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A plain-English comparison
Free static hosting or web hosting for your small business?
Compare GitHub Pages, Vercel, Netlify and Cloudflare Pages with Gravity Host. GitHub Pages serves static files. Full web hosting includes PHP, MySQL databases, email and free apps for websites, shops and bookings. Compare what your business needs below.
15 GB hosting: £45 for your first year, then £75 a year. GitHub Pages hosting can be free.
Four free hosts, different rules
Can I use the free tier for my business?
Netlify and Cloudflare Pages allow commercial use. GitHub Pages restricts it, and Vercel Hobby is for non-commercial personal use only. Free hosting can be the right choice; start with what your site needs.
| Free host | Business use and limits | Gravity Host |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Pages |
Commercial use is restricted. GitHub's Terms for Additional Products and Features say: “GitHub Pages is not intended for or allowed to be used as a free web hosting service to run your online business, e-commerce site, or any other website that is primarily directed at either facilitating commercial transactions or providing commercial software as a service (SaaS).” Donation buttons and crowdfunding links are allowed. Published sites can be up to 1 GB, with a soft bandwidth limit of 100 GB/month. |
Business websites, including shops and booking apps, can run here with PHP and MySQL. £45 for the first year, then £75 a year. |
| Vercel Hobby |
Non-commercial personal use only. Vercel says: “Hobby teams are restricted to non-commercial personal use only. All commercial usage of the platform requires either a Pro or Enterprise plan.” Its definition includes any deployment “used for the purpose of financial gain of anyone involved in any part of the production of the project, including a paid employee or consultant writing the code.” Vercel's examples include “Advertising the sale of a product or service” and “Receiving payment to create, update, or host the site”. That includes a cleaner's or plumber's brochure site, even without a shop or checkout. Donations are explicitly not commercial. Pro: $20/month (about £14.84, about £178/year). |
A business brochure site can live on our entry plan: £45 for the first year, then £75 a year. That includes unlimited email addresses at your domain. |
| Netlify Free |
Commercial use is allowed. Netlify's free-plan announcement says you can: “deploy commercial projects, personal sites, or other creative explorations” The monthly cap is 300 credits. There is no overage billing on Free: if you reach the cap, the site is suspended for the rest of the calendar month. Visitors see “Site not available” until the allowance resets or you upgrade. Since 19 August 2026, new free projects carry a “Powered by Netlify” badge in the bottom-right, visible to every visitor of a public project. You can switch it off in Project configuration → General. Pro: $19/month (about £14.10, about £169/year). |
1 TB bandwidth allowance. “Powered by Gravity Host” appears only on sites built with our free Website Builder. You can switch it off yourself, free, in the builder's settings. |
| Cloudflare Pages |
Commercial use is allowed. This is the most generous free static hosting option here, and it is genuinely fine for a static business brochure site. Cloudflare's own pricing documentation says: “On both free and paid plans, requests to static assets are free and unlimited.” The free plan allows 500 builds/month, 20,000 files, 25 MiB per file and 100 custom domains per project. Only the dynamic parts are capped. Cloudflare says requests to Pages Functions “count towards your quota for the Workers Free plan”, which stops at 100,000 requests a day. A static brochure site does not use Functions at all. |
15 GB for website and email on the entry plan, with a 1 TB bandwidth allowance. Choose it if you need email at your domain, PHP and MySQL alongside the site. |
Your own domain is free to connect on all four
GitHub Pages, Vercel, Netlify and Cloudflare Pages all support custom domains on their free tiers, with free SSL. They also give you a free subdomain: *.github.io, *.vercel.app, *.netlify.app or *.pages.dev, respectively. Domain registration itself is separate.
None of the four includes email at your domain
Not one gives you a mailbox such as hello@yourbusiness.co.uk. Vercel puts it plainly in its docs:
“Vercel does not provide a mail service for domains purchased with or transferred into it.”
The same goes for Netlify, Cloudflare Pages and GitHub Pages. Gravity Host includes unlimited email addresses at your domain, with 15 GB shared between website and email on the entry plan.
Built it in Lovable?
Lovable's own docs say: “Custom domains are available on paid plans.” Lovable Pro is $25/month (about £18.55, about £223/year).
But Lovable's GitHub sync works on every plan, including Free. You can build in Lovable, sync to GitHub and host the result wherever you like, including a free host that allows your type of site. You do not have to pay Lovable just to use your domain with another host.
Start with the basics
What is GitHub Pages?
GitHub Pages publishes website files from a repository — GitHub's project folder for code. Its free hosting suits personal projects, developer portfolios and open-source documentation.
It serves static files: ready-made pages, styles, images and JavaScript that runs in the browser. It cannot run server-side code such as PHP to process forms or power WordPress.
A technical person needs to set up and maintain the publishing workflow. Changes go through the repository and a deployment process. Builds can publish automatically, without uploading the whole site manually, but someone must be able to fix a failed build.
Use your own domain
- Register a domain. Buy a name such as yourbusiness.co.uk from a domain provider, separately from the free hosting.
- Set up Pages. Choose your website's branch or publishing workflow in the repository.
- Add and verify your domain. Follow GitHub's instructions to point its DNS records to Pages. Records differ for the bare domain, www and other subdomains.
- Check the address and HTTPS. Wait for DNS changes and the certificate, then enable HTTPS and test.
Keep existing email records intact when changing website DNS. GitHub's custom domain guide has the exact records and current steps.
What it means in practice
What each option includes
A static site can look excellent. Forms, bookings and content updates are where the differences matter.
| What you need | GitHub Pages | Gravity Host |
|---|---|---|
| A website | Static pages from a code repository. No server-side code or WordPress installation. | PHP and MySQL included. Install WordPress or another free app, upload your own site, or use the free Website Builder. |
| Contact forms | A separate service must process and email submissions. A mailto link only opens the visitor's mail app. | Working contact form in the Builder. Other sites need a suitable form handler or WordPress plugin set up. |
| Bookings or a shop | Link to a service hosted elsewhere. GitHub's commercial-use rules below still apply. | Run free apps such as WooCommerce or Easy!Appointments on your hosting, with no extra charge from us. |
| Email at your domain | No mailbox hosting. You need a separate provider for hello@yourbusiness.co.uk. | Unlimited email addresses included. Mailboxes and website files share your plan's storage. |
| Updating your site | Edit source files and publish through a workflow. Publishing can be automated; the person who built it usually maintains it. | Edit in the Builder or WordPress, or update your own files, depending on how you built the site. |
| Storage and traffic | Up to 1 GB published, a soft bandwidth limit of 100 GB per month, and build limits. | 15 GB for website and email on the entry plan, with a 1 TB bandwidth allowance. Change size any time. |
| HTTPS and recovery | HTTPS available. Repository history lets technical users recover source files; it does not back up external forms or mail. | Free SSL, security filtering and daily backups you can restore yourself. |
| Help and support | Documentation and community help for publishing and managing Pages sites. | A real UK person replies by message or ticket. Get in touch. |
Read the published rules
GitHub Pages commercial-use rules
Free hosting does not permit every kind of website. The GitHub Pages limits say:
“GitHub Pages is not intended for or allowed to be used as a free web hosting service to run your online business, e-commerce site, or any other website that is primarily directed at either facilitating commercial transactions or providing commercial software as a service (SaaS).”
Check your intended use against those rules before choosing Pages, including if you link to a checkout hosted elsewhere. Gravity Host supports business websites, shops and booking apps; choose the hosting that fits the work your site needs to do.
The size and publishing limits
- Published sites “may be no larger than 1 GB”.
- There is a “soft bandwidth limit of 100 GB per month”.
- The standard Pages build service has a “soft limit of 10 builds per hour”.
- Deployments time out after 10 minutes.
GitHub also says Pages must not be used for “sensitive transactions like sending passwords or credit card numbers”. An HTTPS padlock does not change that restriction. Refer to the full limits and rules for exceptions and updates.
What our hosting gives you
A website, email and help in one place.
Gravity Host is a London company with UK servers. Start with 15 GB and choose how you want to build.
Email at your own domain
Create unlimited addresses, such as hello@ and accounts@. Website files and email share your plan's storage.
SSL and daily backups
Free SSL provides HTTPS. Security filtering and daily backups are included; restore a backup yourself if a change goes wrong.
Moving over is included
We check your site before helping you move it. If a closed platform cannot export it, we explain what needs rebuilding first.
A real person who replies
A UK person replies in plain English, by message or ticket. Get in touch about what your site needs to do.
Room to change
Change your hosting size any time. There is no long contract, and hosting has a 30-day money-back guarantee. Domain registration is separate.
The tools behind your website
Full web hosting for apps, too
PHP and MySQL databases are included. Run WordPress, a shop, a CRM, a booking system or a complete web app someone builds for you.
Free apps, ready to install
Softaculous, the one-click installer in cPanel, includes over 200 open-source apps. Install one there or upload an app yourself. We charge nothing extra to run them on your hosting.
Files, databases and tasks
Use the File Manager in your browser or connect by FTP/SFTP. Manage MySQL databases in phpMyAdmin and schedule regular tasks with cron jobs. Your developer can build both the front end and back end here.
Email, SSL and daily backups
Your domain email, free SSL for HTTPS and daily backups are included. GitHub Pages serves static files only; PHP apps and MySQL databases need full hosting like this.
Explore the free open-source apps you can run here, from a first website to bookings, accounts and project tools.
Building your own app? See our web application hosting platform, and how it compares with Vercel.
First year and renewal
What will you pay each year?
15 GB hosting is £75 a year, with 40% off your first year: £45. Domains are separate. All figures below are in pounds, using our listed prices for a standard domain.
| What you buy | GitHub Pages | Gravity Host: 15 GB |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting only | £0 for static hosting on free Pages. Email and PHP apps need hosting elsewhere. | £45 first year, then £75 a year. PHP, MySQL, email and Website Builder included. |
| Add a .co.uk domain | £10 total each year for hosting and domain. Domain through us: £10 a year. | £55 total in year one, then £85 a year. Includes the domain at £10 a year. |
| Add a .com domain | £15 total each year for hosting and domain. Domain through us: £15 a year. | £60 total in year one, then £90 a year. Includes the domain at £15 a year. |
| Building and running your site | Publish your static site from a repository. Server-side apps run on hosting elsewhere. | Free Website Builder and open-source apps. Use our one-click installer or upload your own, with no extra charge from us. |
Choose either domain, or use one you own. Registration and renewal both cost £10 a year for .co.uk or £15 for .com. Find your domain name.
A third-party subscription service you choose has its own fees.
Which fits you?
Choose for the site you need
GitHub Pages suits…
- Personal projects with a few static pages.
- Developer portfolios maintained by someone comfortable with code.
- Open-source documentation updated in GitHub.
Free static hosting may be enough if your site fits the rules and you can handle the technical upkeep.
Web hosting suits…
- Businesses needing their own email and working enquiry forms.
- Sites you update in WordPress or the Builder.
- Shops, booking systems, CRMs and custom PHP apps.
Choose a free app, install it and add your own content, products or booking details.
Keep the work you already have
Bring your site with you
Moving to Gravity Host is included. We can copy your published static files, check pages and links, and help point your domain here. Keep your source code in GitHub for future changes.
Move your published site once, or connect it with GitHub Sync and every change appears on your domain within the hour.
Tell us how the site is built and which forms or services it uses so we can check their settings as part of the move.
Or use both services
If your site fits GitHub Pages' rules, leave its static pages there and use Gravity Host for email and a form endpoint. You must connect the form to that endpoint; hosting does not do this automatically.
Your website and email can also live together here, with your code in GitHub. Get in touch to work through the website and email settings by message.
A few practical questions
Before you choose.
Can I use GitHub Pages for my business website?
Check your intended use against GitHub's published rules. They restrict using Pages as free hosting to run an online business, e-commerce site or a site primarily facilitating commercial transactions. Gravity Host supports business websites, including shops and booking apps that run on PHP and MySQL.
Is GitHub Pages really free?
Yes, GitHub Pages offers free static hosting from a public code repository. Connecting your own domain is free, with free SSL; registering the domain itself is separate. Pages serves static files only, so email and server-side form or booking code need hosting elsewhere. You also need someone comfortable setting up and maintaining the site. Check that your intended use fits GitHub's published rules.
Can a GitHub Pages site have a working contact form?
Yes, if the form sends its submission to a separate form service or a suitable endpoint on other hosting. GitHub Pages itself cannot run the server-side code that processes and emails the enquiry. Our Website Builder includes a contact form; a site you bring with you may need its form connected separately.
Can I keep my domain and existing email?
Yes. You can keep your domain name and use it with either option. Website and email settings can point to different providers. If you use Gmail or Google Workspace already, you can keep using it. Tell us what is in place before changing your domain settings so your mail keeps going to the right service.
Do I have to use WordPress on Gravity Host?
No. Bring your own website, use our free Website Builder, or choose from free open-source apps. Softaculous in cPanel has over 200 apps to install in one click, and you can upload others yourself. PHP and MySQL are included, with no extra charge from us to run these apps. If your site needs a particular programming language or service, Get in touch so we can check compatibility before you order.
How do I get help, or change plans later?
Support is by message or ticket, with a real UK person who replies to your message. Get in touch before ordering if you want help choosing. You can change your hosting size any time, there is no long contract, and hosting has a 30-day money-back guarantee. Domain names are separate.
A home for your business online
Bring your website. We'll help with the hosting.
Start with 15 GB, email and the free Website Builder for £45 in your first year, then £75 a year. Or send us a message first and tell us what you need.