ShipCheap

Backend hosting without billing jumpscares.

ShipCheap helps developers compare backend hosting platforms and find safer, cheaper places to deploy backend apps. It includes a calculator, ranked recommendations, a comparison table, platform detail pages, beginner-focused guide pages, and saved comparison links.

WebMCP Challenge extension

ShipCheap was meaningfully extended for the 2026 WebMCP Challenge after submissions opened on August 25, 2026. The new browser-agent layer lives in src/components/WebMCPTools.tsx and registers three imperative WebMCP tools with document.modelContext.registerTool:

• recommend_backend_hosts ranks providers from structured project constraints.
• open_backend_host_comparison opens the existing human-readable comparison with a provider highlighted.
• preview_billing_risk runs ShipCheap's deterministic 1,000-month risk model and opens the configured simulator so the person and agent share the same visible result.

The integration is progressive enhancement: ShipCheap remains fully usable when document.modelContext is unavailable. Tool inputs are constrained with JSON Schema and validated again at execution time. No tool creates infrastructure, spends money, or changes a hosting account.

To test, open the deployed app in ChatGPT's in-app browser or in Chrome 149+ with chrome://flags/#enable-webmcp-testing enabled. Ask the agent to recommend a no-card host for a small backend, inspect one recommendation, then preview its billing risk.

Features

• Hosting calculator for app type, budget, database, always-on needs, card availability, region, and billing risk tolerance
• Ranked platform results with reasons, warnings, pros, cons, and best-fit notes
• Comparison table for Render, Railway, Fly.io, Koyeb, Vercel, Supabase, Neon, and DigitalOcean App Platform
• Filters for free tier, no card, Docker support, database support, and low billing risk
• Platform detail pages and SEO-style guides for Node.js, FastAPI, and no-card hosting
• Cross-provider bill duel on the billing risk simulator (same workload, side-by-side P90 / blow-up ranking)
• Scenario packs that prefill common beginner hosting situations
• Provider launch checklists for pre-deploy traps
• Anonymous shareable comparison links (no account required)
• SQLite-backed share snapshots with Prisma

Tech Stack

• Next.js App Router
• TypeScript
• Tailwind CSS
• Prisma
• SQLite for local development
• pnpm

Recommendation Scoring

The scoring function lives in src/lib/recommend-platform.ts.

• Supports selected app type: +30
• Fits selected budget: +25
• Has free tier when user wants free: +20
• Does not require credit card when user has no card: +20
• Supports selected database: +15
• Supports always-on when needed: +15
• Has preferred region: +10
• Billing risk matches tolerance: +15
• Low billing risk bonus for low-risk beginners: +10

Pricing Disclaimer

All platform entries use starter data, verify before relying on it. Hosting prices, free tiers, card requirements, quotas, and billing rules change often.

Run Locally

pnpm install
pnpm prisma:migrate
pnpm dev

Open http://localhost:3000.

Future Improvements

• Live pricing updates
• Community platform submissions
• More providers
• Price change tracker
• GitHub bot for pricing data updates
• Decision report export
• Free-tier failure matrix