[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":131},["ShallowReactive",2],{"use-case-\u002Fuse-cases\u002Fnetlify-password-protection":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"comparison":66,"cta":97,"description":100,"extension":101,"faqs":102,"h1":112,"meta":113,"navigation":114,"path":115,"pillar":116,"platform":70,"seo":119,"siblings":120,"stem":127,"updated":128,"valueProp":129,"__hash__":130},"useCases\u002Fuse-cases\u002Fnetlify-password-protection.md","Netlify Password Protection: the Simple Alternative | Hostsmith",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":60},"minimark",[9,13,18,21,38,41,45,57],[10,11,12],"p",{},"Netlify Drop earned its fans honestly. You drag a folder onto a page and it is live, no git, no build config. For a quick public demo it is hard to beat, and Netlify's free bandwidth and CI\u002FCD pipeline are genuinely good. This page is about the one step that turns from easy to fiddly: putting a password in front of that site for a client.",[14,15,17],"h2",{"id":16},"where-netlify-actually-stands","Where Netlify actually stands",[10,19,20],{},"Netlify can password-protect a site. The specifics matter:",[22,23,24,32],"ul",{},[25,26,27,31],"li",{},[28,29,30],"strong",{},"Password protection is a paid-tier feature."," It is not on the free plan, and it applies as site-wide basic auth - one credential in front of the whole deploy. Confirm the current plan and packaging on Netlify's pricing page, since tiers shift.",[25,33,34,37],{},[28,35,36],{},"Finer-grained access"," (per-role, per-member) runs through Netlify Identity and takes more setup than typing a password.",[10,39,40],{},"So the gap is not \"Netlify can't gate a site\". It is that the gating step waits on a paid tier and arrives as site-wide basic auth, which is more than you want for sending one client a preview link.",[14,42,44],{"id":43},"how-hostsmith-handles-the-same-job","How Hostsmith handles the same job",[46,47,48,51,54],"ol",{},[25,49,50],{},"Drag your site, ZIP, PDF or images onto Hostsmith for a free public link.",[25,52,53],{},"On the Pro plan, turn on Private Sites in the site settings.",[25,55,56],{},"Pick a shared password, or an email whitelist so only the client's listed addresses get in.",[10,58,59],{},"The drag-and-drop is the same shape you already like from Drop. The difference is that the gate is a built-in toggle, plus the email-whitelist mode that keeps a shared password out of the client's inbox entirely. Password protection, custom domains and EU partitions are Pro - the free tier is a public link, not a gate.",{"title":61,"searchDepth":62,"depth":62,"links":63},"",2,[64,65],{"id":16,"depth":62,"text":17},{"id":43,"depth":62,"text":44},{"caption":67,"columns":68,"rows":72},"Gating a client preview: Netlify vs Hostsmith (capabilities, not prices)",[69,70,71],"Capability","Netlify","Hostsmith",[73,77,81,85,89,93],{"feature":74,"them":75,"us":76},"Drag-and-drop deploy","Yes - Netlify Drop, free","Yes - drop a file or ZIP, free",{"feature":78,"them":79,"us":80},"Shared-password protection","On a paid tier; site-wide basic auth","Built in on Pro - one toggle",{"feature":82,"them":83,"us":84},"Email-whitelist access","Via Identity \u002F role-based access, more setup","Yes, list the client's emails (Pro)",{"feature":86,"them":87,"us":88},"Custom domain on the gated link","Yes","Yes, on Pro",{"feature":90,"them":91,"us":92},"EU data partition","Global CDN; no EU-only data choice","EU partition on Pro",{"feature":94,"them":95,"us":96},"Free public link","Yes (claim the site to keep it)","Yes - free tier, no expiry",{"heading":98,"sub":99},"Drop a file, gate it on Pro","Free public link first. Add a password or email whitelist when you need it.","Netlify password protection sits on a paid tier and gates the whole site with basic auth. Drop a file on Hostsmith and add a shared-password or email-whitelist gate on Pro instead.","md",[103,106,109],{"q":104,"a":105},"Does Netlify Drop support password protection?","Netlify Drop itself is the free drag-and-drop deploy; password protection is a separate feature that lives on a paid Netlify tier and applies as site-wide basic auth. Check Netlify's current pricing for exactly which plan includes it. Netlify's free bandwidth and CI\u002FCD are genuinely strong - the gap is specifically the gating step for a quick client preview.",{"q":107,"a":108},"How is Hostsmith different for a protected preview?","You drag a file the same way, and the gate is a built-in toggle on Pro - shared password or an email whitelist - rather than basic auth on a higher plan. The public link is free; the gate is the paid part.",{"q":110,"a":111},"Can I keep a free Netlify Drop site without an account?","Netlify lets you publish a Drop site instantly but you claim it with an account to keep it. Hostsmith's free sites have no check-in or expiry requirement. Either way, password protection is a paid feature on both - we won't pretend it's free here.","Netlify password protection, without the paid-tier wait",{},true,"\u002Fuse-cases\u002Fnetlify-password-protection",{"label":117,"to":118},"Full guide: how to password protect a website","\u002Fblog\u002Fpassword-protect-website",{"title":5,"description":100},[121,124],{"label":122,"to":123},"Vercel password protection","\u002Fuse-cases\u002Fvercel-password-protection",{"label":125,"to":126},"Tiiny Host alternative","\u002Fuse-cases\u002Ftiiny-host-alternative","use-cases\u002Fnetlify-password-protection","2026-06-16","Netlify Drop is a lovely free drag-and-drop, but password protection unlocks on a paid tier and gates the whole site with basic auth. Hostsmith keeps the drag-and-drop and adds a shared-password or email-whitelist gate on Pro.","EBtC8BNXQZwwZvW3J0BYnYpXuRTiwiIbSdHk0xfkSY8",1781808843899]