The Problem: Webflow's New Bandwidth Limits 😨
Webflow has been an awesome platform for building no-code and low-code websites, but things are about to get a little more expensive. They're introducing bandwidth limits on Webflow-hosted sites, which means if your site gets a lot of traffic, streams large videos, or serves heavy assets (like high-res images or custom scripts), you’ll be forced to pay more for hosting.
Why is this a problem?
- Webflow’s hosting is already on the expensive side 💰.
- The new limits mean higher costs for sites with a lot of media 🎥.
- No built-in way to host large files externally to avoid hitting limits ⛔.
- Clients may not realize this until they get a bandwidth overage charge! 😬
But don’t worry—there are plenty of third-party hosting services that can help you offload large files and assets so you don’t burn through your Webflow bandwidth. Let’s dive into the best options! 🚀
10 Best Third-Party Hosting Services for Webflow Assets 🛠️
1️⃣ GitHub Gist – Simple Code Snippet Hosting
- Perfect for JavaScript, JSON, and CSS snippets.
- Free ✅.
- Easy to embed in Webflow via a direct link.
- Example:
https://gist.githubusercontent.com/username/raw/filename.js. - 🔗 GitHub Gist
2️⃣ GitHub Pages – Free Static Site & File Hosting
- Best for JavaScript, JSON files, and small static websites.
- Completely free (unless using a private repo on GitHub Pro) ✅.
- URL format:
https://yourusername.github.io/yourrepo/file.js - 🔗 GitHub Pages
3️⃣ Netlify – Fast & Free Static Hosting
- Great for JSON files, JavaScript, and small static assets.
- Free tier with generous limits.
- Global CDN for super-fast file delivery 🚀.
- 🔗 Netlify
4️⃣ Firebase Hosting – Best for Dynamic Content & APIs
- Great for hosting dynamic JSON data and API endpoints.
- Free tier with 1GB storage & 50GB bandwidth per month.
- Paid plans start at $0.026 per GB beyond free limit.
- 🔗 Firebase Hosting
5️⃣ Amazon S3 – Cheap & Scalable File Storage
- Best for large file hosting (images, videos, scripts, etc.).
- Pricing:
- First 1GB free 🆓.
- $0.023 per GB for standard storage.
- 🔗 Amazon S3
6️⃣ Cloudflare Pages – Free Static Hosting with CDN
- Fastest way to serve static assets globally ⚡.
- Free plan with 100,000 requests per day.
- Great for JavaScript, CSS, and images.
- 🔗 Cloudflare Pages
7️⃣ Google Drive – Hacky but Effective for File Hosting
- Works for PDFs, images, and some scripts.
- Free with 15GB storage.
- Can generate direct file links for embedding in Webflow.
- 🔗 Google Drive
8️⃣ Flowdrive – Designed for Webflow Users
- Custom file hosting built specifically for Webflow.
- Free plan: 1GB storage, 25 files, 20MB per file.
- Paid plans start at $9/month.
- 🔗 Flowdrive
9️⃣ Tiiny Host – Simple Webflow Export Hosting
- Upload and host exported Webflow sites.
- Free for 3-day temporary hosting.
- Paid plans start at $2.99/month.
- 🔗 Tiiny Host
🔟 Dropbox – Easy File Storage with Shareable Links
- Great for hosting PDFs, images, and small scripts.
- Free plan: 2GB storage.
- Paid plans start at $9.99/month for 2TB.
- 🔗 Dropbox
Bonus Tips to Reduce Webflow Bandwidth Usage 📉
Besides using third-party hosting, here are some additional ways to cut down on bandwidth usage and save money:
✅ Optimize Images: Use WebP format and compress images with TinyPNG or Squoosh.✅ Lazy Load Images & Videos: Webflow has built-in lazy loading to prevent unnecessary loading of offscreen media.✅ Use YouTube/Vimeo for Videos: Don’t upload videos to Webflow—embed them instead! 🚀✅ Minify Code & Scripts: Reduce unnecessary white space in JavaScript and CSS files.✅ Limit Large CMS Collections: If your CMS has thousands of items, consider paginating or filtering content.
Final Thoughts 💡
Webflow’s bandwidth limits might be annoying, but they don’t have to break the bank. By offloading files and scripts to third-party hosting solutions, you can keep your Webflow hosting costs low without sacrificing performance.
