FlatRun vs Render
FlatRun is an open source, self-hosted alternative to Render. Deploy web services, workers, cron jobs and databases from a repository, preview pull requests and roll back, on a server you control.
Open source, MIT licensed · Runs on any Linux server with Docker
Hosted platform
Render deploys each piece of an app as its own service: a web service, a background worker, a cron job, a Postgres database. Each one has its own instance type and its own line on the bill, and a Blueprint file ties them together.
FlatRun deploys the whole app as one project from a Docker Compose file, on a server you choose. A worker or a database is another service in the same file, and adding one costs nothing beyond the server's capacity. Persistent data is a folder on that server, so services with data can still run more than one at a time and deploy without stopping first.
Side by side
| FlatRun | Render | |
|---|---|---|
| Where apps run | Your own servers | Render's infrastructure |
| License | Open source, MIT | Proprietary, hosted |
| Pricing | Free. You pay for the server | Workspace plan (Hobby free, Pro $25 a month) plus compute per service |
| Smallest paid service | Any size the server allows | Starter: 512 MB and 0.5 CPU for $7 a month |
| Free tier | No limits beyond the server | Free web services spin down after 15 minutes idle; free Postgres expires after 30 days |
| App definition | Docker Compose | render.yaml Blueprint; Docker Compose is not supported |
| Workers and cron jobs | Services in the Compose file and scheduled tasks | Separate background worker and cron job services, each billed |
| Persistent data | Folders on the server, any service | Paid disks; a service with a disk runs one instance and stops before each deploy |
| Deploy on push | GitHub, GitLab and generic webhooks | Yes |
| Pull request previews | An environment per pull request, removed when it closes | Preview environments on Pro and above, removed when the pull request closes |
| Rollback | Deploy any of the last 50 deploys again | Redeploy a past build while its artifact is kept |
| Variable references | ${{ project.KEY }} and ${{ secret.NAME }} | fromService and fromDatabase in a Blueprint, environment groups |
| Data | Plain files you can copy | Render disks and managed databases |
Same ideas
| Render | FlatRun | What it is on your server |
|---|---|---|
| Blueprint (render.yaml) | Compose file | docker-compose.yml in the project directory |
| Web service | Service with a domain | A service in the Compose file, routed by the proxy |
| Private service | Service | Reachable by name from the project's other services |
| Background worker | Service | A service with no domain |
| Cron job | Scheduled task | A command run on a schedule |
| Environment group | Workspace secrets and references | Values several projects read with ${{ secret.NAME }} or ${{ project.KEY }} |
| Disk | Data folder | A bind mount beside the Compose file |
| Preview environment | Preview environment | A project per pull request, removed when it closes |
Switching
Run the installer on an Ubuntu or Debian server. It sets up the agent, the dashboard and the proxy.
Turn each Render service in render.yaml into a service in docker-compose.yml: the web service, its workers, Postgres and Key Value. Keep data in folders next to the file.
Create a project from the repository and branch. Pushes deploy it, and pull requests get previews.
Restore the Postgres dump, paste the variables, seal the secrets, and update DNS. FlatRun issues the certificate.
Not directly. FlatRun deploys Docker Compose, so each service in the Blueprint becomes a service in a Compose file. Builds from a Dockerfile work as they did on Render.
Only if you ask it to. A project can sleep after a number of idle minutes and wake on the next request; otherwise it keeps running.
A Postgres service in the project, or a shared database server that several projects use. Backups are scheduled from FlatRun to local disk or any S3-compatible store.
Render details come from Render workspace plans , Render free instances , Render disks , Render preview environments , Render rollbacks and Render Blueprint reference . FlatRun details are in the documentation.
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