Question: I need an affordable alternative to big cloud hosts for my app needs, do you know of any options?

If you're looking for a lower-cost alternative to big cloud hosts for your app needs, RepoCloud is worth a look. It's a marketplace for running and scaling open-source apps with one-click deployment, elastic scaling and pricing that starts at $0.0042 per hour for 1 GB of RAM and 1 vCPU. The service can run a variety of apps, including productivity tools, analytics and automation software, and offers a free trial for first-time customers.

Another good alternative is Supabase, an open-source Firebase alternative that includes a Postgres database, user authentication, instant APIs, real-time subscriptions and vector embeddings. It supports Next.js and Flutter frameworks, and offers a free tier with unlimited API requests and 500 MB of database storage. Supabase is geared for developers who want to build production apps with a full range of data management and security features.

If you like a developer-focused approach with AI-boosted efficiency, Back4app is worth a look. It's got a powerful backend for relational data, real-time database, cloud functions and APIs, along with web deployment and AI agent abilities to quickly set up a cloud architecture. Back4app has security compliance and offers pricing models that are designed to be more predictable, making it a good option for apps that need to scale.

If you prefer a low-code approach, Backendless offers a collection of tools for building and running high-performance apps. It includes a visual UI builder, codeless logic and direct API integration for easy data management. Backendless supports responsive apps for web and mobile devices and offers flexible deployment options, making it a good option for efficient app development and deployment.