Cloudflare Workers

Edge-first, with a different mental model

Cloudflare Workers does not run a Node.js server — it runs your code in a V8 isolate at the edge, close to users, with strict CPU-time limits per request. This is fast and cheap, but you cannot lift-and-shift a typical long-running Node app. Code must be written for the Workers runtime (Web-standard APIs, no arbitrary filesystem).

Practical implications

• The free plan's 100,000 requests/day is generous for side projects and small products; the $5/month paid plan unlocks 10M requests then usage-based pricing.
• Cron Triggers are available on all plans, including free — a real advantage over hosts that gate scheduling behind paid tiers.
• Stateful needs are met by companion products: KV (eventually-consistent store), Durable Objects (strong consistency), D1 (SQLite), R2 (object storage), Queues.

When to choose it

Choose Workers for latency-sensitive APIs, edge middleware, and globally-distributed logic. If you need a traditional always-on Node process or long-running jobs, a container PaaS like Render, Railway, or Fly.io fits better.