TL;DR: Netlify is cheaper for small sites and for teams, and Vercel is cheaper for busy sites that one or two people deploy. The same server-rendered app costs $20 on Netlify and $24 on Vercel at 100 GB, $165 against $120 at 1 TB, and $823 against $335 at 5 TB, taking the cheaper of Vercel's two CDN billing options each time. One rented server runs it for about $7 to $11, with Ployz free on top.
- Pick Netlify if your site is small, it earns money and you want it free (Netlify's terms don't limit Free to personal use), or several people deploy, because Pro is $20 with unlimited members.
- Pick Vercel if you serve about 1 TB a month or more, up to 150M requests, and one or two people deploy, or your Next.js app leans on the newest features.
- Pick Vercel Hobby if the project is personal and earns nothing, since it allows far more traffic than Netlify Free.
- Pick your own server with Ployz, which I build, if your app is server-rendered, its traffic is past the free tiers, and one region is close enough to your users.
Netlify and Vercel are both frontend clouds: you connect a Git repository, they build your site, serve its static files from a global CDN and run its server code as functions. They look alike from the dashboard. They bill in very different ways. Netlify turns everything into credits from one monthly allowance. Vercel charges per deploying seat and sells bandwidth in flat tiers.
Most "Netlify vs Vercel" pages compare starting prices and stop there. I priced the same app on both, line by line, at five sizes. My Railway bill once climbed past $500 a month, so I care about where each bill goes when you grow.
Netlify and Vercel plans at a glance
| Netlify | Vercel | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 300 credits a month; terms don't limit it to personal use | Hobby: 100 GB, 1M requests, non-commercial only |
| Cheapest paid plan | Personal, $9 for 1,000 credits | Pro, $20 per person who deploys |
| Team of five | $20 on Pro, unlimited members | $100 in seats, plus usage |
| Bandwidth | About $0.13/GB (20 credits) | Flat Rate CDN tiers of $0, $20, $100 or $300 (paid tiers include 50 TB), or $0.15/GB on demand |
| At the limit | Every site on the account pauses | Pro keeps serving and bills on demand |
| Function time limit | 60 s | 300 s by default, up to 800 s |
What would your site cost on Netlify and Vercel?
Pick the closest app. It opens on a small server-rendered app with 100,000 page views a month. Customize changes page views, page weight, function calls, deploys and team size; the rest is fixed at the assumptions listed under the table below. It also checks your numbers against both free plans.
- Transfer and requests
- 100 GB, 2.0M requests
- Assumed
- 20 requests per page view; 250 ms per function call (30 ms CPU); 7 previews per 3 deploys, 3 min builds
- Netlify credits
- 2,919 (Pro 3,000 credits)
- Fits Netlify Free (300 credits)?
- No: 2,919 credits, paused around day 3
- Fits Vercel Hobby?
- No: 2.0M requests (limit 1M)
- Own server
- 1 × Hetzner CX23
- Netlify$20/mo
Cheapest plan that covers the credits: Free, Personal ($9, then 500 credits for $5) or Pro ($20 to $126, then 1,500 credits for $10). Pro has unlimited members.
- Vercel Pro, Flat Rate CDN$40/mo
$20 a deploying seat, plus the CDN tier your requests land in ($0, $20, $100 or $300). Functions and builds come out of the $20 credit.
- Vercel Pro, on-demand CDN$24/mo
$20 a deploying seat, $0.15/GB and $2 per 1M requests (iad1), plus functions and builds, minus the $20 credit.
- Your own server + Ployz$7/mo
Hetzner CX23 ($6.49) or CX33s ($9.99) in Germany or Finland, plus a €0.50 (about $0.60) IPv4 each. Ployz is free, custom domains included. No seat fees.
Is Netlify cheaper than Vercel?
For small sites and teams, yes. For a busy site with one or two people deploying, no. Here's what the same app costs at five sizes:
| App | Netlify | Vercel Pro, Flat Rate CDN | Vercel Pro, on-demand | Your own server + Ployz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio, 5 GB, static | $0 (Free) | $0 on Hobby if it earns nothing, else $20 | $20 | $7.09 (CX23) |
| 100 GB, 100k page views | $20 | $40 | $23.81 | $7.09 (CX23) |
| 1 TB, 1M page views | $165 | $120 | $200.34 | $7.09 (CX23) |
| 5 TB, 5M page views | $823 | $334.89 | $984.89 | $10.59 (CX33) |
| 1 TB, five people deploying | $165 | $200 | $280.34 | $7.09 (CX23) |
The app I priced:
- A Next.js app with server-rendered pages, served from the US East region on both platforms.
- 1 MB transferred per page view, so 1 GB is about 1,000 page views.
- 20 requests per page view: the HTML, JavaScript chunks, CSS, fonts, images and one API call.
- One function call per page view, 250 ms of wall time and 30 ms of CPU time. Netlify runs it at its default 1 GB of memory and Vercel at its default 2 GB.
- 30 production deploys and 70 preview deploys a month, 3 minutes each. The calculator keeps that ratio of previews to deploys.
These are my assumptions, not measurements. Your Netlify usage page and Vercel Usage tab show the real numbers.
Where the lead changes hands
With one person deploying, the lead changes hands a few times, because Netlify's bill rises with every gigabyte and Vercel's Flat Rate CDN rises in steps. Up to about 200,000 page views, Netlify is cheaper or level, except around 110,000 to 140,000, where Vercel on-demand is a few dollars cheaper. From about 230,000 page views, Vercel's $20 tier wins. Past 10M requests (500,000 page views here), Vercel moves up to the $100 tier, and Netlify is cheaper again until about 720,000 page views. From there to 150M requests (7.5M page views), Vercel wins clearly, because each paid tier includes 50 TB of transfer. Past 150M requests, Vercel drops back to on-demand prices and Netlify is cheaper again: at 10M page views, this app costs $1,645 on Netlify and $1,966 on Vercel.
Seats move the line. With three people deploying, Vercel only pulls ahead for good at about 1M page views. With five, Netlify stays cheaper until about 1.2M page views, because Vercel adds $20 for each of them.
What does the same app cost on each, line by line?
Netlify counts everything in credits, then sells credits by the plan. Vercel charges a seat fee and a CDN tier, then takes functions and builds out of a $20 credit. This is the 1 TB app:
| Line | Netlify | Vercel Pro, Flat Rate CDN |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Pro, 15,000 credits: $95 | 1 deploying seat: $20 |
| 1 TB of transfer | 20,000 credits (20 per GB) | In the CDN tier |
| 20M requests | 4,000 credits (2 per 10,000) | $100 CDN tier (up to 50M requests) |
| 30 production deploys | 450 credits (15 each) | Builds: $4.20 (100 builds, previews included) |
| 70 preview deploys | Free | In the build line |
| Functions | 694 credits (69 GB-hours at 10 each) | $6.14 (calls, CPU, memory and origin transfer) |
| Extra credits | 7 packs of 1,500 credits: $70 | Usage credit: -$10.34 |
| Monthly total | $165 (25,144 credits) | $120 |
Bandwidth is about 80% of the Netlify bill. At $10 per 1,500 credits, a gigabyte costs about $0.13, close to Vercel's on-demand $0.15. Vercel's Flat Rate CDN is what changes the picture: for $100 the app gets 50M requests and up to 50 TB of transfer.
Functions are cheap on both. Builds are where they differ: Netlify charges 15 credits for each production deploy and nothing for previews, while Vercel bills every build by the CPU minute. The full rate cards are in Netlify pricing and Vercel pricing.
Which free plan is better, Netlify or Vercel?
Vercel Hobby gives more, and Netlify Free is the one you can use for a business. Vercel's Hobby plan is for personal, non-commercial projects. Netlify's subscription agreement describes its free tier without limiting it to personal use.
| Netlify Free | Vercel Hobby | |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial use | Not restricted in its terms | Not allowed |
| Monthly allowance | 300 credits | 100 GB transfer, 1M CDN requests, 4 CPU-hours, 1M invocations |
| What that serves (the app above) | About 12,000 page views with no deploys | About 50,000 page views |
| Each production deploy | 15 credits | Free |
| People | One | One |
| At the limit | Every site pauses until next month | You wait 30 days |
Netlify's 300 credits go quickly. A gigabyte of transfer is 20 credits, so 300 credits is 15 GB if nothing else uses them. Twenty production deploys use the whole allowance. A static portfolio with 5,000 page views and 10 deploys a month fits, with 30 credits to spare.
Vercel Hobby is generous with traffic, so it suits a personal blog or side project. A landing page for a paid product, a client site or a blog with ads counts as commercial. I went through each Hobby limit in Is Vercel free?
How much do Netlify and Vercel cost for a team?
Netlify Pro is $20 a month with unlimited members. Vercel Pro is $20 for each person who deploys, and viewer seats are free. The whole team shares one $20 usage credit on Vercel.
| People deploying | Netlify Pro, 100 GB app | Vercel Pro (on-demand), 100 GB app | Netlify Pro, 1 TB app | Vercel Pro (Flat Rate), 1 TB app |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20 | $23.81 | $165 | $120 |
| 3 | $20 | $63.81 | $165 | $160 |
| 5 | $20 | $103.81 | $165 | $200 |
Netlify Pro has had unlimited members since 14 April 2026 (changelog). Some comparison pages still say Netlify charges per member, so check the date on anything you read.
What happens when you go over the limit?
This is the biggest practical difference. When a Netlify team runs out of credits, "all of your web projects (sites/apps) are paused," and visitors see a "Site not available" page (billing FAQ). One busy site pauses every other site on the account. Paused sites stay down until the next billing cycle, unless you upgrade or turn on auto recharge, which is off by default. Netlify emails you at 50%, 75%, 90% and 100% of your credits.
Vercel Pro keeps serving when usage passes the $20 credit, and bills the rest on demand. It sends a spend notification at $200 a month by default (Pro plan). On Flat Rate CDN, a spike past your tier doesn't change that month's bill: if the whole cycle goes over, Vercel moves you up a tier at the start of the next one, and past the top tier you move to on-demand prices (Flat Rate CDN). Vercel Hobby stops the feature you overused, and you wait 30 days.
So the trade is clear. Netlify protects your wallet and takes your sites offline. Vercel keeps your site up and sends a bigger bill. If your site makes money, turn on Netlify's auto recharge or keep a close eye on usage, because a traffic spike can take everything down.
How do functions, Next.js and features compare?
| Netlify | Vercel | Your own server + Ployz | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Function time limit | 60 s, 15 min for background functions | 300 s by default, up to 800 s | No function timeout: your app runs as a long-running container |
| Function memory | 1 GB by default, up to 4 GB on Pro | 2 GB by default | The server's RAM |
| Next.js | Through Netlify's open-source OpenNext adapter, 13.5 and later | Built by Vercel | Runs as a Node server, no Dockerfile needed |
| Preview deploys | No deploy charge; their traffic uses credits | Included; builds billed per CPU minute | A preview environment per pull request |
| Password protection | Pro plan | $20 a month per project | Not built in |
| Global CDN | Yes | Yes | No: one server, one region |
Sources: Netlify functions, Netlify plans, Next.js on Netlify, Vercel Pro plan and Vercel pricing.
Netlify: where it wins and where it falls short
Netlify suits static sites, marketing sites and small teams. Forms are free, deploy previews cost nothing, and a whole team pays $20. Its Next.js support covers the App Router, ISR, Server Actions, middleware and image optimization.
It falls short on bandwidth, which costs about $0.13 a gigabyte at any volume. Synchronous functions stop at 60 seconds. And the credit model means a traffic spike pauses every site you have, not only the busy one.
Vercel: where it wins and where it falls short
Vercel suits busy sites and Next.js apps. Flat Rate CDN, the default for new Pro teams, gives 50 TB of transfer from the $20 tier up. Vercel makes Next.js, so I'd expect new features to work there first. Functions can run for up to 800 seconds.
It falls short for teams and for business side projects. Each person who deploys costs $20, and Hobby can't host anything commercial. Extras add up too: password protection is $20 a month per project.
Is either cheaper than your own server?
Yes, by a wide margin once the app has traffic. The 1 TB app costs $165 on Netlify and $120 on Vercel, against $7.09 on a Hetzner CX23 with Ployz. The 5 TB app is $823 and $335 against $10.59. Ployz is free, custom domains included, so the server is the whole bill.
| Server | Specs | Monthly price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hetzner CX23 | 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB, 20 TB traffic | $6.49 | Price list |
| Hetzner CX33 | 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 80 GB, 20 TB traffic | $9.99 | Same |
| Primary IPv4 | €0.50 (about $0.60) | Hetzner docs | |
| Netcup VPS 500 | 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB, traffic included | €8.26 incl. VAT on a 12-month term | netcup VPS |
Hetzner's CX servers are in Germany and Finland only, priced after its 15 June 2026 rise, in USD before VAT. For US users, Netcup has a datacenter in Manassas, Virginia, for about €1 more a month.
For a static portfolio the server costs more than either free plan. The saving starts once the site is server-rendered and its traffic is past the free tiers.
What the server price leaves out:
| Job | Netlify or Vercel | Your own server |
|---|---|---|
| Global CDN | Included | One location. Put a CDN in front if your users are far away |
| A traffic spike | Netlify pauses, Vercel bills more | The server takes what its size allows; add servers and replicas when you need more |
Where Ployz fits
I build Ployz, which runs your app on a server you rent. Push to GitHub and it builds on your server and deploys, with zero downtime once you set a health check. Every pull request gets a preview environment at its own https address, and the settings you save there go live with the merge. A Next.js app needs no Dockerfile (Ployz for Next.js).
ployz up --server root@your-serverThat installs Ployz on a Linux server, builds the current directory and gives it an HTTPS address. If your app needs a database, Postgres, MySQL, Redis and MongoDB are one click each. When one server isn't enough, add another with one command, and the app runs across both without Kubernetes.
What it doesn't do yet:
- No global CDN. Your app is served from your server's location.
- No built-in forms or password protection.
Ployz is free on your own servers, custom domains included. If you're comparing more than these two, I cover the rest in Vercel alternatives. Start free on your own server.
FAQ
Does Netlify use Vercel?
No. Netlify and Vercel are separate companies with their own CDNs and function platforms. Vercel makes Next.js, and Netlify runs Next.js apps through its own open-source adapter.
Is Netlify actually free?
Yes, up to 300 credits a month, and its terms don't limit it to personal use. That's about 15 GB of transfer, or less once you count deploys at 15 credits each. When the credits run out, your sites pause until next month.
What are the downsides of using Netlify?
Bandwidth costs about $0.13 a gigabyte, and running out of credits pauses every site on your account. Synchronous functions stop at 60 seconds. Every production deploy costs 15 credits.
Is Vercel better than Netlify for Next.js?
I think so, for apps that use the newest features. Vercel makes Next.js, so I'd expect them to work there first. Netlify supports Next.js 13.5 and later through its adapter, with a few documented limits on middleware and rewrites.
Is there anything better than Vercel?
It depends on what you need. Netlify is cheaper for small sites and teams. Your own server is cheaper for a server-rendered app with traffic. I compare the options in Vercel alternatives.
Which is cheaper for a static website?
Netlify, for a small one, because its terms don't limit the free plan to personal use. With no functions and one person deploying, Vercel's Flat Rate CDN is cheaper from about 240 GB to 500 GB a month, then from about 750 GB up to 150M requests. In between, Vercel's $100 tier makes Netlify cheaper.
How I checked
I checked every price on 8 October 2026 on netlify.com/pricing, Netlify's credit-based plans, how credits work and billing FAQ, and on vercel.com/pricing, Vercel's Pro plan, Hobby plan, Flat Rate CDN and iad1 pricing docs. All prices are in USD before tax. Netlify accounts created before 4 September 2025 may still be on legacy plans, which bill differently.
Vercel's pages disagree on one number. The pricing page lists 10M CDN requests a month for Pro, while the Pro plan and Flat Rate CDN docs say the included tier is 1M. I used the docs' 1M. If 10M is right, the 100 GB app costs $20 on Vercel, the same as Netlify.
I didn't deploy this app on either platform. The bills come from each official rate card, with my usage assumptions spelled out so you can swap in your own. I build Ployz, which competes with both, so I'm biased; the maths is all here to check.
Deploy your app on your own server with Ployz, free: get started.