# DigitalOcean is leaving the Student Developer Pack **URL:** \ **Category:** Discussion & Solutions\ **Tags:** solved\ **Created:** [July 14, 2026, 9:01am UTC](https://onehack.st/t/digitalocean-is-leaving-the-student-developer-pack/323877 "2026-07-14T09:01:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jordan\_Lee](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/jordan_lee/32/167495_2.png) [@Jordan\_Lee](https://onehack.st/u/Jordan_Lee)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2026, 9:01am UTC](https://onehack.st/t/digitalocean-is-leaving-the-student-developer-pack/323877/1 "2026-07-14T09:01:11Z")
As DigitalOcean is leaving Github Student, what can I use now for free? ---
**Author:** ![YounesWinter](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/youneswinter/32/86876_2.png) [@YounesWinter](https://onehack.st/u/YounesWinter)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2026, 12:54pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/digitalocean-is-leaving-the-student-developer-pack/323877/2 "2026-07-14T12:54:53Z")
DigitalOcean is the biggest bunch of thieves in suits I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Jordan\_Lee](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/jordan_lee/32/167495_2.png) [@Jordan\_Lee](https://onehack.st/u/Jordan_Lee)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/digitalocean-is-leaving-the-student-developer-pack/323877/3 "2026-07-15T23:18:25Z")
I need to know other platforms, eg. Azure ---
**Author:** ![Emanuel\_Branson](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/emanuel_branson/32/178452_2.png) [@Emanuel\_Branson](https://onehack.st/u/Emanuel_Branson)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 3:59pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/digitalocean-is-leaving-the-student-developer-pack/323877/4 "2026-07-18T15:59:56Z")
@Jordan_Lee DO leaving the Student Pack isn’t a dead end — but heads-up: **half the “free hosting” lists floating around are out of date.** Railway, [Fly.io](http://Fly.io), and ElephantSQL all quietly killed their free tiers, so if you follow an old guide you’ll hit a paywall or a dead site. Here’s what’s _actually_ free in 2026, sorted by what you used DO for (Azure’s in here too, per your Q). 👇 > **🧭 First — match the replacement to what you actually ran** > > Your answer picks your tool — don’t just grab the first “free VPS” you see: > > ```auto > ① Full VPS / Droplet (a real Linux server) → Oracle / Azure > ② Deploying an app (Node, Python backend) → Render / Cloudflare > ③ Just a database → Neon / Supabase > ④ Static site / frontend → Cloudflare Pages / Vercel > > ``` > **🖥️ Free VPS / cloud servers (the DigitalOcean-style replacements)** > > - **[Oracle Cloud — Always Free](https://www.oracle.com/cloud/free/)** ⭐ the only _permanently_ free real server here. Arm VM, no expiry, no clock. (Honest 2026 note: the Arm free allowance was trimmed to **2 CPU / 12GB** in June — still plenty for a student server.) > - **[Azure for Students](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free/students/)** — **$100 credit, NO credit card** , renews yearly till you graduate. Real VMs + databases. The closest match to DO and the least hassle to sign up (this is your Azure answer 👍). > - **[AWS Educate](https://aws.amazon.com/education/awseducate/)** — free labs + credits (EC2/Lambda/S3) + certificates; grab it for the AWS resume line, not just hosting. > - **[Google Cloud / Skills Boost](https://www.cloudskillsboost.google/)** — free training + a GCP sandbox + limited credits. > > | Platform | What you get | Card? | Expiry | > | --- | --- | --- | --- | > | **Oracle Cloud** | always-free Arm VM | ❌ | ✅ never | > | **Azure Students** | $100/yr | ❌ | 12 mo, renews | > | **AWS Educate** | credits + labs | ⚠ varies | limited | > | **GCP Skills Boost** | training + sandbox | ⚠ varies | limited | > **🚀 Just deploying an app? (what's STILL free — and what isn't anymore)** > > Still genuinely free in 2026: > > - **[Render](https://render.com/)** — free web services (they sleep when idle) + free static sites. Best straight-up DO-app replacement. > - **[Cloudflare Pages / Workers](https://pages.cloudflare.com/)** — unlimited bandwidth, no card, great for frontend + serverless backends. > - **[Vercel](https://vercel.com/)** — free frontend/full-stack hosting, generous build minutes. > > ⚠ **Don’t waste time on these — they dropped their free tiers:** **[Railway](https://railway.com/)** (free tier gone since 2023 → one-time $5 trial, then $5/mo) and **[Fly.io](https://fly.io/)** (free allowance ended 2024 → pay-as-you-go, card required). Fine tools, just not free anymore. > **🗄️ Just need a database? (the free ones that still exist)** > > - **[Neon](https://neon.tech/)** — serverless Postgres, genuinely generous free tier, scales to zero. **This is the replacement for ElephantSQL** (which shut down — see below). > - **[Supabase](https://supabase.com/)** — free Postgres + auth + storage; great if you want a mini-backend, not just a DB. > - **[MongoDB Atlas](https://www.mongodb.com/atlas)** — free 512MB cluster, no expiry, if you’re on Mongo. > > Keep your DB provider _separate_ from your compute provider — then if one changes its terms (like DO just did), you swap only that piece. > **🎯 The 10-second pick** > > ```auto > Ran a full VPS/Droplet → ORACLE CLOUD (free forever, no expiry) > Mostly deploying an app → RENDER (or Cloudflare for frontend) > Just needed a database → NEON or SUPABASE > Want $100 to experiment → AZURE FOR STUDENTS (no card) > > ``` > **😎 Why this saves you (the traps nobody mentions)** > > - **“Free” that expires:** most credits (Azure/AWS/GCP) quietly convert to paid after 6–12 months — set a calendar reminder for the expiry date so you’re not surprise-billed. > - **“Free” that’s already dead:** old guides still list ElephantSQL / Railway / [Fly.io](http://Fly.io) as free — they aren’t. Following them = a wasted afternoon. > - **Oracle is the only “set it and forget it”:** a real Linux server that never asks for a card or expires — closest thing to what DO’s Droplet gave you. > - **Split compute + database:** the reason this DO exit stings is everything was in one place. Keep them apart and the next vendor change is a 10-minute swap, not a migration. Bottom line: **Oracle Cloud** for a real free-forever server, **Render** for app deploys, **Neon/Supabase** for a database, and **Azure for Students** if you just want $100 and no card. Skip Railway/Fly/ElephantSQL — those “free” tiers are gone. The Student Pack giveth and taketh away — so build on the one tier that never expires, and keep your data where no vendor can evict it. ☁ ---
**Author:** ![Jordan\_Lee](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/jordan_lee/32/167495_2.png) [@Jordan\_Lee](https://onehack.st/u/Jordan_Lee)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 6:38pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/digitalocean-is-leaving-the-student-developer-pack/323877/5 "2026-07-18T18:38:18Z")
Oracle never works for me ---
**Author:** ![Prometheus](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/prometheus/32/34950_2.png) [@Prometheus](https://onehack.st/u/Prometheus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2026, 1:48pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/digitalocean-is-leaving-the-student-developer-pack/323877/6 "2026-07-21T13:48:09Z")
![do-hero](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/5/4/5492ba9782c5b32fb48139f64bdc4d6e55dd436a.jpeg) **🔓 DO gone? The free server is still there — you just have to grab it.** ═══════════════════════════════ 🧊 “Oracle never works” = it shows _Out of host capacity._ That’s a **queue, not a ban.** 🎣 Beat it 3 ways → a retry-script, or add a card (stay $0) for priority, or pick a quiet region. 🏠 The only server nobody can ever repossess is one you own — old laptop + a free tunnel. > **🎣 The script that grabs a free Oracle Arm server for you (fixes 'out of capacity')** > > It hammers Oracle’s create button every few seconds until a free slot opens — people land one in hours. Set it, walk away. > > ▸ 📦 The original (hitrov) → [https://github.com/hitrov/oci-arm-host-capacity](https://github.com/hitrov/oci-arm-host-capacity) > ▸ 📦 2026 fork → [https://github.com/DefiniteCoding/oci-arm-host-capacity-2026](https://github.com/DefiniteCoding/oci-arm-host-capacity-2026) > ▸ 🐍 Python version → [https://github.com/mohankumarpaluru/oracle-freetier-instance-creation](https://github.com/mohankumarpaluru/oracle-freetier-instance-creation) > ▸ 📖 Walkthrough → [https://dev.to/alexpua/how-i-stopped-fighting-oracles-out-of-host-capacity-and-let-a-script-catch-a-free-arm-server-for-41a6](https://dev.to/alexpua/how-i-stopped-fighting-oracles-out-of-host-capacity-and-let-a-script-catch-a-free-arm-server-for-41a6) > **💳 Add a card, pay nothing, jump the queue (Pay-As-You-Go priority trick)** > > An upgraded (Pay-As-You-Go) account gets first pick of the SAME free Arm server. Stay inside always-free limits → bill stays $0. The fix most people miss. > > ▸ 🧾 Proof it works → [https://xxlsteve.net/blog/upgrading-to-payg-to-fix-out-of-capacity-error/](https://xxlsteve.net/blog/upgrading-to-payg-to-fix-out-of-capacity-error/) > ▸ 🧵 Reddit confirm → [https://www.reddit.com/r/oraclecloud/comments/18usb4j/oracle\_free\_tier\_and\_upgrade\_to\_payg/](https://www.reddit.com/r/oraclecloud/comments/18usb4j/oracle_free_tier_and_upgrade_to_payg/) > ▸ 📋 Create A1 on PAYG (right way) → [https://community.oracle.com/customerconnect/discussion/860418/how-do-i-properly-create-an-always-free-ampere-a1-instance-on-a-pay-as-you-go-account](https://community.oracle.com/customerconnect/discussion/860418/how-do-i-properly-create-an-always-free-ampere-a1-instance-on-a-pay-as-you-go-account) > **🔒 Stop Oracle from deleting your free server (idle-reclaim keep-alive)** > > Oracle nukes free VMs that look idle. These keep tiny CPU/RAM activity so yours survives. > > ▸ 📦 NeverIdle → [https://github.com/layou233/NeverIdle](https://github.com/layou233/NeverIdle) > ▸ 🐳 Docker version → [https://github.com/baunilhaeu/neveridledocker](https://github.com/baunilhaeu/neveridledocker) > ▸ 📖 Why + how → [https://razib.in/how-to-prevent-oracle-free-tier-vps-reclamation-using-cpu-ram-keepalive-scripts/](https://razib.in/how-to-prevent-oracle-free-tier-vps-reclamation-using-cpu-ram-keepalive-scripts/) > **🖥️ Google Cloud e2-micro — the SECOND free-forever server (if Oracle still won't)** > > A real always-free Linux VM in US regions. No expiry. Your Oracle backup plan. > > ▸ 🌐 Official free tier → [https://cloud.google.com/free](https://cloud.google.com/free) > ▸ 📖 Setup guide → [https://thedaryls.com/free-for-life-google-cloud-e2-micro-vps/](https://thedaryls.com/free-for-life-google-cloud-e2-micro-vps/) > ▸ 🛠 Terraform auto-deploy → [https://github.com/Donnie/gcp-free-tier](https://github.com/Donnie/gcp-free-tier) > **🏠 Turn your own laptop/Pi into a public server no vendor can evict (free tunnel)** > > The un-takeaway-able server: your own box, made public with a free tunnel. No card, no port-forward, no static IP. DO can’t cancel what you own. > > ▸ 📦 Cloudflare Tunnel → [https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared](https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared) > ▸ 🕸 Tailscale Funnel → [https://tailscale.com/kb/1223/funnel](https://tailscale.com/kb/1223/funnel) > ▸ 🔧 frp (self-host relay) → [https://github.com/fatedier/frp](https://github.com/fatedier/frp) > ▸ 📖 Home server guide → [https://github.com/trekker-hub/laptop-home-server](https://github.com/trekker-hub/laptop-home-server) > **🌍 Obscure free VPS providers most lists never mention** > > Small hosts giving away real VPS. They come and go, but genuinely free right now. > > ▸ 🇮🇩 Woiden → [https://woiden.id/](https://woiden.id/) > ▸ 🇮🇩 Hax → [https://hax.co.id/](https://hax.co.id/) > ▸ 🧵 LowEndTalk free-VPS list → [https://lowendtalk.com/discussion/174016/a-list-of-free-vpss](https://lowendtalk.com/discussion/174016/a-list-of-free-vpss) > ▸ 🧵 Free VPS for open-source devs → [https://lowendtalk.com/discussion/212694/free-vps-for-open-source-developers](https://lowendtalk.com/discussion/212694/free-vps-for-open-source-developers) > **🚀 Just deploying an app or need a DB? (still free in 2026)** > > Compute and database, kept SEPARATE — so the next vendor exit is a 10-min swap, not a migration. > > 🚀 App hosting > ▸ Render → [https://render.com/](https://render.com/) > ▸ Koyeb → [https://www.koyeb.com/](https://www.koyeb.com/) > ▸ Cloudflare Pages/Workers → [https://pages.cloudflare.com/](https://pages.cloudflare.com/) > > 🗄 Database > ▸ Neon (serverless Postgres) → [https://neon.tech/](https://neon.tech/) > ▸ Supabase → [https://supabase.com/](https://supabase.com/) > ▸ Turso (SQLite edge) → [https://turso.tech/](https://turso.tech/) > **📚 The master free-tier lists (bookmark — they stay updated)** > > When any tier dies, these tell you what’s still alive. No more chasing dead guides. > > ▸ ⭐ free-for-dev → [https://github.com/ripienaar/free-for-dev](https://github.com/ripienaar/free-for-dev) > ▸ 📊 Cloud free-tier comparison → [https://github.com/cloudcommunity/Cloud-Free-Tier-Comparison](https://github.com/cloudcommunity/Cloud-Free-Tier-Comparison) > ▸ 🗂 awesome Oracle free tier → [https://github.com/neitsab/awesome-oracle-cloud-free-tier](https://github.com/neitsab/awesome-oracle-cloud-free-tier) > **💡 5 real ways students use this the day DO cuts them off** > > 1. 🐍 Ran a Python/Node backend on a Droplet → grab an Oracle A1 with the retry-script, redeploy, same $0. > 2. 🤖 Have a 24/7 Discord/Telegram bot → Oracle A1 (4 cores) runs it free forever; NeverIdle keeps it alive. > 3. 🌐 Just hosted a portfolio site → Cloudflare Pages, no card, unlimited bandwidth, 5 min. > 4. 🗄 Only needed the Postgres DB → Neon free tier, scales to zero, plug in from anywhere. > 5. 🧱 Old laptop in a drawer → Cloudflare Tunnel makes it a public server DO can never repossess. The Student Pack giveth and taketh. Build on the tier no company can revoke — a server you own, or one you had to fight for. ---
**Author:** ![Jordan\_Lee](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/jordan_lee/32/167495_2.png) [@Jordan\_Lee](https://onehack.st/u/Jordan_Lee)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2026, 7:19pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/digitalocean-is-leaving-the-student-developer-pack/323877/7 "2026-07-21T19:19:59Z")
Thank you! Do you have any with one click templates? ---
**Author:** ![Jordan\_Lee](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/jordan_lee/32/167495_2.png) [@Jordan\_Lee](https://onehack.st/u/Jordan_Lee)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/digitalocean-is-leaving-the-student-developer-pack/323877/8 "2026-07-30T20:54:40Z")
Could I please get a response ---
**Author:** ![Prometheus](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/prometheus/32/34950_2.png) [@Prometheus](https://onehack.st/u/Prometheus)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 2:20pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/digitalocean-is-leaving-the-student-developer-pack/323877/9 "2026-07-31T14:20:46Z")
![Your own one-click app store on a free box](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/e/a/ea2f51cd070f595d51a72cc959c362d92f094751.jpeg) @Jordan_Lee — sorry for the wait, mate, got buried in other threads 🙏 Here’s your one-click kit 👇 DO’s “1-Click App” was never magic — it’s just a **pre-baked template sitting on a server**. So you get it back two ways: run your own app-store on that free Oracle box from before, or use a host that ships a template gallery. Here’s the whole kit, sorted by how you’ll use it. 👇 **🏪 Own the marketplace — installs on your free Oracle box (the DO-Marketplace nobody can pull)** One command on the server → a click-to-deploy app store you control: - ⭐ **[Coolify](https://coolify.io/docs/services/overview)** — 280+ one-click services (WordPress, Ghost, n8n, Supabase, DBs) + git-push deploys. Has an [official Oracle free-ARM guide](https://coolify.io/docs/knowledge-base/server/oracle-cloud) — it’s built for your exact box. _The direct DO replacement._ - ⭐ **[YunoHost](https://apps.yunohost.org/catalog)** — 400+ apps, **ARM-native** , auto domain + SSL + logins. Easiest if you want WordPress/Nextcloud “just working.” - **[Easypanel](https://easypanel.io/templates)** — **797** one-click installers, free dev tier · **[1Panel](https://github.com/1Panel-dev/1Panel)** — CN powerhouse, 300+ app store, arm64 · **[CapRover](https://github.com/caprover/one-click-apps)** — 300+ apps (ARM ok; a few apps are x86-only) · **[Dokploy](https://templates.dokploy.com/)** — modern, cleaner, arm64. - ⭐ **The lazy trick:** run **Portainer** , paste **[Lissy93’s one template URL](https://github.com/Lissy93/portainer-templates)** → **500+ apps** become one-click on your box. **☁ Ready-made free galleries — nothing to run, just click deploy** - ⭐ **[Northflank](https://northflank.com/stacks)** — 100+ stack templates, free Sandbox is **always-on** (no sleep — rare in 2026). - ⭐ **[Cloudflare templates](https://github.com/cloudflare/templates)** — one-click Workers/Pages, **no sleep, 100k req/day free, no card.** Best for bots/APIs/sites. - ⭐ **[Zeabur](https://zeabur.com/templates)** — 500+ templates, and its **$0 plan lets you attach your own server** → deploy any template straight _onto_ the Oracle box. - **[Sealos App Store](https://sealos.io/products/app-store/)** (204 apps, free, no card) · **[ClawCloud Run](https://console.run.claw.cloud)** ($5/mo credit forever via GitHub login) · **[Render](https://render.com/templates)** (90 blueprints; free but sleeps 15min). - ⚠ **Skip the old guides:** **Railway** & **Koyeb** killed/closed free signups, **Replit** is paid-to-host now, **Glitch** shut hosting July 2025. Use Railway’s [4,100-template gallery](https://railway.com/templates) only as a _catalog_ → copy the repo, run it free on your box. > **🧩 Grab by app-type — template libraries per need** > > - **Discord/Telegram bots** → [discord-bot-template topic](https://github.com/topics/discord-bot-template) · [python-telegram-bot](https://github.com/python-telegram-bot/python-telegram-bot) (run 24/7 free on the box). > - **n8n / automation** → [official 2,000+ workflow library](https://n8n.io/workflows/) · [Zie619/n8n-workflows](https://github.com/Zie619/n8n-workflows) (2,000+, searchable) · [awesome-n8n-templates](https://github.com/enescingoz/awesome-n8n-templates) · ⭐ [self-hosted AI starter kit](https://github.com/n8n-io/self-hosted-ai-starter-kit) (n8n+Ollama+Qdrant, one compose). > - **Database** → [Neon](https://neon.com/templates) (free serverless Postgres) · [Supabase](https://supabase.com) (free, also self-hostable). > - **Game servers** → ⭐ [Pelican Panel](https://pelican.dev) + [parkervcp/eggs](https://github.com/parkervcp/eggs) → one-click Minecraft/Rust/etc on the box. > - **Whole ecosystems** → [Nextcloud App Store](https://apps.nextcloud.com) (200+ apps inside one install) · [LinuxServer Fleet](https://fleet.linuxserver.io) (trusted images). > **🗂️ Directories — browse thousands more + auto-make deploy buttons** > > - ⭐ **[binbashbanana/deploy-buttons](https://binbashbanana.github.io/deploy-buttons/)** — the exact “Deploy to X” button + URL for 14 platforms; paste your repo, instant deploy button. > - ⭐ **[DeployStack](https://deploystack.io)** — feed it any docker-compose → get one-click Deploy buttons for Render/Koyeb/DO at once. > - ⭐ **[selfh.st/apps](https://selfh.st/apps/)** — filterable directory with an “is-it-still-alive” tag + ready deploy commands · **[awesome-selfhosted](https://awesome-selfhosted.net)** — the 1,000+ master shopping list · **[GitHub: one-click-deploy](https://github.com/topics/one-click-deploy)** (live). > **💎 Rare gems (mostly Chinese ecosystems English lists miss)** > > - ⭐ **[aaPanel](https://www.aapanel.com)** (宝塔 international — App Store installs LNMP/WordPress/Docker in ~2 min) · **[Websoft9](https://github.com/Websoft9/websoft9)** (GitOps lite-PaaS, 200-300 apps) · **[LazyCat 懒猫微服](https://lazycat.cloud/appstore)** (microserver store, even runs a private store). > - **[Puter](https://puter.com)** — the Glitch replacement: free browser-OS + app store, also self-hostable. > - **[PikaPods](https://www.pikapods.com/apps)** — 100+ open-source apps hosted one-click from ~$1/mo, if you ever don’t want to babysit the box. > - **[SafeLine 雷池](https://github.com/chaitin/SafeLine)** — one-line self-host WAF: the safe front-door before you expose anything on the Oracle box. _A rented one-click button vanishes when the host does. A one-click store on your own box is a marketplace you’ll never lose the keys to._ ---
**Author:** ![YaserShkz](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/yasershkz/32/176353_2.png) [@YaserShkz](https://onehack.st/u/YaserShkz)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/digitalocean-is-leaving-the-student-developer-pack/323877/10 "2026-07-31T19:01:01Z")
![Screenshot_20260731_222542_Chrome Beta](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/2/6/2626787d0832e9bc66a703a12ee1b1d0b99bcd0c.jpeg) I activated the subscription just yesterday. DigitalOcean’s service is still included in the Benefits package and is still available in the GitHub Student Pack.