What should I use to host a React app and backend API?

A good default is:

• React app: host on a static frontend platform like Vercel, Netlify, or Cloudflare Pages
• Backend API: host on a backend platform like Render, Railway, Fly.io, or a cloud VM/container service like AWS ECS/Fargate or Google Cloud Run

Quick recommendations by situation

Easiest setup

• Frontend: Vercel or Netlify
• API: Render or Railway

Good if you want simple deploys, GitHub integration, and minimal DevOps.

Best for production scalability

• Frontend: Vercel or Cloudflare Pages
• API: Cloud Run, ECS/Fargate, or Kubernetes if you need it

Good if you expect real traffic and want more control.

Cheapest/simple small app

• Frontend: Cloudflare Pages or Netlify free tier
• API: Render/Railway free or low-cost tier, or a small VPS

Good for prototypes and low-traffic apps.

Common architecture

• React app served as static files/CDN
• Backend API exposed separately at something like api.example.com
• Frontend calls the API over HTTPS
• Use environment variables for API URLs and secrets

If you want one platform for both

Some platforms can host both frontend and API:

• Vercel: great for frontend, can do serverless API routes
• Render: can host static sites and backend services
• Railway: can host both easily
• Firebase: good if you’re using Google ecosystem and want auth/db too

My practical suggestion

If you’re just starting:

• Vercel for React
• Render for API

That combo is popular, easy to set up, and scales reasonably well.

If you want, I can recommend the best option based on:

• your budget
• expected traffic
• backend language/framework
• whether you need a database