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GITHUB PAGES ALTERNATIVE

GitHub Pages alternative with no repository to make

GitHub Pages is free, and if your site already lives in a repository then a push is a deploy you already know how to do. The reasons to look elsewhere are specific: its terms forbid running a business on it, and a private site needs GitHub Enterprise Cloud.

Publish without a repo See the comparison

Free plan, free SSL, no credit card.

.droply.id
0
repositories, commits or workflows needed to publish
96
file types accepted, in 7 groups
5,000
visits a month on the free plan, no card
23
framework build guides with the exact output folder

Who should not switch

GitHub Pages is free with no tier above it to buy, and for a large number of projects that ends the discussion. Be honest with yourself about which of these you are.

  • The project is already a repository and you are comfortable with Git. Then a push is a deploy, it costs nothing, and there is one site per repository with no count to run out of.
  • It is an open-source project, a docs site or a personal page. That is precisely what Pages is for, its terms are happy with it, and nothing here is better.
  • You want a build to run on GitHub Actions on every merge. Droply runs no builds and has no CI, so that workflow simply does not exist here.

Why people look

Why people look for a GitHub Pages alternative

Every point below is taken from GitHub Pages's own documentation, with the page and the date it was read. Nothing here is a guess about how the product behaves.

  1. The terms forbid running a business on it

    GitHub's own usage limits say 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)". A client site or a product landing page is squarely in that description.

    GitHub Docs, GitHub Pages usage limits and prohibited uses, read 8 September 2026.

  2. You have to build a repository around the files

    There is no upload box. Publishing means a repository, a commit, a branch or folder setting, and often an Actions workflow. For someone who was handed a finished folder by a designer, that is a Git tutorial standing between them and a link.

    GitHub Docs, about GitHub Pages, read 8 September 2026.

  3. A private site needs GitHub Enterprise Cloud

    Access control for Pages requires the organization to be on GitHub Enterprise Cloud, and works only for sites published from a private or internal repository. On a personal account there is no way to put a Pages site behind anything.

    GitHub Docs, changing the visibility of your GitHub Pages site, read 8 September 2026.

  4. Soft limits that you find out about by hitting them

    Pages sites may be no larger than 1 GB, carry a soft bandwidth limit of 100 GB a month, and a soft limit of 10 builds an hour unless you publish through your own Actions workflow. "Soft" means the number is real but the enforcement is a conversation.

    GitHub Docs, GitHub Pages usage limits, read 8 September 2026.

Our answer

How Droply handles each one

One answer per point above, in the same order.

  1. The terms forbid running a business on it

    The free plan does not care what the site is for. It is limited by numbers: 1 site, 25 MB, 5,000 visits and 5 GB a month. What you may publish is governed by the acceptable use policy, which is about content, not about commerce.

  2. You have to build a repository around the files

    Drag the folder, the ZIP or the single .html file onto the page. There is no repository, no commit and no workflow file, and the finished files you were handed are the files served.

  3. A private site needs GitHub Enterprise Cloud

    Password protection starts on Starter and is checked at the edge before any file is served, so a client preview or an internal document sits behind one password with no plan negotiation.

  4. Soft limits that you find out about by hitting them

    The numbers are your plan's numbers, printed on the pricing page, and an upload above the limit is refused with the figure rather than accepted and then discussed later.

Side by side

Droply and GitHub Pages, row by row

Pages is free and unlimited in site count. Those rows are here.

  Droply GitHub Pages
Price Free plan, then $5 a month for Starter, the lowest entry tier of any paid host in this comparison. Free. There is no paid Pages tier.
How you publish Upload a folder, a ZIP or a file in the browser. Commit to a repository, then a branch or folder setting, often an Actions workflow.
Number of sites 1 on free, more per paid tier. One per repository, plus one user or organization site.
Commercial use on the free tier Allowed. Limits are numbers, not purposes. Not allowed for an online business, e-commerce or SaaS, per its usage limits.
Private or password-protected site From Starter, checked at the edge. Requires GitHub Enterprise Cloud and a private or internal repository.
Site size Your plan's storage allowance. 1 GB per published site.
Bandwidth 5 GB a month on free, more per tier. A soft limit of 100 GB a month.
Publish frequency Up to 25 publishes a day on free. A soft limit of 10 builds an hour, waived with a custom Actions workflow.
PDFs and documents First-class files with an in-browser viewer. Servable as repository files, not a product feature.
Expiring links From Starter: six hours, a week, or a date. Not offered.
Security check on every publish Every plan, including free. Not part of Pages. GitHub scans repositories for secrets separately.
Custom domain From Pro, $15 a month. Free, with HTTPS.

GitHub figures come from GitHub Docs, read on 8 September 2026: the GitHub Pages usage limits and prohibited uses page, the about-GitHub-Pages page, and the page on changing a Pages site's visibility. Rows marked "not offered" mean the feature is not part of GitHub Pages on that date. Product terms can change.

Migration

How to move a site from GitHub Pages

Your Pages site stays up and your repository is untouched. If the site is built by an Actions workflow, the folder that workflow uploads is the folder to bring.

  1. Find what Pages is actually serving

    For a plain site that is the repository folder itself (often /docs or the branch root). For a built site it is whatever the workflow publishes as its artifact. Run the build locally once and take that folder.

  2. Fix the base path before you upload

    A project site is served from /repository-name/, so many Pages builds hardcode that prefix into their asset URLs. On a Droply subdomain the site is at the root, so rebuild with the base path set back to / or the stylesheets will 404.

  3. Drop the folder on Droply

    Sign up, then drag the folder, the ZIP or the single HTML file onto the upload area. Nothing is repackaged and no build runs: the files you upload are the files served.

  4. Check what the security pass found

    Every publish is read for things that should not be public: a committed .env, a .git directory, a private key, an API key in a bundle. Old exports carry these more often than fresh builds do, so read it before you send the link anywhere.

  5. Point your domain at it, if you had one

    From Pro at $15 a month you move the DNS record to Droply and the certificate is issued for you. Change the record last, once the Droply URL already renders what you expect, so there is no window where the domain resolves to nothing.

Price

Pricing compared

GitHub Pages is free and there is no tier to move up to. The honest comparison is not price, it is what the free price is allowed to be used for.

  Droply GitHub Pages
Free 1 site, 25 MB, 5,000 visits and 5 GB a month, any purpose. Free: 1 GB per site, a soft 100 GB a month, but not for an online business, e-commerce or SaaS.
Entry paid tier $5 a month for Starter. None. Pages has no paid tier of its own.
Custom domain From Pro, $15 a month. Free, with HTTPS.
Private site Password protection from Starter. GitHub Enterprise Cloud, quoted per organization.

GitHub Pages terms and limits from GitHub Docs, read 8 September 2026. Droply prices are read live from the plans table on this page. Product terms can change.

No card required

What you get without paying anything

No repository, no workflow file, and no clause about what the site may be for.

  • 1 live site on a 25 MB account, with no card and no trial clock.
  • Up to 25 MB per upload, and up to 25 publishes a day.
  • 5,000 visits and 5 GB of traffic a month.
  • HTTPS with a real certificate, issued and renewed for you.
  • The same URL on every re-upload, so a link you already sent keeps working.
  • The deploy-time security check, which reads what you published and warns about a stray .env file, a .git folder, a private key or an API key left in your JavaScript.
  • A small Droply badge in the corner of the page. Removing it starts on Starter.
  • Free sites are served noindex, so search engines do not list them. Search visibility starts on Starter.
  • A site served at the root of its own subdomain, so no base-path rewriting.

See every plan and its limits

Frequently asked questions

Is Droply free?
Yes. 1 live site, 25 MB of storage, 5,000 visits and 5 GB a month, HTTPS included, no card, and no restriction on commercial use.
Is Droply a good GitHub Pages alternative?
It is if you do not want to make a repository, if the site is commercial, or if it needs a password. It is not if the project is already in Git and free is the deciding factor, because Pages is free and has no site count to run out of.
Can I use GitHub Pages for a business website?
Its usage limits say no: Pages is not allowed to be used as a free web-hosting service to run an online business, an e-commerce site, or a site primarily providing commercial software as a service. Read that page before putting a commercial site there.
Can I make a GitHub Pages site private?
Only with GitHub Enterprise Cloud, and only for a site published from a private or internal repository. Here, password protection starts on Starter on any account.
How do I move my GitHub Pages site?
Take the folder Pages serves, rebuild with the base path set to / instead of /repository-name/, and upload it. The base path is the one thing that reliably breaks a Pages site moved to a subdomain root.
Do I need Git to publish on Droply?
No. There is no Git integration at all. You upload finished files from the browser, the API, a Chrome extension or a VS Code extension.
What is the size limit?
Your plan's upload limit and storage allowance, listed on the pricing page. GitHub Pages caps a published site at 1 GB with a soft bandwidth limit of 100 GB a month.
Can I keep my custom domain?
Yes, from Pro at $15 a month. Note that GitHub Pages gives custom domains and HTTPS at no cost, so this is a row where moving costs you money.
Will my site be indexed by Google?
Only on a paid plan. Free Droply sites are served noindex deliberately, because free subdomains on a shared domain are the raw material for spam farms. Indexing starts on Starter. GitHub Pages sites are indexable at no cost.
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