thin.host vs Netlify
Netlify is a mature web platform: Git-based deploys with previews, serverless and edge functions, forms and storage. thin.host is a smaller, static-only host built around agent deploys, where one MCP tool call or one zip upload returns a live URL, and custom domains and transactional email live in the same account.
Facts about Netlify are taken from Netlify's own pricing and documentation pages as of October 2026 (checked 2026-10-14) and listed under Sources. Plans change; check the vendor's page before you decide.
Side by side
| thin.host | Netlify | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Free account: hosted sites at thin.host/s/<slug>/ and free <name>.thin.host subdomains. The domain API's free platform tier covers 3 domains. | 300 credits a month, spent on production deploys, bandwidth and requests; projects pause when they run out. Deploy previews and form submissions use no credits. |
| Cheapest paid plan | Domain API tiers: Indie $29/month, Platform $199/month. End users pay $8/month per domain provisioned through the claim flow. | Personal, $9/month (1,000 credits). Pro is $20/month (3,000 credits). |
| Custom domains | Yes, several per site, added from the dashboard with a CNAME to cname.thin.host. | Yes, on the free plan. |
| HTTPS | Automatic for custom domains and thin.host subdomains. | Automatic, included with custom domains on the free plan. |
| AI agent / MCP support | Official hosted MCP server (thin.host/mcp, OAuth 2.1) plus a local server (uvx thinhost-mcp), a Claude Code plugin and a REST API. | Official Netlify MCP server (remote or npm), with guides for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and VS Code, plus Claude and ChatGPT apps. |
| Transactional email | Yes: transactional email over MCP, REST or SMTP from a verified sending domain (access is approved per account). | No sending service of its own. The Email Integration relays through your own Mailgun, Postmark or SendGrid account and has been closed to new teams since September 11, 2026. |
| How you deploy | MCP tool call, one REST upload of a zip, or drag-and-drop in the dashboard. No Git integration: you build locally or in CI. | Git continuous deployment, the CLI (netlify deploy --prod --dir=dist), Netlify Drop drag-and-drop, and an API. |
| Deploy without an account | No, an account is needed to deploy. | Yes. Netlify Drop works without signing in (password-protected until claimed), and netlify deploy --allow-anonymous must be claimed within an hour. |
| Server-side features | Static files only, plus built-in form capture and password or email gating. No serverless functions. | Functions, Edge Functions, Forms, Blobs and a database. |
When Netlify is the better choice
- You deploy from Git and want deploy previews and branch deploys for every change.
- The site needs server-side pieces such as Functions, Edge Functions or Netlify Forms.
When thin.host is the better choice
- An agent or a script deploys the site: one MCP call or one zip upload, no repository needed.
- You want transactional email from a verified domain in the same account as the hosting.
- You would rather not track a monthly credit budget for a static site.
Moving from Netlify to thin.host
- Get the built site: run your build locally with the same command Netlify runs, or download a successful deploy as a ZIP from its page in the Netlify UI (it holds the publish directory).
- Publish the folder: ask your agent to publish it to thin.host (MCP), or zip it and run
curl -F file=@site.zip -H "Authorization: Bearer $THINHOST_API_KEY" https://thin.host/v1/websites/archive. Check the site at its/s/<slug>/preview URL. - Plan for redirects: thin.host does not read
_redirectsornetlify.toml, and redirects are not yet self-serve. Keep URL paths the same where you can; for a page that moved, deploy a small HTML page with ameta refreshand a canonical link to the new address. - Point forms at thin.host's form capture: set each form's action to
/s/<slug>/_forms. Submissions appear under Leads. - Move the domain: add it to the site under Custom Domains in the thin.host dashboard, change its DNS record to the CNAME the dashboard shows (cname.thin.host), and remove it from Netlify once thin.host's certificate is live.
What does not carry over
- _redirects, _headers and netlify.toml
- Netlify Functions and Edge Functions
- Netlify Forms history, Blobs and Database
- Deploy previews and branch deploys
Deploy commands for your framework are in the deploy guides; agent setup is in Quickstart (MCP).
FAQ
Can I move a site that uses Netlify Functions?
Only the static part. thin.host does not run serverless functions, so keep them on Netlify (or another platform) and call them from the static site.
Can I deploy to thin.host without an account?
No. Sign up (free), then deploy with an API key, the MCP server or the dashboard's upload page.
Do I have to move my DNS provider?
No. Keep DNS where it is and create the record the dashboard shows, a CNAME to cname.thin.host. TLS is issued automatically once it resolves.
Sources
Netlify facts checked on 2026-10-14 against: