(Render founder) This is not a 'pricing surge'. Render changed its pricing in December 2022, and a few hundred users received a grace period of 14 months which ends at the end of February 2024.

It's pretty much the circle of life when it comes to modern tech companies.

A company gets founded. Offers features at much lower cost than competition to build up a customer base, typically at a loss. Then once they have a big enough customer base, starts increasing its pricing, reducing features, etc.

Around that time, another company gets founded, promising lower costs, more features, better UI, and the cycle repeats all over again.