Framer Free 1GB and domain: when indies should buy Basic

When an indie spins a product landing page in Framer, the search often becomes whether Free can use a custom domain and whether 1GB of bandwidth survives launch traffic. This page does not re-run Framer versus Canva or Tailwind bake-offs. It freezes Free limits as of 2026-09-30 on framer.com/pricing and spells out when Basic is the rational next buy. Re-open the pricing page before you pay; numbers move.

What Free includes

Framer labels the free tier Free at $0. Official cards list 500 AI credits to try, a Free Framer domain, 1 GB bandwidth, and design pages. You can design and publish on a Framer domain, but custom domains and larger bandwidth sit on paid tiers. Basic is $10 per month with a free custom domain, 2 CMS collections, 50 GB bandwidth, built-in SEO, and use-your-own-domain language; localization is an add-on; monthly AI credit tiers appear on the card with a first-month 2× credits style note. Pro is $30 per month with 10 CMS collections, 100 GB bandwidth, redirects, staging, branching with previews, and advanced hosting.

For most validation-stage products, the first wall is brand domain trust; the second is whether 1GB dies after a post or paid click burst. Design ability on Free is already enough to test copy and structure—do not misread “no custom domain yet” as “Framer cannot ship a landing page.”

How to survive 1GB during validation

Treat Free as a validation budget. Keep pages light: compress hero images, host video elsewhere, subset fonts, and avoid autoplaying heavy media. 1GB fits early cold start and small-circle sharing, not a sudden paid campaign. If you plan paid social, assume bandwidth may break first, then choose between Basic and hosting on a stack with a larger traffic envelope.

In ship week, watch traffic sources. Separate home, pricing anchors, and docs jumps. If crawlers or oversized images eat bandwidth, optimize before you upgrade. 500 AI credits to try are trial credits—do not treat them as a permanent copy factory; ongoing monthly AI tiers show on the Basic card. Finish information architecture on Free, then attach the domain in the week you pay.

Domains, CMS, and SEO

Free only includes a Framer domain. That is fine for internal reviews, private investor links, or waiting on trademark decisions. Once ads, email signatures, or store listings point at the page, a custom domain is usually the cleaner trust signal and the most common Basic purchase reason. Built-in SEO appears with your own domain on Basic; do not expect to finish brand SEO on a Free subdomain.

Basic’s 2 CMS collections fit a light changelog and a small blog. If you need a library-scale site, localization, or preview environments, map those needs to Pro’s CMS count, localization add-on, staging, and branching instead of stretching Basic. Redirects sit higher—confirm your plan before migrating old URLs.

When to buy Basic or Pro—and when not to

Buy Basic if for two consecutive weeks you hit these signals: public links must use your own domain; 1GB still threatens availability after optimization; you need built-in SEO with a custom domain; two CMS collections cover updates and posts. Also upgrade the week before paid ads so click spend does not land on a Framer subdomain.

Look at Pro when you need staging or preview branches, more CMS, 100GB bandwidth, or advanced hosting. Stay on Free if validation stays in a small circle, the subdomain is acceptable, pages are light, and you are not running paid traffic. After upgrading, spend week one on DNS and cache checks—confirm HTTPS and redirects—before polishing motion. Re-check the live $10 and $30 monthly prices and annual toggles.

A one-week-before-ads checklist

If you plan ads or a large post next week, decide with a checklist instead of vibes. Confirm the home hero and key screenshots are compressed. Confirm nothing autoplays heavy video on the landing path. Confirm public materials already assume a custom domain. Confirm whether you truly need two CMS collections or only a changelog. If the domain is mandatory and bandwidth remains risky after optimization, buy Basic before launch day. If you are only testing dozens of internal clicks, a Free subdomain with strict lightness can still finish validation.

Pin that checklist in the ship channel. Who compresses assets, who configures DNS, who replaces old Framer links—write the three owners before paying. Payment does not create traffic; it only removes quota friction that would waste clicks.

Keep this separate from comparison posts

Toolvori already publishes Framer versus Canva and Tailwind versus Framer selection articles. This tutorial answers only Free bandwidth and domain quotas. Document whether a custom domain is mandatory, bandwidth alert thresholds, and image budgets in your ops handbook, then re-verify pricing quarterly. If lightness and a subdomain finish validation, do not pay to look like a giant marketing site. Write the purchase reason as one sentence, such as buying a custom domain and 50GB, or buying Pro for staging previews.

Pin the official numbers for framer-free-indie-bandwidth-domain in your knowledge base with the observation date and URL. When someone claims “free is always enough” or “you must upgrade now,” open the pin instead of arguing from memory. Limits change; habits beat slogans. Treat upgrade triggers as a checklist: you hit the wall for two consecutive weeks, it blocks acquisition or brand trust, lightness discipline is exhausted, and Basic or Pro maps to the exact blocker. In the first week after paying, point public links at the new domain or bandwidth tier so you are not still sharing the old Framer subdomain.