Choose Vercel if you're building with Next.js or a commercial app that needs its compute and observability tools, and you're fine paying $20 per developer seat a month. Choose Netlify if you want a free plan you can use for commercial projects, or a flat team price, since its $20/month Pro plan includes unlimited members. Vercel's free Hobby plan is for personal, non-commercial use only, which is the detail that most often decides this comparison for small businesses.
Both platforms take your code, build it and serve it globally, with preview links for every change. The differences are in how they charge and what they include. Plans below come from each vendor's own pricing page.
Vercel vs Netlify at a glance
| Vercel | Netlify | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Hobby, $0, personal and non-commercial use | Free, $0, with a 300 credit limit a month |
| Lowest paid plan | Pro, $20 a month per developer seat | Personal, $9 a month, 1,000 credits |
| Team plan | Pro: $20 per developer seat, free viewer seats | Pro: $20 a month with unlimited members |
| How usage is billed | $20 included credit on Pro, then by usage | Credits for deploys, compute, bandwidth, requests and form submissions |
| Previews | Yes | Unlimited deploy previews |
| Built-in data | Through marketplace integrations; check Vercel's docs | Netlify Database and Blob storage |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom, with a 99.99% SLA |
| Best known for | Next.js and frontend hosting | Git-based deploys, forms and broad framework support |
The main difference: how each one charges
Vercel charges per developer, then by usage. Pro costs $20 per developer seat a month and includes a $20 usage credit, spendable across resources. Viewer seats are free. A team of five developers therefore starts at $100 a month, plus anything beyond the credit.
Netlify charges by credits, with a flat plan price. Free has a 300 credit limit a month, Personal is $9 with 1,000 credits, and Pro is $20 a month with unlimited members, starting at 3,000 credits. Everything draws from that pool: Netlify's pricing page lists 15 credits per production deploy, 10 credits per GB-hour of compute, 20 credits per GB of bandwidth and 2 credits per 10,000 web requests. Additional credits are available if you turn on auto recharge, which is off by default.
So a team of developers usually pays less on Netlify, while a project that deploys often or serves heavy traffic should do the arithmetic first. At 15 credits per production deploy, the Free plan's 300 credits cover 20 production deploys a month and nothing else. If you deploy many times a day, that adds up.
Free plans: the commercial-use catch
This is the part to check before anything else.
- Vercel Hobby is, in Vercel's words, "for personal, non-commercial use." A business site, a client project or a side project that charges money belongs on Pro.
- Netlify Free doesn't carry that restriction on its pricing page, and includes custom domains with SSL, unlimited deploy previews, functions, Netlify Database and Blob storage, within the 300 credit limit. New projects on credit-based accounts start private until you publish them.
If you're building a small business site and want to spend nothing, Netlify is the more straightforward route. Check each vendor's current terms for your specific use.
Got an idea? Build it now!
Just start with a simple prompt. No coding required: Greta.sh turns your idea into a working app in minutes.
Features compared
| Feature | Vercel | Netlify |
|---|---|---|
| Git-based deploys | Yes, with automatic CI/CD | Yes, plus deploys from AI tools or an API |
| Preview deployments | Yes | Unlimited |
| Functions | Yes | Yes, plus AI models |
| Custom domains and SSL | Yes | Yes, including on Free |
| Firewall | Web Application Firewall | Firewall traffic rules and basic rate limiting |
| Global CDN | Yes | Yes |
| Spend controls | Advanced spend management on Pro | Auto recharge is off by default |
| Team access | Developer, viewer and billing seats | Unlimited members on Pro |
Which is better for Next.js?
Vercel is the company behind Next.js, so new Next.js features tend to be designed with its platform in mind, and it's the default choice for many Next.js teams. Netlify also deploys Next.js and many other frameworks. If you rely on the newest Next.js features, test them on Netlify before you commit, or just use Vercel. For other frameworks, or a mostly static site, this advantage matters much less.
Which should you choose?
| Your situation | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial project on a free plan | Netlify | Vercel Hobby is non-commercial only |
| Large Next.js app | Vercel | It's built around Next.js |
| Team of several developers, modest traffic | Netlify Pro | $20 a month with unlimited members |
| One developer, a commercial app | Either | $20 a month on both Pro plans; compare what's included |
| Lots of production deploys a day | Vercel, after checking usage | Netlify charges credits per production deploy |
| You want storage and a database included | Netlify | Netlify Database and Blob storage are on its plans |
| A cheap personal plan with more room | Netlify Personal | $9 a month with 1,000 credits |
Whichever you pick, watch your usage for the first month and set alerts, because both bills can grow with traffic. Our guide to understanding deployment after launch explains what happens to your app once it's live.
Got an idea? Build it now!
Just start with a simple prompt. No coding required: Greta.sh turns your idea into a working app in minutes.
What if you don't have code to deploy yet?
Vercel and Netlify host code, and neither one writes the whole app for you end to end by default, though both are adding AI features. If you're starting from an idea, an AI app builder handles the building and the deployment in one place.
Greta.sh generates a full-stack app from a plain-English description. Deployment, custom domain setup and web analytics start on Starter (a $5/month welcome offer, normally $20/month), and Pro (a $20/month welcome offer, normally $50/month) adds the Database, Flows and GitHub version control. The free plan gives you 5 credits a day but cannot deploy. Greta.sh also has a Netlify connector for publishing your site. To compare builders, see v0 vs Lovable or our best AI app builders roundup.
FAQ
Is Vercel or Netlify better?
Neither is better overall. Vercel is usually the stronger choice for Next.js apps. Netlify is often better value for teams, because Pro includes unlimited members, and its free plan isn't limited to non-commercial use on its pricing page. Your framework, team size and deploy frequency should decide it.
Is Netlify cheaper than Vercel?
For teams, it usually is: Netlify Pro is $20 a month with unlimited members, while Vercel Pro is $20 per developer seat. For one developer the plan prices match. Netlify also has a $9 Personal plan. Actual cost depends on your usage on either platform.
Can I use Vercel's free plan for a business?
No. Vercel says its Hobby plan is for personal, non-commercial use, and its Pro plan is designed for professional developers, freelancers and businesses.
Is Netlify free?
Netlify has a free plan with a 300 credit limit a month. It includes custom domains with SSL, unlimited deploy previews, functions, Netlify Database and Blob storage. Credits are used by production deploys, compute, bandwidth, requests and form submissions.
How many deploys do I get on Netlify's free plan?
Netlify lists production deploys at 15 credits each, so the 300 credit limit covers up to 20 production deploys a month if nothing else uses credits. Compute, bandwidth and requests draw from the same pool.
Can I deploy Next.js on Netlify?
Yes, Netlify supports Next.js as one of many frameworks. Vercel is the company behind Next.js, so test any newer feature you rely on if you plan to host it elsewhere.
Can I move from Vercel to Netlify later?
Usually, yes, since both deploy from your Git repository. The work comes from anything platform-specific: functions, environment variables, redirects, storage and caching. Check those before you plan a move.
