Side-by-side comparison of 10+ serverless free tiers in 2026. Compare AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, Azure Functions, Cloudflare Workers, Deno Deploy, Cloud Run, Val Town, and more — invocations, compute, cold starts, and billing models.
Published 2026-03-31 · Not yet reviewed · Data verified from our index of 1,547 developer tools · 10+ serverless platforms compared
Quick verdict: AWS Lambda leads on raw invocation count (1M/month free) and has the largest ecosystem. Google Cloud Run is the most generous overall with 2M requests, 360K GB-seconds, and 1 GB free egress. Cloudflare Workers dominates edge computing with 100K requests/day, sub-5ms cold starts, and the unique advantage of CPU-time billing (you don’t pay for I/O waits). Azure Functions matches Lambda at 1M requests/month with a consumption-based model.
The critical distinction most developers miss: Cloudflare Workers bills by CPU time while AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, and Azure Functions bill by wall-clock time (including time spent waiting for network I/O, database queries, and external API calls). For I/O-heavy workloads, this can mean 10-50x cheaper effective compute on Workers. This single billing model difference matters more than headline invocation counts.
Side-by-side comparison of the top serverless free tiers.
| Platform | Free Invocations | Free Compute | Memory / CPU | Timeout | Billing Model | Cold Start | Always Free? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Lambda MOST INVOCATIONS CHANGED JUN 30 Source ↗ | 1M / month | 400K GB-sec/mo | 128 MB – 10 GB | 15 min max | Wall-clock time | 100–500ms (cold) | Yes (Always Free) |
| Google Cloud Functions Source ↗ | 2M / month | 400K GB-sec + 200K GHz-sec | 128 MB – 32 GB | 9 min (1st gen) / 60 min (2nd gen) | Wall-clock time | 200–800ms (cold) | Yes (Always Free) |
| Azure Functions Source ↗ | 1M / month | 400K GB-sec/mo | 1.5 GB max (Consumption) | 5 min (default) / 10 min (max) | Wall-clock time | 200–1000ms (cold) | Yes (Always Free) |
| Google Cloud Run MOST GENEROUS Source ↗ | 2M / month | 360K GB-sec + 180K vCPU-sec | Up to 32 GB / 8 vCPU | 60 min max | Wall-clock time (request-based) | 100–500ms (cold) | Yes (Always Free) |
| Cloudflare Workers BEST EDGE Source ↗ | 100K / day (~3M/mo) | 10ms CPU time / invocation | 128 MB RAM | 30s (HTTP) / 15 min (Cron) | CPU time only | <5ms (near-zero) | Yes |
| Vercel Edge Functions CHANGED SEP 7 Source ↗ | 1M edge requests/mo | 4 hrs Active CPU/mo | 128 MB (Edge) / 1 GB (Serverless) | 25s (Hobby) | Wall-clock time (credit-based) | <5ms (Edge) / 250ms (Serverless) | Yes (Hobby) |
| Deno Deploy CHANGED AUG 28 Source ↗ | 1M / month | 10 hrs CPU time/mo | 512 MB RAM | No hard limit | CPU time | <10ms (near-zero) | Yes |
| Val Town Source ↗ | 100K runs/day | 1 min wall clock / run | Managed (V8 isolates) | 1 min per run | Run-based | <50ms | Yes |
| DBOS CHANGED SEP 3 Source ↗ | 1M service calls/mo | 1 microVM (512 MB, 1 vCPU) | 512 MB / 1 vCPU | No hard limit | Service call-based | Scale-to-zero (seconds) | Yes |
| Inngest CHANGED AUG 28 Source ↗ | 50K executions/mo | 100K events/mo | Runs on your serverless | Configurable retries | Execution-based | Depends on host | Yes (Hobby) |
| Trigger.dev Source ↗ | $5 free compute/mo | 20 concurrent runs | Managed compute | No hard limit | Compute time-based | Warm pool available | Yes |
The big three cloud providers’ serverless compute offerings. These are the most mature platforms with the largest ecosystems, but they all bill by wall-clock time.
| Provider | Free Invocations | Free Compute | Ecosystem | Languages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Lambda LARGEST ECOSYSTEM CHANGED JUN 30 Source ↗ | 1M / month | 400K GB-sec | API Gateway, DynamoDB, S3, SQS, SNS, EventBridge | Node.js, Python, Go, Java, .NET, Rust, Ruby | AWS-native backends, event-driven architectures |
| Google Cloud Functions MOST FREE INVOCATIONS Source ↗ | 2M / month | 400K GB-sec + 200K GHz-sec | Cloud Run, Firestore, Pub/Sub, Cloud Storage | Node.js, Python, Go, Java, .NET, Ruby, PHP | GCP-native, Firebase integrations |
| Azure Functions Source ↗ | 1M / month | 400K GB-sec | Cosmos DB, Service Bus, Event Grid, Storage | Node.js, Python, Java, .NET, PowerShell | Microsoft/.NET shops, enterprise integrations |
Serverless platforms that run code at the edge (CDN PoPs worldwide). Near-zero cold starts, global distribution, but more constrained runtimes.
| Provider | Free Tier | Cold Start | Runtime | Storage | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare Workers BEST EDGE Source ↗ | 100K req/day, 10ms CPU/req | <5ms | V8 isolates (JS/TS/Wasm) | KV: 1 GB, D1: 5 GB, R2: 10 GB | APIs, edge logic, full-stack apps |
| Vercel Edge Functions CHANGED SEP 7 Source ↗ | 1M edge req/mo, 4 hrs CPU | <5ms | V8 isolates (JS/TS) | Blob: 1 GB, KV: via Vercel KV | Next.js middleware, edge API routes |
| Deno Deploy CHANGED AUG 28 Source ↗ | 1M req/mo, 10 hrs CPU, 20 GiB egress | <10ms | Deno runtime (JS/TS, Web APIs) | KV: 1 GB (450K reads/mo) | Deno/Fresh apps, Web API-native code |
Container-based serverless that runs any Docker image — more flexibility than FaaS, with scale-to-zero on the free tier.
| Provider | Free Tier | Container Support | Concurrency | Egress | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Cloud Run BEST CONTAINER SERVERLESS Source ↗ | 2M req/mo, 360K GB-sec, 180K vCPU-sec | Any Docker image | Up to 1000 concurrent per instance | 1 GB North America free | Containerized APIs, microservices |
| AWS App Runner CHANGED JUN 30 Source ↗ | No always-free tier (trial credits only) | Any Docker image or source code | Configurable | Standard AWS egress | Simple container deployments on AWS |
Purpose-built serverless platforms for specific workloads — scripting, durable workflows, background jobs, and orchestration.
| Provider | Free Tier | Specialty | Durability | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Val Town Source ↗ | 100K runs/day, unlimited public vals | Script-as-a-service, shareable functions | SQLite storage, blob storage | Quick scripts, prototypes, public APIs, MCP servers |
| DBOS CHANGED SEP 3 Source ↗ | 1M service calls/mo, 1 microVM | Durable workflow orchestration | Built-in (transactional, exactly-once) | Transactional workflows, reliable background processing |
| Inngest CHANGED AUG 28 Source ↗ | 50K executions/mo, 100K events | Event-driven workflow orchestration | Built-in retries, step functions | Background jobs, scheduled tasks, event-driven workflows |
| Trigger.dev Source ↗ | $5 free compute/mo, 20 concurrent | Background jobs with managed compute | Durable execution, retries | Long-running background jobs, scheduled tasks |
| Cloudflare Durable Objects CHANGED SEP 2 Source ↗ | 100K requests/day (on Workers free) | Stateful serverless compute | Strongly consistent, WebSocket hibernation | Real-time collaboration, stateful edge computing |
This is the most important and least understood difference between serverless platforms. It can change your effective cost by 10-50x.
You pay for the total elapsed time of your function, including time spent waiting for database queries, HTTP requests, file I/O, and external API responses. A function that takes 500ms but spends 480ms waiting for a database query still costs 500ms of compute.
You pay only for actual CPU cycles used. Time spent waiting for I/O is free. That same function that takes 500ms but only uses 20ms of CPU time costs only 20ms. For I/O-heavy workloads (most web APIs), this is dramatically cheaper.
Lambda for event-driven microservices in the AWS ecosystem. Cloud Run for containerized APIs with the most generous free tier (2M req/month). Both handle production-scale traffic. Cloud comparison →
100K requests/day with sub-5ms cold starts, globally distributed. CPU-time billing makes I/O-heavy workloads dramatically cheaper. Integrated KV, D1, R2, and Durable Objects storage. View Workers details →
Val Town: write a function, get a URL. 100K runs/day free with MCP integration. Deno Deploy: full TypeScript runtime with Web APIs, 1M requests/month. Both offer instant deployment with no build step.
Seamless integration with Next.js middleware and edge API routes. 1M edge requests/month on the Hobby plan. Use Vercel’s serverless functions for Node.js APIs, edge functions for latency-sensitive routes.
On AWS? Use Lambda. On GCP? Use Cloud Functions or Cloud Run. On Azure? Use Azure Functions. The free tiers are similar enough that ecosystem integration and team expertise matter more than marginal differences in invocation limits.
Inngest: event-driven workflow orchestration with 50K executions/month free. Trigger.dev: managed compute for long-running background jobs with $5 free compute/month. Both handle retries, scheduling, and durable execution. Hosting alternatives →
1M service calls/month with exactly-once execution guarantees. Ideal for payment processing, multi-step workflows, and anything where partial failure is unacceptable. Open-source DBOS Transact library available for TypeScript, Python, Go, Java, Kotlin.
Strongly consistent state at the edge with WebSocket hibernation. 100K requests/day on the free Workers plan. Unique capability — no other edge platform offers per-object consistency guarantees.
Serverless free tiers have several non-obvious costs that can surprise you. Here’s what to watch for.
AWS Lambda invocations are free, but exposing them via API Gateway costs $3.50 per million requests (REST API) or $1.00 per million (HTTP API). For 1M Lambda invocations/month, the API Gateway bill can exceed $1-3.50. Google Cloud Functions and Azure Functions include HTTP triggers at no extra cost — a significant advantage over Lambda for HTTP workloads.
Most serverless platforms charge for outbound data transfer beyond free tiers. AWS: 100 GB free (first 12 months), then $0.09/GB. GCP: 1 GB/month free (North America). Azure: 100 GB/month free. Cloudflare Workers: Unlimited egress (no bandwidth charges). Deno Deploy: 20 GiB/month free. For bandwidth-heavy workloads, Workers’ unlimited egress is a major differentiator.
AWS Lambda Provisioned Concurrency eliminates cold starts but costs $0.015/GB-hour — not free tier eligible. Azure Functions Premium keeps instances warm but starts at ~$0.173/vCPU-hour. Edge platforms (Workers, Deno Deploy) avoid this entirely with V8 isolate architecture — cold starts under 5ms without any warm-up configuration.
Vercel restructured to a credit-based model in 2026. The Hobby plan includes 4 hours Active CPU and 360 GB-hours Provisioned Memory — but understanding how credits map to actual usage requires monitoring the Vercel dashboard. Serverless functions and edge functions consume credits differently, and overage charges apply automatically. Vercel details →
Cloudflare Workers free tier limits each invocation to 10ms CPU time. This is CPU time, not wall-clock time, so I/O waits don’t count — but CPU-intensive tasks (heavy JSON parsing, image processing, crypto) can hit this limit. Paid Workers ($5/month) increases to 30 seconds CPU time per invocation. For most API workloads, 10ms CPU is sufficient.
Recent serverless-related pricing changes from our tracker. See the full timeline for all 554 tracked changes.
| Date | Provider | Change | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| effective Oct 7, 2026 | AWS | AWS Proton end of support. Infrastructure-as-code provisioning service being retired. All environments, services, and templates will stop working. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| effective Sep 30, 2026 | AWS | AWS App Mesh end of support. Service mesh for ECS/EKS being fully retired. All configurations, virtual nodes, and routes will stop functioning. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| discovered Sep 7, 2026 · effective date unknown | AWS Activate | The AWS Activate program now offers up to $200,000 in credits, an increase from $100,000 for VC/accelerator-backed startups. The description of credits for AI startups building on custom silicon is no longer present. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| discovered Sep 7, 2026 · effective date unknown | Vercel | The Hobby plan still exists, but several limits have been adjusted or are now pay-as-you-go. Edge Requests are now 1M included / month, then starting at $2 per 1M. Fast Data Transfer is 100 GB / month included, then starting at $0.15 per GB. Blob Storage is 1 GB / month included, then $0.023 per GB. Image Transformations are 5K / month included, then starting at $0.05 per 1K. Function Invocations are 1M / month included, then starting at $0.60 per 1M. Active CPU is 4 hours / month included, then starting at $0.128 per hour. Provisioned Memory is 360 GB-hrs / month included, then starting at $0.0106 per GB-hr. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| discovered Sep 5, 2026 · effective date unknown | Cloudflare Queues | The free tier now offers 10,000 operations/day, and the paid tier offers 1,000,000 operations/month. Message retention on the free tier is 24 hours (non-configurable), while the paid tier offers 4 days default, configurable up to 14 days. The pricing model is now based on operations (64KB chunks of data written, read, or deleted) with additional costs per million operations beyond the included allowance. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| discovered Sep 3, 2026 · effective date unknown | LambdaTest | The pricing for Test Manager Premium has changed to $49/month billed annually. KaneAI Starter is now $17/month billed annually. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| discovered Sep 3, 2026 · effective date unknown | Google Cloud Pub/Sub | The Always Free tier of 10 GiB messages/month still exists, but it only applies to the Message Delivery Basic SKU. Throughput costs for BigQuery and Cloud Storage subscriptions, as well as import topics, are not free even within the first 10 GiB. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| discovered Sep 3, 2026 · effective date unknown | DBOS | The pricing for DBOS Pro and DBOS Teams has been updated. DBOS Pro is $99/month for 2 user seats, 3 apps, and 1M checkpoints. DBOS Teams is $499/month for 10 user seats, 10 apps, and 10M checkpoints. Source ↗ | MEDIUM |
| discovered Sep 2, 2026 · effective date unknown | Cloudflare Durable Objects | The free plan now only supports Durable Objects with SQLite storage backend. Also, the free tier limits for requests and duration have changed. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| discovered Sep 1, 2026 · effective date unknown | Cloudflare Workers AI | The pricing has been restructured. While a free tier of 10,000 Neurons per day still exists, the pricing is now more granular and based on per-model unit pricing, billed in Neurons at $0.011 / 1,000 Neurons. Some models now require a paid plan or AI Gateway credits. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| discovered Aug 28, 2026 · effective date unknown | Deno Deploy | Egress bandwidth for the free tier is now 20GiB, down from 100 GB. KV storage remains at 1 GiB, but the free tier now includes 1,000,000 KV read units and 500,000 KV write units. CPU time is now 10 hours, down from 15 hours. Revision storage is 10 GiB. Source ↗ | HIGH |
| discovered Aug 28, 2026 · effective date unknown | Inngest | The event limit has increased from 100K to 500K, and the span data ingested limit has increased from 100MB to 500MB. The number of users is no longer listed as a limit for the Hobby tier. Source ↗ | LOW |
A source check reads each cited page for that service's name and a price; the figures in the tables above are from our own records.
Compare serverless free tiers, track pricing changes, and plan your infrastructure stack — all from your AI coding assistant.
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Free tier generosity varies by use case. Some providers offer more storage, others more compute or API calls. Our comparison table above shows exact limits side-by-side so you can evaluate based on what matters most for your workload.
Each provider structures free tier limits differently — some cap storage, others cap requests or compute hours. Our comparison table provides exact numbers for each provider. Check the growth cost analysis section to understand what you'll pay when you exceed free tier limits.