What to choose
Yandex Cloud alternative for small projects
In short
Yandex Cloud is a full enterprise cloud: managed databases, object storage, networking and access control are all there, and what you pay for that is setup complexity plus a bill assembled from per-resource meters. To run an app in serverless containers you first write a Dockerfile, build an image and push it to a registry. Netrun works the other way around: you upload your code or a GitHub repository, the platform builds the project and gives you a public HTTPS link, and you pay for a plan instead of by usage. A team with security requirements and managed services should stay on the big cloud; a single project that just needs to get from code to a link is a better fit for Netrun.
The usual route into a big cloud looks like this: create an organization and a folder, work out service accounts and access roles, set up networking, write a Dockerfile, build an image, push it to a registry, and only then create the container that finally answers at a URL. Yandex Cloud is built that way on purpose. An enterprise cloud has to handle teams, roles and a dozen connected services, and that machinery has to live somewhere.
Netrun has no such layer. You upload a folder of code or a GitHub repository, the platform detects the language, builds the project and gives you a public HTTPS link. There is no image to build and no registry to push to, and you pay for a plan rather than by per resource meters. Below is an honest comparison of the two approaches, including the cases where the big cloud is clearly the right answer.
Count how many people will touch the project#
Service accounts, roles and access policies matter when several people reach into the infrastructure and there are security requirements to satisfy. If the project is yours alone, that layer is simply setup you have to get through before the first launch. Netrun has no service accounts or roles: there is your dashboard and the projects inside it.
Check whether you need managed services#
A big cloud is strong because you can put a managed database, object storage, queues or a Kubernetes cluster next to your app and never maintain them yourself. Netrun does not offer these: no managed database as a service, no object storage, no CDN. A database runs as its own service next to the app through docker-compose, or you use an external one. If those services are the backbone of your project, staying on Yandex Cloud is the honest answer.
Compare the path from code to a working link#
Serverless containers do not take source code, they take a built image: write a Dockerfile, build the image, push it to a registry, and repeat that on every change. Netrun takes the code itself, either as a ZIP archive or as a GitHub repository, private ones included. The language and project type are detected from the files, and the build happens on our side. If you already have a Dockerfile we will use it, but you do not need to write one just to publish.
Decide which billing model suits you#
In a cloud you pay by meters: running time, memory, traffic and image storage are all counted separately. That works well when load is spiky and you do not want to pay for idle capacity, but you have to estimate the monthly total yourself. On Netrun you pick a plan and know the charge in advance, no matter how many people opened the link. Current prices and limits are shown in your dashboard.
Move the code and drop the cloud-specific bindings#
Take the sources, the dependency file (requirements.txt, package.json, go.mod) and the list of secrets: tokens, keys, connection strings. Do not put node_modules, venv or other dependency folders into the archive, they are installed during the build. A web app has to listen on the port from the PORT environment variable and on 0.0.0.0 rather than a fixed port, which is the number one reason a link does not open. If the app wrote files to the cloud object storage, point it at the persistent /data folder or at an external service instead.
Verify everything after the move#
Once the project is published, open the link and watch the logs in your dashboard. They stream in real time, so a startup error shows up immediately instead of as a blank page. Make sure the secrets arrived and the app reads them as environment variables, and that anything which must survive a code update lives in /data. A domain that used to point at the cloud can be attached on the Pro plan from the Domains tab.
There is no universal answer, and the split follows the size of the job. Yandex Cloud is worth it when a team works on the project, there are access and security requirements, and you need managed databases, storage and the rest of the cloud next to your app. All of that is there, and swapping it for something simpler would be a downgrade. But if this is one project and what you actually need is the path from code to a working link, the layer of roles, networks and image registries becomes work for the sake of work. Upload the code to Netrun, get an HTTPS address, and pay for a plan instead of meters. Try Netrun.
Common questions
What should I pick if I have one project now but expect it to grow?
Start with whatever gets you a result faster, which usually means the platform where uploading code is enough. Moving to a big cloud later is not hard: the code stays yours, and a Dockerfile, once you have one, works in both places. Move when a team, access requirements or managed services actually appear, not in anticipation of them.
Can I move a project off Yandex Cloud without changing the code?
Usually yes, as long as the app reads its settings from environment variables and listens on the port from PORT. What needs changing is anything tied to cloud services themselves: calls to object storage, to a managed database, or to internal network addresses. Everything else is ordinary code that simply runs somewhere else.
What do I do with the database during the move?
There are two options. You can run the database as its own service next to the app: with your docker-compose Netrun starts up to five connected services in one project, and the data lives in a named volume from your file. Or you can keep an external database and pass the connection string as a secret, so the app keeps talking to the same place it did before.
Does Netrun have object storage or managed services?
No. There is no separate object storage, no CDN and no managed database as a service, which is exactly what people take a full cloud for. Files your app writes live in the persistent /data folder: it survives code updates and restarts, and the file list is visible in your dashboard. For large amounts of media, connect an external service.
Will the charge change if a lot of people visit the site?
No, the plan is a fixed charge and does not depend on page views or traffic volume. Plan limits apply to the resources of the project itself, and the current values are shown in your dashboard. That is the main difference from usage based billing, where the bill is assembled from meters for running time, memory and traffic.
Can the project keep its own domain?
Yes, on the Pro plan. A domain that used to point at the cloud is attached from the Domains tab: enter the domain, add the DNS record shown in the hint and press Verify. You can attach as many domains to one site as you need, each with its own HTTPS. A bot or a background script does not need a domain, since nothing reaches them over a link.
What is Netrun?
Netrun is a cloud platform that runs your code online. You upload a project, answer a couple of questions and get a working link. Servers, Docker, nginx, the domain and SSL are all on us.
Do I need to know how to work with Docker?
No. Netrun detects which language your project uses and builds it for you. If you already have a Dockerfile or docker-compose, we support them, but you do not need to write them specially.
Which languages and technologies are supported?
Python, Node.js, Go, Rust, Ruby, PHP, Java, .NET, Deno, Bun, Elixir, static sites and bash scripts. You can bring your own Dockerfile or docker-compose, but more often the stack is detected from your code automatically.
What am I charged for?
Your balance pays for the plan and any extra slots. The free plan costs nothing.