Netlify vs Vercel

Updated October 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

Netlify

Git-based hosting for websites and web apps, with deploy previews, functions and forms.

Free plan + paid

Visit Netlify Netlify profile

Vercel

Frontend and full-stack hosting from the makers of Next.js, with preview deployments and serverless functions.

Free plan + paid

Visit Vercel Vercel profile

The short answer

Vercel and Netlify both deploy frontend and full-stack web apps from Git with a preview URL for every pull request. Vercel is the natural home for Next.js and charges Pro per seat; Netlify's Pro plan is a flat fee for unlimited members and adds built-in forms. The biggest difference is pricing structure: per-seat with usage credit on Vercel, versus a credit allowance shared by the whole team on Netlify.

Netlify or Vercel: our take

In daily use the two feel very similar. Both connect to a repository, build on every push, serve the result from a global CDN and run backend code as serverless and edge functions. Vercel is built by the company behind Next.js, so new Next.js features tend to work best there first, though it also supports Astro, SvelteKit, Nuxt and Remix. Netlify supports the same broad set of frameworks and bundles extras that Vercel leaves to add-ons or partners, such as form handling, an image CDN, background functions and identity features. Neither is designed for long-running servers or background workers; teams that need those usually look at container platforms such as Render or Railway.

Pricing is where they part ways. Vercel's Hobby plan is $0/month but limited to personal, non-commercial projects, so any business use means Pro at $20/month per seat, which includes $20 of usage credit before overages for bandwidth and function time kick in. Netlify has moved to credits: the Free plan is $0 forever with 300 credits per month, Personal is $9/month for one member, and Pro is $20/month with unlimited members. A growing team pays the same Netlify Pro fee whether it has three people or thirty, while on Vercel the bill grows with each seat. Both models can surprise you after a traffic spike, so spend limits are worth setting on either.

Choose Vercel if the project is a Next.js app, if the team wants the earliest access to framework features, or if its add-ons and marketplace (databases, blob storage, AI gateway) fit the stack. Choose Netlify for marketing sites, documentation and Jamstack apps, for teams with many collaborators who would rather not pay per seat, or when built-in forms save wiring up another service.

Choose Netlify if…

Teams deploying static sites and framework apps from Git with previews and forms
Deploy previews for every branch and pull request
Built-in forms, functions and image CDN

Choose Vercel if…

Frontend and Next.js teams who want Git-based deploys with preview URLs for every branch
Preview deployment for every pull request
First-class support for Next.js and other modern frameworks

What is Netlify?

Netlify popularised the workflow of deploying a website straight from a Git repository to a global CDN, with a preview URL for every pull request. It supports most frontend frameworks, including Astro, Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit and plain static sites, and adds serverless and edge functions, background functions, form handling, image CDN, a key-value blob store and identity features. Deploys can also come from the CLI, the API or AI app builders, which Netlify now targets heavily. Pricing has moved to a credit system: the Free plan is free forever with a monthly credit allowance, Personal adds more credits for a single member, and Pro charges a flat monthly fee for unlimited members with a larger allowance; usage beyond credits costs extra. It suits marketing sites, documentation and Jamstack-style apps well. Like Vercel, it is less suited to long-running servers, and the credit model takes some time to understand.

What is Vercel?

Vercel is a hosting platform for web apps that deploys every Git push automatically, gives each pull request its own preview URL, and serves sites from a global CDN with serverless and edge functions for backend code. It is built by the company behind Next.js, so Next.js features tend to work best there first, but it also supports Astro, SvelteKit, Nuxt, Remix and many other frameworks. Add-ons cover image optimisation, analytics, a firewall, cron jobs, blob storage and an AI SDK and gateway, and its marketplace connects databases such as Neon and Upstash. The free Hobby plan is for personal, non-commercial projects. The Pro plan charges per seat each month with included usage credit, then bills overages for bandwidth, function time and other resources, which can surprise teams after a traffic spike, so spend controls matter. Enterprise adds security, compliance and support. Everything is managed through a web dashboard and CLI, and long-running servers or background workers fit less naturally than on container platforms.

Side by side

Attribute	Netlify	Vercel
Pricing	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	Web	Web
Best for	Teams deploying static sites and framework apps from Git with previews and forms	Frontend and Next.js teams who want Git-based deploys with preview URLs for every branch
Status	Active	Active

Verified facts, compared

Facts both apps publish, checked on each vendor's own site.

Fact	Netlify	Vercel
Free plan	$0 forever	Hobby, $0/month
Pro plan	$20/month, unlimited members	$20/month