram bot library.
Recommendation for advanced users: Use webhooks on Cloudflare Workers or Vercel for near-instant response times, global distribution, and lower resource consumption.
Step-by-Step: Deploy a Python Telegram Bot on Railway for Free
Here’s how to get your Telegram bot running on Railway in under 10 minutes.
What You Need:
- A Telegram bot token from @BotFather
- A GitHub account
- Your bot code in a GitHub repository
- A Railway.app account (sign up with GitHub)
Step 1 — Prepare Your Repository
Your GitHub repository needs a requirements.txt (Python) or package.json (Node.js) at the root level. Railway uses this to detect your language and install dependencies automatically.
Example requirements.txt:
python-telegram-bot==20.7
python-dotenv==1.0.0
Step 2 — Read BOT_TOKEN From Environment
In your bot code, never hardcode the token. Read it from an environment variable:
import os
BOT_TOKEN = os.environ.get("BOT_TOKEN")
Step 3 — Create a Railway Account
Go to railway.app, click “Start a New Project” and sign up with your GitHub account. Railway will ask for GitHub authorization to access your repositories.
Step 4 — Deploy From GitHub
Click “New Project” → “Deploy from GitHub Repo” → select your bot repository. Railway automatically detects Python, installs dependencies from requirements.txt and attempts to start your application.
Step 5 — Add Your Bot Token
In your Railway project dashboard, click “Variables” in the sidebar. Add a new variable: BOT_TOKEN = your actual bot token from BotFather. Railway injects this as an environment variable at runtime it’s encrypted and never visible in logs.
Step 6 — Set Your Start Command
In Railway’s project settings, under “Deploy” set the Start Command explicitly: python bot.py (replace with your actual filename). This prevents Railway from guessing incorrectly.
Step 7 — Deploy and Monitor
Click “Deploy” (or it may auto-deploy). Switch to the “Deployments” tab to watch the build logs in real time. Once the deployment shows “Active” your bot is live and polling Telegram for messages.
Step 8 — Test Your Bot
Open Telegram, find your bot by username, and send /start. Your bot should respond within seconds. Every git push to your repository will automatically trigger a new deployment on Railway.
Important: Railway’s free $5/month credit resets on the 1st of every month. Monitor your usage in the Railway dashboard under “Usage.” A simple Python bot consuming 50–100MB RAM typically costs $0.50–$1.50 per month in compute — well within the free credit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free alternative to Heroku for hosting a Telegram bot?
The best free Heroku alternatives for Telegram bots in 2025 are Railway (best developer experience with $5 free monthly credit), Render (most reliable using Background Worker mode), Fly.io (3 always-on VMs free forever), Oracle Cloud (most powerful with 24GB RAM free permanently) and Koyeb (no credit card required, 2 always-on services). All five support Python and Node.js with no sleep mode.
Can I host a Telegram bot completely free forever?
Yes. Platforms including Oracle Cloud Free Tier, Fly.io, Koyeb, Google Cloud e2-micro VM and IBM Cloud Lite offer permanently free plans — not time-limited trials — capable of running a Telegram bot 24/7 indefinitely. Oracle Cloud’s 4-ARM-VM, 24GB RAM free tier is particularly remarkable and has no expiry date.
Why did Heroku remove its free tier?
Heroku (owned by Salesforce) permanently eliminated free dynos, free PostgreSQL, and free Redis in November 2022. The official reason was rampant free-tier abuse: cryptocurrency mining operations exploited thousands of free dynos, spam bot operators ran mass campaigns and the volume of abandoned projects consumed unsustainable server resources. The free tier had become economically unviable.
How do I host a Python Telegram bot for free?
The fastest method: push your Python bot to GitHub, sign up at Railway.app with your GitHub account, create a new project from your repo, add BOT_TOKEN as an environment variable and deploy. Your bot will be live in under 5 minutes. Alternatively, use Render.com (deploy as a Background Worker) or Fly.io (use fly launch in your project directory).
Which free platform is best for a Telegram bot with a database?
For bots needing a database: Render.com (includes free PostgreSQL), Supabase Edge Functions (500MB PostgreSQL free), Railway (free PostgreSQL add-on available), Deta Space (free NoSQL Deta Base), and Oracle Cloud (free Autonomous Database). Render is the most beginner-friendly — bot and database managed in the same dashboard.
Do free hosting platforms put bots to sleep?
Some do, some don’t. Railway, Render (background worker), Fly.io, Koyeb, Oracle Cloud, and Google Cloud VMs have NO sleep mode — your bot runs 24/7 continuously. Platforms like Glitch (5 minutes idle) and Replit (free tier) do sleep, but you can use a free UptimeRobot HTTP monitor to ping your app URL every 5 minutes and prevent sleeping indefinitely.
What is the difference between polling and webhooks for Telegram bots?
Long polling means your bot continuously asks Telegram’s servers for new messages — requires an always-on server but is simpler. Webhooks mean Telegram pushes messages directly to your server’s HTTPS URL — works with serverless platforms and is more resource-efficient but requires a public HTTPS URL. For beginners, polling on Railway or Render is recommended. For performance-focused developers, webhooks on Cloudflare Workers are fastest.
Conclusion — Which Free Heroku Alternative Should You Choose?
The end of Heroku’s free tier was painful for millions of developers but the resulting competition has created a richer, more generous free hosting ecosystem than ever existed before. In 2025, you have better options than you did when Heroku was free.
Here is the definitive cheat sheet:
You’re a complete beginner → Start with Railway.app. Deploy in 5 minutes with zero config.
You need maximum reliability → Use Render.com as a Background Worker. Rock-solid uptime.
You want free resources forever → Use Oracle Cloud Free Tier. 24GB RAM, no expiry & unmatched.
You’re a Node.js developer → Try Cyclic.sh. Zero config, GitHub push-to-deploy & DynamoDB included.
You want to run multiple bots free → Use Oracle Cloud (multiple processes on one VM) or Qoddi (3 separate free apps).
You’re building an AI bot → Use Hugging Face Spaces. 16GB RAM free, all ML libraries pre-installed.
You want global speed → Use Cloudflare Workers. 300+ edge locations, 100K free requests daily.
You need a database too → Use Render.com (free PostgreSQL) or Supabase (500MB PostgreSQL free).
You want a full Linux server → Use Google Cloud e2-micro (free forever) or AWS EC2 t2.micro (12 months free).
Bookmark this guide — it is updated every quarter as platforms launch, update or change their free tiers. Share it with every developer you know who was affected by Heroku’s decision. There’s genuinely no reason to pay for Telegram bot hosting in 2025.
All platform information verified as of publication date. Free tier details may change — always verify on official platform websites before signing up.
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