Deploy a Python App for Free: Flask, FastAPI & Django

Python web frameworks make building APIs a joy — and then deployment tutorials throw you into a swamp of gunicorn configs, systemd units and reverse proxies. It doesn't have to be that way. Here's how to take a Flask, FastAPI or Django app from a GitHub repository to a live HTTPS URL in minutes, for free.

The three rules of deployable Python apps

Whatever the framework, a cloud platform needs the same three things:

1. A requirements.txt at the repo root listing every dependency (including your production server: gunicorn or uvicorn).
2. A start command that binds to 0.0.0.0 and reads $PORT.
3. Configuration from environment variables — secrets never live in the repo.

Flask

# requirements.txt
flask
gunicorn

# start command
gunicorn app:app --bind 0.0.0.0:$PORT

Where app:app is module:variable — if your file is server.py with application = Flask(__name__), use server:application.

FastAPI

# requirements.txt
fastapi
uvicorn

# start command
uvicorn main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port $PORT

FastAPI's automatic docs at /docs work out of the box once deployed — handy for sharing an API with teammates or an interviewer.

Django

# requirements.txt
django
gunicorn
whitenoise

# start command
gunicorn myproject.wsgi --bind 0.0.0.0:$PORT

Add whitenoise to serve static files, set ALLOWED_HOSTS = ["*"] (or your domain), and read SECRET_KEY and DEBUG from env vars.

Deploying on Abasthan

In the dashboard: Create App → Web Service, connect the repository, pick Python 3.10, 3.11 or 3.12, paste your start command, and choose the Free plan — your first app is $0, no credit card. The build streams live; a couple of minutes later your app is up at your-app.abasthan.app with SSL.

Need a database? Spin up managed PostgreSQL in one click and drop the connection string into environment variables as DATABASE_URL. Redis for Celery or caching is equally one click. Background workers and scheduled jobs deploy the same way — pick Background Worker or Cron Job instead of Web Service, from the same repo.

Common gotchas

• "Application failed to bind": you bound to 127.0.0.1 or a hardcoded port. Always 0.0.0.0:$PORT.
• ModuleNotFoundError in production: the package is installed locally but missing from requirements.txt. Run pip freeze > requirements.txt in a clean virtualenv.
• Django static files 404: missing whitenoise, or collectstatic didn't run — add it to your build settings.

FAQ

Is free Python hosting really free, or a trial?

It's a real free tier: every account's first app runs at $0 with a free subdomain and SSL. Paid plans start at $2/month with per-second billing when you need more headroom.

Flask vs FastAPI for a new project?

FastAPI for APIs (async, validation, auto docs), Flask for simplicity and its huge extension ecosystem. Both deploy identically here.

Can I run Celery workers?

Yes — deploy the same repo as a Background Worker with your celery -A app worker command, and point it at a one-click Redis instance.