Surge.sh vs Tiiny.host: which should you use?

Surge and Tiiny.host both skip Git, both skip a build step, and both get you a static site live fast. Where they split is interface and limits. Surge is a terminal command with a free tier that has no real caps. Tiiny.host is a browser upload tool with a free tier that's capped in size and expires after about a week. The comparison usually comes up when someone's weighing "no dashboard but no limits" against "a dashboard but a short leash."

Which one wins depends entirely on whether a terminal is a dealbreaker.

Side by side

	Surge.sh	Tiiny.host
Deploy method	CLI command (surge), no browser UI	Browser drag-and-drop, no Git
Free tier	Genuinely unlimited — no bandwidth cap, no project cap	Capped upload size, visible banner, site expires after about a week
Custom domain	Yes, free via CNAME	Needs a higher paid tier (~$18/mo+)
Build/CI required	No	No
Best for	Unlimited free hosting for people comfortable in a terminal	Quick, casual browser uploads

When to choose Surge.sh

If you're comfortable installing a CLI and running a command, Surge is hard to beat on pure economics: no bandwidth cap, no project cap, and free custom domains via CNAME, all on the free tier. It's a strong fit for developers who want a static site live from a script or terminal without ever opening a browser dashboard, as long as you're fine without a visual UI.

When to choose Tiiny.host

Tiiny.host wins on accessibility — no terminal, no installs, just drag a folder into the browser. That's the right call for a non-technical user or a one-off share. Just know what you're trading for that convenience: the free tier caps upload size, shows a Tiiny Host banner, and expires the site after roughly a week, so it's built more for a quick, temporary link than a project you plan to keep live indefinitely.

If you just need to host static files

Surge already covers this case about as leanly as a CLI tool can, and its free tier is genuinely hard to outdo on limits. Tiiny.host covers the same case in the browser, but the free tier's time limit and banner mean it's really a trial. Flaash lands between them: browser-only like Tiiny, but without the expiring free tier. The honest tradeoff is custom domains — Surge includes them free, Tiiny offers them on a higher paid tier, and Flaash doesn't offer them at all, keeping every project on a *.flaash.live subdomain.

Frequently asked questions

Does Surge require any account signup? A lightweight account is created on first deploy via email, but there's no dashboard to manage beyond that — it's still fundamentally a CLI workflow.

Is Tiiny.host's site expiration permanent once it happens? Sites go down after the free trial period ends; keeping a site live long-term requires upgrading to a paid plan before or after that point.

Which has better custom domain support? Surge, clearly — free CNAME-based custom domains on its free tier beat Tiiny.host, which requires a higher-tier paid plan (~$18/mo+) just to unlock one.