Netlify's Free Plan Now Shows a Powered by Netlify Badge

Every public project created on Netlify’s Free plan on or after Aug 19, 2026 now shows a “Powered by Netlify” badge to visitors by default, and the same release shipped a “pre-launch toolbar” overlay for projects that are still private (Netlify changelog, Aug 19, 2026).

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What changed

The badge only applies going forward. Any project created before Aug 19 keeps the badge off, exactly as it was. A new public project on the Free plan gets it on by default, but the setting lives per-project under Project configuration > General > Powered by Netlify badge, and flipping it takes effect on the next request with no redeploy required (Netlify changelog, Aug 19, 2026; Netlify docs, Powered by Netlify badge).

It isn’t a hard paywall, either. Netlify’s docs note that any visitor can hide the badge for themselves, a choice stored locally in their browser that never reaches Netlify. On the Credit-based Personal and Pro plans the badge is off by default and can be turned on per project if a team wants it (Netlify docs, Powered by Netlify badge).

The pre-launch toolbar is a separate piece of the same release: a no-cookie, no-analytics overlay rendered in an isolated frame, shown on a project while it’s still private, meant to help a team take action on it before launch. Both the badge and the toolbar are rolling out gradually over the following weeks, so a qualifying project may not see either immediately (Netlify changelog, Aug 19, 2026).

This lands three weeks after Netlify made new projects private by default, replacing the old public-by-default URL (Netlify changelog, July 28, 2026). Taken together, the two releases reshape what a fresh Netlify project looks like out of the box: private until you’re ready to launch, with a toolbar to manage that window, and branded once it goes public on the Free plan.

Our take

A default is not a paywall, but defaults are where most users live. The badge toggle exists and costs nothing to flip, and the local per-visitor hide option is a considerate touch most vendor badges skip. Still, shipping something “on by default” works because most people never open project settings to turn it off. That’s the mechanism.

Pairing it with the private-by-default change reads as a coherent shape rather than a grab: Netlify wants new projects to stay quiet until they’re deliberately launched, and to carry a small Netlify credit once they are. For a hobbyist that’s a fair trade for a free host. For anyone shipping client work on a Free-plan Netlify site, it’s one more setting to remember to flip before handing off the URL.

Key Takeaways

• New public projects on Netlify’s Free plan created on or after Aug 19, 2026 show a Powered by Netlify badge by default; projects created earlier are unaffected.
• The badge is a per-project toggle in Project configuration, takes effect immediately without a redeploy, and any visitor can also hide it locally in their own browser.
• The Credit-based Personal and Pro plans keep the badge off by default.
• The same release added a pre-launch toolbar overlay for private projects, three weeks after Netlify switched new projects to private-by-default on July 28, 2026.