HOSTNA Free Hosting
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Free Hosting for Students
Open Hostna
Free Hosting

Free Hosting for Students

Free hosting for students with no credit card and no student ID: a real PHP and MySQL server for a portfolio, coursework or a first client site, with SSL.

Open Hostna
  • €0no card, no student ID
  • PHP+ MySQL for coursework
  • SSLa real https address
  • DEserver in Germany
WHY A REAL SERVER

What a free plan gives a student that a sandbox does not

Online editors and course sandboxes are good for learning syntax. They are bad at teaching the part that gets you hired: putting a thing online and keeping it there.

  • A portfolio with an https addressyourname.hosted.hostna.com on a CV is a link an employer opens. A zip file is not.
  • PHP and MySQL coursework, deployedUpload the project, create the database, hand in a working URL instead of screenshots. PHP 8.5 with older versions selectable if the course uses one.
  • The panel professionals usePlesk, the same control panel as on the paid plans and at many hosting companies: DNS, certificates, databases, file manager, PHP settings.
  • A first client siteA club, a family business, a friend's band. Build it here; when it grows, move it up for €2.80 a month without moving it out.
  • No card and no student IDAn email address, a telephone number and a postal address. Nothing to verify with the university, nothing that expires when you graduate.
  • WordPress, if the course needs itOne-click install from the panel. See the WordPress page for what fits in 500 MB.
THE PLAN

The numbers, and the two rules

One website, 500 MB of NVMe storage, 10 GB of traffic a month, one MySQL database, one mailbox, free SSL. Every limit is on the limits page.

  1. To order it you need an account with a confirmed email address, a telephone number and a full postal address. One free plan per person and per household; a second one under another email is closed when found (Terms, § 12).
  2. Activation is by a person. Every free account is switched on by a person, not a script. You get an email when it is live. Plan for it: order the plan a couple of days before a deadline, not on the evening of it.

The free plan is not offered in every country. If yours is not covered, the order flow says so before you finish — the paid plans may still be available.

Start free

HONEST COMPARISON

Where a student should NOT use this plan

  • A pure HTML/CSS/JavaScript portfolio you keep in Git: GitHub Pages deploys on push and is free — use it, and use this plan when you need PHP, a database or email.
  • A Node.js, Python or Java application: the free plan runs PHP. Those need a VPS or a platform built for them.
  • A group project with heavy traffic during a demo week: 10 GB a month is plenty for a demo, but a viral project is a paid-plan problem — a good one to have.
BEFORE YOU ORDER

Questions about Free Hosting for Students

Do I need to prove I am a student?

No. The free plan is open to anyone who meets the account rules; there is no student verification and nothing expires when you finish your course.

Can I use it for a university assignment with PHP and a database?

Yes. PHP 8.5 (or 8.1–8.4), one MySQL database with phpMyAdmin, FTP upload. Hand in the URL.

How fast is activation before a deadline?

A person activates each free plan in the order requests arrive, and you get an email when it is done. Order it a few days ahead; do not make it part of the last evening.

Can my lecturer or a company see the site?

Yes — it is a public https address like any other. If you want it private for a while, protect the folder with a password from the panel.

What happens after I graduate?

Nothing changes. The plan is not tied to student status. Keep the portfolio, or move it up if a client site outgrows it.

More about the free plan