Exploring Alternatives for Self-Hosting CodePush Post-AppCenter Shutdown

Background

Microsoft is deprecating AppCenter and CodePush in March 2025, so we needed a new plan for hosting our self-hosted CodePush server. We’re currently running it on Azure App Service (P0V3) at ~£48/month — which feels steep for a workload that’s mostly update checks and small bundle downloads. In this post I’ll walk through the options I considered, what matters for this kind of service (cold starts, storage, reliability), and the two providers I’m testing first.

Our goal is to reduce hosting costs while maintaining performance and reliability.

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Current Hosting Setup & Requirements

• CodePush Server: A Node.js API checking for updates and serving small bundle downloads.
• Storage: Azure Blob Storage (used out-of-the-box by CodePush Server).
• Traffic: No major spikes, as users check for updates at different times.
• Availability: Needs to be always on (serverless cold starts may be an issue).

Alternative Hosting Options Considered

1️⃣ Fully Managed PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) Options

These services allow easy deployment of our existing Node.js app with minimal modifications.

🔹 Render (render.com)

• Pricing:
• Bandwidth: Free up to 100GB, then $0.10/GB (~£0.08)
• Storage: Free up to 1GB, then $0.25/GB (~£0.20)
• Pros: Easy deployment, managed database/storage, simple migration.
• Cons: No auto-scaling; higher fixed pricing than some VPS options.

• Pricing:
• Bandwidth: Free up to 160GB, then $0.02/GB (~£0.016)
• Storage: $0.15/GB (~£0.12)
• Pros: Auto-scaling, global deployment options.
• Cons: Costs can fluctuate based on traffic.

2️⃣ VPS (Self-Managed Virtual Private Server) Options

If we prefer full control over the server, a VPS can be significantly cheaper than PaaS options.

🔹 Hetzner (hetzner.com)

• Pricing:
• Pros: Very cheap, full control.
• Cons: Requires managing security, uptime, and updates.

• Pricing:
• Pros: Flexible, managed database options.
• Cons: Requires manual setup and monitoring.

3️⃣ Serverless Options (Usage-Based Billing)

While Azure App Service bills based on fixed resources, serverless platforms charge per request, which could be more cost-effective.

🔹 AWS Lambda + API Gateway (aws.amazon.com/lambda)

• Pricing:
• Pros: Ultra-low cost if usage is low.
• Cons: Requires rewriting the API into function-based endpoints.

• Pricing:
• Pros: No cold starts, globally distributed.
• Cons: Requires modifying the API and switching storage to Cloudflare R2.

What I’m doing next

✅ Moving forward, we will test Render and Fly.io as the most viable options due to their ease of migration, reasonable cost, and fully managed infrastructure.

✅ We will modify the CodePush server to use S3-compatible storage (such as AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, or another provider).

✅ If costs remain high or traffic scales, we will reconsider VPS or serverless options.

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Takeaways

If you are self-hosting CodePush after AppCenter's shutdown, you have multiple options to reduce costs. PaaS services (Render, Fly.io) are the easiest migration paths, while VPS or serverless solutions offer more flexibility at a lower price if you’re willing to modify the API.

We will report back on our findings from testing Render & Fly.io!

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📌 Disclaimer: Prices listed are accurate as of February 2025 and may change over time. Always verify current pricing on respective platforms.