This GitHub repository is a curated list of free-tier and freemium software, services, and resources for developers, covering categories such as cloud hosting, databases, CI/CD, monitoring, and APIs, with a focus on the limits and conditions of each free offering.
Background
- Free-for.dev is a curated, community-maintained list of cloud services, SaaS tools, and dev utilities that offer free tiers — useful for developers building side projects, learning, or bootstrapping without spending money.
- The repo was started by DevOps engineer R.I. Pienaar and has grown into a widely referenced resource with thousands of stars on GitHub; its value lies in the filtering and active curation rather than just raw links.
- A "free tier" means a service limits you by usage (e.g., 10,000 requests/month, 512 MB RAM, 1 database instance) but does not require payment unless you exceed those caps — distinct from a time-limited trial.
- The list is relevant because modern cloud infrastructure (especially from AWS, Google Cloud, Azure) can be expensive even for small-scale use, and many developers don't know about the generous free offerings from smaller providers like Oracle Cloud, fly.io, or Supabase.
- Categories include hosting, CI/CD, monitoring, databases, APIs, email, CDN, DNS, and auth — covering the full stack a developer needs for a production-like personal project.