MakeItRun blog

Where to Host a Project You Built with Claude

2026-06-17 · MakeItRun

TL;DR. If you have a self-contained HTML file from Claude and want a shareable URL with a QR code in under a minute, MakeItRun is the fastest path. If you have a real framework app (Next.js, SvelteKit, anything with a build step), use Vercel or Cloudflare Pages. If you care about a custom domain today and are comfortable with git, GitHub Pages or Netlify gets you there. ngrok is fine for a demo you'll share once in a Slack message. Replit and CodeSandbox are where you'd stay if you're still actively editing the code.

Claude just built you something. A dilution calculator, a pricing estimator, a personal dashboard, a tool for your team. You ran it in the artifact pane, it works, and now someone asks: "Can you send me a link?"

Here's how the options actually stack up.

The options

GitHub Pages

GitHub Pages is the default answer for a lot of engineers, and it earns that position. Free tier: 1 GB site size, 100 GB/month bandwidth — more than enough for a Claude-produced tool. Custom domains supported, HTTPS automatic, no surprise billing.

The catch: you need a GitHub account, a repository, and you either commit your HTML file by hand or push through git. That's not many steps, but it's more than zero. If your project is one self-contained index.html with no build pipeline, you're committing a file to a repo and enabling Pages in settings. Fine once, mildly annoying every time you iterate. There's also a soft 10-builds/hour limit you'll never hit for a static file.

Free tier repos must be public. If your Claude project is something you'd rather not publish to a searchable index, that matters.

Vercel

Vercel is exceptional for framework apps — Next.js especially, but also Nuxt, SvelteKit, Astro, and friends. The DX is genuinely good: connect a repo, push, get a deploy URL with preview branches.

Hobby plan: 100 GB/month bandwidth, 100K function invocations, unlimited deployments. One hard rule: the Hobby plan is non-commercial. Any project generating revenue requires upgrading to Pro (~$20/month). Exceeding the bandwidth cap pauses your deployment until the next cycle rather than charging overages.

For a single HTML file from Claude, Vercel is overkill. You'd create a repo, push the file, connect to Vercel. Three steps before you have a URL — still fast by traditional hosting standards, just not designed for this workflow.

Netlify

Netlify's pitch is similar to Vercel's: connect a repo or drag-and-drop, get a deploy URL. The drag-and-drop is worth noting — you can drag a folder onto their UI, no git required. That makes it meaningfully lower-friction for a single file than GitHub Pages or Vercel.

The free Starter plan includes 100 GB bandwidth, 300 build minutes, and 125K serverless function calls per month. Unlimited sites on all plans.

If you need form handling or serverless functions alongside a static file, Netlify's free tier does more than GitHub Pages. For pure static, the drag-and-drop is the real differentiator.

Cloudflare Pages

Cloudflare Pages has the most generous free tier in this list, and it's not close. Unlimited bandwidth, 500 builds/month, no commercial restriction. Connect a git repo or use their direct upload via Wrangler CLI, and the edge network handles delivery.

The setup path still goes through git or a CLI tool. There's no "paste HTML here" option. If you're already using Cloudflare for DNS, the integration is smooth. Starting from scratch, there's more upfront configuration than Netlify's drag-and-drop.

Best pick if you have a multi-file project, you're already on Cloudflare, or you expect meaningful traffic.

ngrok / localhost tunnels

ngrok and similar tools (Cloudflare Tunnel, localtunnel) expose a process running on your machine to a public URL. This is not hosting — it's tunneling. The moment you close your laptop, the URL dies.

ngrok's free tier in 2026: 1 GB/month bandwidth, 20K HTTP requests/month, and a 2-hour session cap. Every account now gets one free static domain (*.ngrok-free.dev), but the session drops after two hours and visitors first hit an interstitial warning page. Genuinely useful for a 30-minute demo you're walking someone through live, or for testing a webhook endpoint. Wrong tool for "I want to send someone a link they can click tomorrow."

Tiiny.host

Tiiny.host has the right idea — drag a ZIP or HTML file, get a URL, no git required. The execution has limits worth knowing. The free tier gives you one site, and the link stays up as long as you sign in every few months — but free sites show a Tiiny watermark and can't use a custom domain. Paid plans start around $9–18/month and cap storage at 100 MB across all plans, which is a hard ceiling if your HTML file is asset-heavy.

Reasonable for a quick throwaway link. For anything client-facing, the watermark and single-site cap make the free tier feel like a trial.

Replit

Replit is a cloud IDE that also deploys your code. If you're still editing the project, staying in Replit makes sense — you iterate and the running app updates. For static HTML, Replit works, but free-tier Repls sleep after ~5 minutes of inactivity and take a cold-start penalty when traffic wakes them.

If someone clicks your link after the Repl has been idle, they may wait several seconds. Fine for a demo you're actively watching; annoying for a tool you're sending to a team.

CodeSandbox

Similar positioning to Replit — a development sandbox that can preview and share your work. Free tier: 400 credits/month, 20 sandboxes. Good for collaborative editing and trying things out. Not designed as a hosting destination for a finished artifact.

MakeItRun

MakeItRun is built for exactly one workflow: you have a self-contained HTML file from Claude or ChatGPT, you want a live URL and a QR code, and you want it in under a minute without touching git, a CLI, or a build system.

Paste or upload the HTML. You get a *.clientview.page URL, a PNG and SVG QR code, and an auto-generated OG screenshot. Re-paste an updated version and it republishes to the same URL — no new link to distribute. Branded handles are supported. Magic-link and Google sign-in, no password to manage.

The MCP server at mcp.makeitrun.ai means an agent (Claude itself, for instance) can publish your project programmatically — you describe what you want, Claude builds and publishes it, and you get a link back without leaving the conversation.

What it doesn't do yet: custom domains, password-protected pages, multi-file projects, analytics. If you need any of those today, the git-based options above have you covered.

Comparison table

Use MakeItRun when

• You have a self-contained HTML file produced by Claude or ChatGPT.
• You want a stable, shareable URL in under a minute.
• You need a QR code — for a demo, a slide, a printed handout.
• You're iterating and want re-publishing to update the same URL automatically.
• You want an agent to publish for you (MCP server, no human in the loop).

A real example: makeitrun.ai/showcase/startup-dilution-calculator. A dilution calculator built in Claude, live in seconds, QR ready.

Use something else when

• You have a framework app (Next.js, SvelteKit, Nuxt, etc.) with a build step — use Vercel or Cloudflare Pages.
• You need a custom domain today — use GitHub Pages, Netlify, or Cloudflare Pages.
• You're actively editing the code and want live preview — stay in Replit or CodeSandbox.
• You're demoing something running locally right now — use ngrok.
• You need a multi-file project (HTML + separate CSS + JS + images) — any of the git-based options handle this; MakeItRun is single-file today.

FAQ

Can I host a single HTML file from Claude for free?

Yes, on most of these platforms. GitHub Pages, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages, and MakeItRun all have genuinely free options for a static HTML file. Netlify's free Starter plan includes 100 GB bandwidth per month. GitHub Pages caps at 100 GB/month. Cloudflare Pages is unlimited. MakeItRun is free for core publishing — paste, publish, share.

Do I need GitHub?

No. Netlify's drag-and-drop, Tiiny.host, Replit, CodeSandbox, and MakeItRun all accept files without a git repo. If you already have a GitHub account, Pages is a natural path. If you don't, you don't need to create one just to host a single HTML file.

What about a custom domain?

GitHub Pages, Netlify, and Cloudflare Pages all support custom domains on their free tiers. Vercel requires the Pro plan (~$20/month) for custom domains. MakeItRun doesn't support custom domains yet — pages live on clientview.page. If a custom domain is a hard requirement today, the git-based platforms have you covered.

Can Claude publish it for me automatically?

Yes, if you're using MakeItRun. The MCP server at mcp.makeitrun.ai exposes a publish tool that an MCP-compatible agent (Claude, for instance) can call directly. You describe what you want built, Claude builds and publishes it, and returns a live URL — no manual upload step. None of the other platforms in this list have an equivalent MCP-native publishing path.

Is MakeItRun good for a real Next.js app?

No. MakeItRun is for self-contained HTML that runs without a build step. A Next.js app requires a build pipeline, server-side routes, and typically multiple files. Vercel is the right answer for Next.js. Cloudflare Pages works well too.