Best distribution strategy for a paid self-hosted web app?

Hi, I am building a paid self-hosted web app with a .NET 10 backend, Next.js 16 frontend, and PostgreSQL database. Goal: I want to keep my own infrastructure and distribution costs at $0 initially by utilizing free tiers only for hosting my Docker images. I also want to give users the flexibility to either host the frontend and backend separately on cloud free tiers (e.g., Vercel/Netlify for Next.js, Render/Railway for the backend container, and Neon/Supabase for Postgres), or run both containers on a single server. Current Distribution Idea: Public Docker Hub or GitHub Container Registry (GHCR) repo for the frontend image. Private Docker Hub or GHCR repo for the backend image (staying within free tier limits). Upon purchase, customers receive deployment instructions and a read-only token/credential to pull the private backend image to their chosen hosting provider. Questions: Free Private Registry: Since I want to stay on free tiers for hosting my images, how difficult is it for users to configure third-party private registry credentials/PATs (read-only) on popular cloud platforms (like Render or Railway)? Public Images + Licensing: Would it be a better user experience to keep both Docker images public and handle activation via a runtime license key inside the backend? Multi-Service vs. Single Server: Does deploying frontend, backend, and DB across separate free cloud services appeal to you, or does configuring CORS and multiple environment variables introduce too much friction compared to running the containers on a single server? Alternative Zero-Cost Distribution: What is the smoothest way you have seen commercial self-hosted apps distributed while keeping image registry costs at $0? Preferred Delivery: What is your personal delivery preference when purchasing and deploying paid self-hosted software? I would love to hear how other developers handle commercial self-hosted software delivery on free-tier infrastructure, or what you prefer when installing paid apps. Thanks.