Free plans do exist in the web hosting world, but they often come with many disadvantages when you read the fine print. For example, a free web host will likely place ads on your site or strictly limit your resource usage. They also aren’t likely to invest much time or money into security, infrastructure, or support for free plans, so you won’t get the best service. There are some exceptions to this rule, which include free trials and credits. Microsoft Azure offers a free tier where you can access free products for 12 months or start a free trial with $200 in credits. Some providers also offer free hosting for students and non-profits if that applies to you. If not, your best bet is to purchase a cheap ASP.NET host from the options we listed above. As visitors, we rarely think about which operating system is powering the server behind the website. This is the main difference between Linux and Windows web hosting servers. But choosing Linux vs. Windows hosting can have massive impacts on a site owner’s costs and the software programs available to create and manage their site.