Top 10 List of PaaS Services

Platform as a Service is a type of Cloud computing solution widely accepted and implemented by businesses and programmers.

A respected leading analytics company predicts that by 2022, global PaaS revenues will hit the 30 billion USD benchmark. It is worth noting that by the end of 2018, the total turnover for PaaS firms was just 15 billion USD. These numbers illustrate that the popularity and useability of PaaS are on the rise.

However, many developers, startups, and businesses want to evaluate PaaS services for free before committing to a plan. This article reviews the top list of PaaS services that free plans

In this article, we discussed the following platforms:

A Quick Overview of PaaS

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) provides all necessary infrastructure, software, and hardware resources needed to build an application. 

Third-party app development tools are available on PaaS platforms; therefore, they can be less costly and more straightforward as compared to the on-premises approach to app development.

PaaS providers offer ‘pay-as-you-go’ pricing policies that are ideal for small businesses. Unlike more expensive options, on-demand pricing means you only pay for what you need. Other PaaS companies like Dokku, Zoho Creator, and Heroku offer free plans.

Advantages of Platform-as-a-Service

PaaS platforms provide a variety of benefits to their users. Here are some of the things you can expect from PaaS:

Low Cost

PaaS offers a massive reduction in both development and operating costs. With PaaS, companies no longer need to buy or rent servers or purchase custom solutions like virtual machines to build, test, or update the app. This is because PaaS provides a fully cloud-based middleware infrastructure for developing apps.

To ensure that platforms are operating at optimum levels, it is necessary for providers to make regular updates. PaaS platforms provide and handle the continued management of physical and virtual infrastructures to make them functional for building, testing, and launching apps.

Makes Scaling Straightforward

If you’re running a small business, it’s always your dream to grow your business. Platform as a Service vendor can help you achieve this without any worry. With PaaS, the user is only charged for the resources they use, not a fixed charge. This is great because it allows you to pay based on the services you need. Moreover, you can accomplish complicated tasks with just a few mouse clicks.

Faster Development

We all know that apps are great, but they take a long time to come to fruition. With PaaS, however, apps can be built and run quickly. It also comes with numerous prebuilt server-side tools, code libraries, and templates that ensure your app is updated constantly without stress

In the same way, Platform as a Service providers help businesses develop and launch apps faster than it would otherwise take them to build a development infrastructure from scratch.

Supports Several Platforms

A Platform as a Service provider will allow coders to build an application once and launch it on multiple devices like the web, desktop, and mobile. This benefit is not only a time-saver but is also quite cost-efficient.

PaaS platform Limitations

One of the drawbacks of PaaS is vendor dependency. If you use a PaaS platform, you’ll be dependent on that specific vendor for its data backup, uptime, performance, and other features. What would happen if for any reason the vendor experiences an unfortunate incidence that makes your app inaccessible?

Here’s our Top 10 List of PaaS Providers

Want to find the best PaaS provider for your project? Below are the top ten platforms that offer free plan.

Back4app

Back4App has a suite of products designed to help you build and manage your app without having to own infrastructure. These services are PaaS and Managed Backend solutions. The PaaS offers features such as prioritized access to GitHub, fully-managed infrastructure, and Docker deployment.

Main Features

• Managed infrastructure
• Container services
• Storage
• APIs
• Github integration

Heroku

Although Heroku started with Ruby, it has since expanded to support a variety of languages, including  Java, NodeJS, PHP, and Python.

The platform offers free PaaS service options such as the ‘Free & Hobby’ and ‘Hobby Dev & Basic’ packages. Now, if you’re looking for an affordable PaaS vendor, Heroku is an excellent option for you.

If you don’t need many features, but want something that’s a little more professional-looking, then Standard 1X is the package for you.

The monthly costs are only $3 per month, and you can find out the estimated total on the Platforms Price Estimator utility if you need to use additional services.

Main Features

Dynos: With Heroku, apps are handled by dynos in a fully administered runtime environment. Dynos automatically keep the app funning and free of errors that can arise with other hosting providers.

Security is not an easy thing to find, but there are PaaS platforms that offer it, like Heroku. The platform provides this high level of security, and we back it up with regular inspections and compliance measures like SOC, HIPAA, and PCI.

Heroku OpEx: This feature known as Operational Experience plays a major role in the customization of different features and fixing UI issues. Recognizing specific UI problems is also part of Heroku OpEx.

Heroku’s robust ecosystem helps developers deploy apps in a secure, scalable and convenient manner. The PaaS also provides support  Heroku Redis, Postgres, and Apache Kafka to help developers achieve their objectives.

Engine Yard 

Engine Yard offers a fully managed, scalable Platform as a Service in the cloud with 99.99% guaranteed uptime and exceptional customer satisfaction.

It’s based out of California and has been around since 2006, supporting 12,000+ successful Ruby on Rails, NodeJS, and PHP projects.

Developers can take advantage of the free trial to start using the platform without paying a dime Fortunately, their Standard plan which includes reasonable support doesn’t cost anything to the user.

The company also offers container pricing starting at $49 a month and the Standard monthly instance for $150. The platform integrates with third-party services like S3 or other Amazon Web Services features.

Envy Labs, Chictopia, SalesCrunch, and Cerego are just a few of the happy people who’ve utilized this PaaS vendor and given high praise.

Main Features

Scalability: They’re highly scalable and you can easily increase or decrease the number of instances required for your enterprise. You also get quick deployment with Engine Yard.

Zero Deployment Downtime: You would probably not be too happy if your app went down during deployment. Say hello to Engine Yard, the PaaS vendor that benefits from 12-factor advanced app principles that don’t put your app out of commission during deployment.

Database Support — Engine Yard is well known for their incredible database support. They have more than 20 years in administering DBaaS services. And, you can simply trust them to provide your web project with a powerful and reliable database platform.

Managed Service: As a fully managed service, it takes care of every aspect of app development. This includes appropriate code dealing, data recovery,  database environments, and .automated backups,

Google App Engine

While it is free to use, App Engine is a powerful tool for programmers and businesses across the world. This PaaS platform helps developers build, run and host applications on Google-powered data centers.

While it supports  Ruby, Java, PHP, Python, and Go by default, you can also use this powerful platform for other languages if you have a custom runtime.

With Google App Engine, users can go with either a free trial option or new user credit of $300. The platform also offers free 28 instance hours per day. If you’re working on a big project and want to take advantage of Google Cloud’s PaaS vendor, talk to the sales team for more information.

Well-known businesses have used Google App Engine and have been impressed with the exceptional progress they’ve made. Examples of these include Barilla, Khan Academy and EDP Group.

Main Features

Popular Tools: Developers are already used to the popular frameworks and languages, so bundling Google App Engine with these tools provides a familiar experience for them.

The free PaaS platform also takes better care of infrastructure. As a developer, you don’t need to worry about managing your environment. You just need to create the app and add quality codes.

Multiple Language Support: There are many languages that the platform can back seamlessly. In contrast to other Platforms as a Service providers, it is not reliant on popular languages.

Secure and Scalable: Google Cloud’s App Engine implements multiple app security, including SSL or TLS certificates, which are present in all Google Cloud products. In addition to being highly secure and scalable, App Engine also offers access to other Google Cloud tools and services.

Platform.Sh

Platform.Sh is an award-winning, Cloud Platform as a Service that offers a free plan. With multiple hosting, development, and deployment options, businesses the platform’s 30 days free trial to evaluate the service.

With support for Ruby, Java, PHP, Python, and Golang, you’re guaranteed to find something that meets your needs. In addition to language support,  the platform offers custom hosting services for WordPress and Drupal.

Developers can choose from Professional, Enterprise, and Elite packages. The Professional package comes with a free monthly trial that never expires. Meanwhile, the Enterprise plan starts at $1250 per month in billing.

Main Features

Helpful Community:  Platform.Sh, has a community of experts who will be happy to give you help with anything related to the platform. You can start up a new thread and get answers straight away – just search for your question in the chatbox and create a new post!

Development Tools- If you’ve ever been frustrated by unreliable services to copy and deploy code, you might like this tool. It’s reliable and can be integrated with tools such as Webhooks, GitHub and Slack.

Hosting:  You’ll have 99.99% uptime with your hosting service. This is perfect for business websites and PaaS-style applications because it eliminates interruptions. Plus, multi-cloud support enables you to move seamlessly from one cloud to the other depending on which best meets your needs.

Highly Secure: Another great advantage of using Platform.Sh is its security. Not only does it audit scripts meticulously, but it also holds certifications, such as Service Organization Control 2 (SOC 2), and Payment Card Industry (PCI) .

Dokku

Dokku platform doesn’t cost a dime, yet it integrates seamlessly with Heroku and has the support pf DigitalOcean’s. It is an open-source platform that is used primarily for small PaaS deployments. Expa and MAK IT are among the top companies that use this platform.

Main Features

Easy to Install: Dokku makes it easy to set up the infrastructure that your business needs in order to thrive. Coders can take advantage of this versatile solution by setting it up on any hardware with any inexpensive, reliable cloud provider.

Highly Customizable: With the help of many tools and platforms, including Slack and Gulp, Dokku provides seamless customization.

It’s Free: Want an affordable option? Employ an inexpensive plan from DigitalOcean with the open-source properties of Dokku. You don’t pay anything, and you get all the benefits.

Expedite Development: The power of Dokku combined with the service of top cloud service providers will reduce the time it takes to bring your app to market.

DigitalOcean App Platform

DigitalOcean has a PaaS environment that offers an inexpensive way to build applications. The company also provides a basic cloud computing service, which has been in business since 2011.

Right now, this popular PaaS provider is helping programmers all over the world get more done with its valuable services.

The Starter plan is completely free, so you’ll be able to create up to three sites. For each additional site, you’ll need to pay $3 per month.

The Basic plan is suitable for dynamic and professional plans that are good for production applications. The Basic costs $5/month, while the professional is priced at $12/month.

Main Features

Inexpensive Scaling: The DigitalOcean App Platform is a scalable and cost-effective solution. While scaling your apps, it doesn’t get too expensive thanks to the pricing model.

Deploy Code Directly: If you’re looking for cloud deployment options from GitLab or GitHub, the DigitalOcean App Platform is a great choice. You can deploy and upgrade code on DigitalOcean from anywhere without hassles.

Fully Managed Service: As a managed service, coders don’t have to worry about any of the technical aspects anymore, which means more time for designing and building quality applications.

If you’re focusing on a specific country, the DigitalOcean App Platform may also be helpful. It’s available in the Netherlands, Canada, USA, Singapore, Germany,  UK, and India.

Elastic Beanstalk

Elastic Beanstalk is a cost-free and easy-to-use web hosting solution that works with other services such as S3, CloudWatch and EC2.

If you use AWS’s S3 or EC2 packages and Elastic Beanstalk, there is no additional cost. That’s because they offer a pay-as-you go pricing policy. We don’t do any upfront costs either.

There are some companies using Elastic Beanstalk for their PaaS solution. Zillow, Stack, HappyFresh and BMW are notable examples.

You can get an estimate of your additional resource charges with this PaaS vendor, simply by using the AWS Pricing Calculator.

Main Features

Enhanced PRoductivity: Elastic Beanstalk manages a bunch of tasks like database and Firewall that developers would otherwise have to do themselves. This frees them up to spend more time writing programs, so your team can stay productive.

Fast and Smooth —  Deploying an app on AWS through Elastic Beanstalk is fast and straightforward. It takes care of app updates and scaling needs, and also checks the health of your applications.

You’re in Charge: One of the best features of AWS Elastic Beanstalk is that you can take command of the resources. You’ll always have full authority and won’t have to deal with platform lock-ins. Plus, their resource administration capabilities are amazing.

Cloud Foundry 

Cloud Foundry is an open-source PaaS vendor that went public in 2011. This multi-cloud platform allows developers to use the platform’s features in conjunction with any framework or programming language.

Often, coders use it with IBM’s Cloud Foundry. Yes, there are plenty of free options for up to 256MB projects in addition to 40 other free product offerings of IBM. But if your data or usage goes beyond the free limits, then you’ll need to choose a paid plan.

  RackHD, OpenStack, Alibaba, Google Cloud,  Cloud, and AWS are reliable providers of Cloud Foundry. So,  don’t need to rely on a single cloud platform when working with this software.

Main Features

Security: Cloud Foundry is a Platform as a Service (known for being open source and free) that provides data-sensitive applications with an environment where they can be securely deployed.

Integration Options: Cloud Foundry is an easy-to-integrate system, which means it’ll work seamlessly with a variety of custom IDEs and dev tools.

Fast and Inexpensive:  This platform has a 10-week app development plan that claims to claims to save about $100k on application creation per app.

Salesforce Lightning

As the name suggests, Lightning Platform is a PaaS service offered by Salesforce. Compared to other platforms, it’s much more helpful for you if you’re willing to deploy an app with less coding skills or with low-code. It’s free for the first 30 days of your subscription.

The two premium plans offer two different options. The first is called ‘Platform Starter’ and charges $25/month with access to 10 products. The second plan, ‘Platform Plus’, offers around 110 customization options.

Main Features

GUI-Powered Development: Lightning Platform is the epitome of convenience. Managing your apps has never been this fast and easy. For instance, Lightning Platform offers drag-and-drop features that only require a few clicks to create an app.

Fast Development: If you are looking for speed, then reusable building blocks are your best option. Not only can these provide HTML, JavaScript, and CSS in a blazingly fast amount of time, but they also save you from the hassle of rewriting the same lines over and over again.

Zoho Creator

Zoho Creator is a low-code PaaS platform that comes with 500+ ready-made connectors. ClickTime, Bitbucket, Excel, BaseCamp, and DropBox,   are the most common among these connectors.

The free plan offers up to 1000 records and 25 MB data storage per app. There is no limit to the number of apps you can create with this package, which makes the free tier perfect for beginner developers.

Main Features

Zoho Creator is a secure and user-friendly technology that follows the most trusted security protocols.

Easy-to-Use Automation: If you’re looking for smoother integration with your current systems, Zoho Creator is perfect for you. Simple automation makes it easy to get your projects up and running with little to no coding skills.

Faster Development: Speaking of time, Zoho Creator is different from typical PaaS platforms. It only takes a short period of time to build, deploy and launch an app, which saves you time and money over the long run. You also save costs on hiring a large team of developers.

A Final Thought

Which PaaS should you pick? That’s a tough question, and there are plenty of choices out there. To help you, we created a list of the best free PaaS platforms. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses. If you’re looking for one of the best Platform as a Service providers with excellent coding skills, go with DigitalOcean App Platform, Heroku, Dokku, or Elastic Beanstalk.