Every developer has a list of projects that never leave the drawing board: the portfolio that needs a new version, that chatbot you wanted to test, the technical blog that stayed just an idea. What’s usually missing isn’t the idea: it’s a simple way to get it live without starting by configuring an entire infrastructure.
That’s what Hobby, Azion Platform’s free plan, is for.
Important: Hobby is designed for personal projects, learning, experimentation, and idea validation. It can also be used to develop proofs of concept (POCs), as long as the application is not running in production and remains within the plan’s limits. When the project is ready for production, Pro is the next step.
But to get an idea off the ground, test a new stack, or build something for your resume, Hobby gives you access to the GA products and features included in the Azion Platform offering, within the plan’s limits.
Why Start With Hobby
Hobby helps close the gap between having an idea and turning it into a working project. With it, you can:
- Start for free: explore the products and features included with Hobby through personal projects, within the plan’s limits.
- Learn by building, not just reading documentation: each template is a working example you can take apart, customize, and redeploy.
- Spend less time on infrastructure: Azion handles application execution and delivery, so you can focus on the project instead of infrastructure configuration.
- Stay on the same platform as your project evolves: when the application is ready for production, upgrading the plan does not require rewriting the code on another platform.
What’s Included
When you create a Hobby account, you get access to features across every category of the Azion Platform, within the plan’s limits:
- Functions for application logic, with no cold starts.
- Object Storage to store files and unstructured data.
- Image Processor to optimize images automatically.
- DDoS Protection and Web Application Firewall (WAF) features to add security to your projects.
- Global infrastructure with 100+ data centers to run and deliver your applications.
SQL Database, KV Store, and AI Inference are also available in Preview. These features aren’t enabled by default: you need to request access through a support ticket, subject to approval.
Where to Start: Ready-to-Use Templates
The fastest way to use Hobby is starting from a template. You pick a starting point, connect your GitHub account, and the deploy is live in a few minutes. Here are some examples of what you can build:
Online Resume
Templates like DevsCard and Webpage to PDF Resume turn your resume into a real web page, delivered by Azion’s global infrastructure.
Chatbot or AI Agent
With the AI Inference Starter Kit, you can start testing inference without provisioning specialized infrastructure. Because AI Inference is currently in Preview, you must request access through a support ticket and wait for approval before using the template.
The LangGraph AI Agent Boilerplate provides a more complete starting point for building an agent with conversation history and RAG. You can add your own PDF, Markdown, TXT, or JSON files and test responses grounded in that content.
Personal Blog
Templates for Astro, Gatsby, and Docusaurus help get a technical blog live quickly, with cache and global delivery already configured.
Portfolio
Ready-made boilerplates in React, Vue, and Astro give you a foundation for showcasing your projects with a modern stack.
E-Commerce Storefront Prototype
If you want to study how an e-commerce front end works, the Next.js, Astro, and Gatsby templates give you a working base to test layout, catalog, and navigation flow.
Worth reinforcing: this should be a study prototype, not a live store. To actually sell or use the project commercially, the next step is the Pro plan.
Beyond Templates: Other Things You Can Test
If you prefer to start from scratch, Hobby also lets you explore more specific use cases:
- Rate limiting without writing code: Firewall Rate Limit can be configured directly in the Rules Engine to limit request rates by route. It’s a practical way to experiment with traffic control for an API you built from scratch.
- AI coding tools connected to Azion: if you use Claude Code, Cursor, or Windsurf, you can connect your AI tool to Azion’s MCP Server to search the documentation, generate configurations, and access deployment guidance without switching contexts.
How It Works in Practice
The general flow is as follows:
- Create your free Azion account.
- Choose a template and connect your GitHub account, or start with your own project using the Azion CLI.
- Start the deploy from the Console or run
azion deployvia the CLI. - Watch the logs until the application is live.
There’s no need to choose a region or provision servers. Running and distributing the application across the global infrastructure is already part of the platform.
When the Project Outgrows Hobby
Hobby is designed for learning, experimentation, and validation. When an application is ready for production or consistently reaches the plan’s limits, Pro is the next step: the same platform, with higher limits and on-demand billing for additional usage.
For larger-scale operations or advanced needs, such as custom commercial terms, usage commitments, reserved capacity, and additional support tiers, Enterprise offers a model tailored to the business.
You don’t need to decide this now. Start with the project you want to build today. The path to the other plans is there when it makes sense to move forward.
Start With What You Want to Build
It doesn’t matter if you want to learn a new stack, update your resume, or finally get a personal project live. Pick an idea, use a template as your starting point, and try Azion Platform in practice.
Quick Questions
How long can I use Hobby? You can use Hobby throughout the learning, experimentation, and validation stages, including for developing POCs, as long as the application is not running in production and remains within the plan’s limits. When the project is ready for production, Pro is the next step.
What happens if I exceed the Hobby limits? If your usage consistently exceeds Hobby’s limits, you must upgrade to Pro. Otherwise, your account may be subject to restrictions.
Do I need to build my application from scratch? No. The templates available on the platform cover different types of projects and reduce the initial configuration work.
