Vercel vs Netlify
Vercel is the platform built by the creators of Next.js, pricing Pro at $20 a month per deploying seat with $20 of included usage credit. Netlify moved to a single credit-based system on 4 September 2025, where deploys, bandwidth and compute all consume credits from a monthly allowance. Choose Vercel if you're deploying Next.js and want a platform built by its maintainers; choose Netlify if you'd rather track one credit balance across every feature.
Facts checked on against the official sources listed at the end. Usage numbers update daily.
Best for
Next.js and other framework-native apps wanting deep integration with the framework maker
Free plan. Paid from $20 a month for Pro, including one deploying seat and $20 of usage credit.
Best for
Teams that want one credit balance covering deploys, bandwidth and compute together
Free plan. Paid from $9 a month for Personal (1,000 credits).
Vercel vs Netlify at a glance
| Compared on | Vercel | Netlify |
|---|---|---|
| Billing unit | Deploying seats plus usage credit and metered overage | A single monthly credit allowance covering deploys, bandwidth and compute |
| Free plan scope | Personal, non-commercial use only | 300 credits a month, no stated commercial-use restriction |
| Framework origin | Built by Vercel Inc., the company behind Next.js | Framework-agnostic; not built by a specific framework's maintainer |
| Server functions model | Vercel Functions on the Fluid compute model | Netlify Functions, billed in compute credits per GB-hour |
| Preview deployments | Every pull request gets a preview URL | Unlimited deploy previews included even on the free plan |
| Built-in database | Not included; databases are added through Vercel's marketplace integrations | A built-in Postgres database is included as part of the platform |
| Open source | No, Proprietary | No, Proprietary |
| Free plan | Yes: Hobby, for personal and non-commercial use, with 100 GB of fast data transfer and 1 million function invocations a month | Yes: 300 credits a month, with a hard limit and no option to buy more |
| Paid plans from | $20 a month for Pro, including one deploying seat and $20 of usage credit | $9 a month for Personal (1,000 credits) |
| Made by | Vercel Inc. | Netlify, Inc. |
| Launched | 2015 | 2014 |
What's the difference between Vercel and Netlify?
Vercel prices around deploying seats, Netlify prices around one credit pool
Vercel Pro costs $20 a month per deploying seat, which includes $20 of usage credit; extra deploying seats each add another $20 a month, while viewer seats stay free. Netlify's plans set a monthly credit allowance, and every feature (a production deploy, a GB of bandwidth, a GB-hour of compute) draws down the same pool rather than being billed by seat.
Vercel's free Hobby plan is personal-use only, Netlify's free plan doesn't say that
Vercel's Hobby plan is explicitly restricted to personal, non-commercial projects. Netlify's free plan gives 300 credits a month as a hard limit but doesn't carry the same non-commercial restriction in its plan description.
Netlify includes a database, Vercel doesn't ship one
Netlify's platform includes a built-in Postgres database alongside functions, forms and blob storage. Vercel doesn't include a first-party database; teams typically add one through a marketplace integration with a provider like Neon or Supabase.
Vercel was built by the Next.js team, which shapes its integration depth
Because Vercel Inc. created and maintains Next.js, new Next.js features often land with matching platform support on day one. Netlify supports Next.js and many other frameworks but isn't built by any one framework's maintainer, so framework-specific features may land on its platform after the framework itself ships them.
Vercel vs Netlify pricing
Vercel's Pro plan is priced per deploying seat with a usage credit bundled in, then meters usage beyond that credit. Netlify's plans set a flat credit allowance that every feature draws from, with extra credits purchasable in blocks.
Vercel
Hobby is free for personal use, with 100 GB of fast data transfer and 1 million function invocations a month. Pro is $20 a month per deploying seat, including $20 of usage credit, with free viewer seats and usage billed on demand beyond the credit.
- Hobby
- $0
- Pro
- $20 a month, plus $20 a month per extra deploying seat
- Enterprise
- Custom
Netlify
Free includes 300 credits a month as a hard limit. Personal is $9 a month for 1,000 credits. Pro starts at $20 a month for 3,000 credits and scales to $126 a month for 20,000 credits, with unlimited team members. A production deploy costs 15 credits and a GB of bandwidth costs 20 credits.
- Free
- $0
- Personal
- $9 a month
- Pro
- From $20 a month
- Enterprise
- Custom
| Vercel | $60 a month on Vercel Pro for 3 deploying seats (3 x $20), including $60 of combined usage credit |
|---|---|
| Netlify | $20 a month on Netlify Pro for 3,000 credits shared across the whole team, with unlimited members included at that tier |
Prices in USD from the official pricing pages on 29 September 2026. They change often, so confirm on vercel.com and netlify.com before you commit.
Usage and activity
Vercel has 8.5 times as many GitHub stars as Netlify (16.3k against 1.9k). Weekly npm downloads: 5.2M for vercel and 479k for netlify-cli. Releases on GitHub in the last 90 days: 5 for Vercel and 10 for Netlify.
| Measure | Vercel | Netlify |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 16,348 | 1,920 |
| npm downloads a week | 5.2M (vercel) | 479k (netlify-cli) |
| Latest release | @vercel/static-b…, 2 months ago | v27.11.2, 1 day ago |
| Releases in 90 days | 5 | 10 |
From the public GitHub and npm APIs, updated daily. Stars and downloads show developer interest, not product quality.
Should you choose Vercel or Netlify?
Choose Vercel if
- You're deploying a Next.js app and want the platform built by its own maintainers
- You want day-one platform support for new Next.js and React framework features
- Your team is small and the per-seat Pro pricing fits your deploying developer count
- You're comfortable adding a database through a separate marketplace integration
Choose Netlify if
- You want one credit balance to track instead of per-seat billing plus usage
- You want a built-in Postgres database without adding a separate provider
- You deploy many frameworks and don't want to be tied to one framework's maker
- Your team has more members than deploying seats and wants unlimited team members included
Switching between Vercel and Netlify
Both build from a connected Git repository, so moving a static site or standard framework app usually means reconnecting the repo and re-adding environment variables and custom domains. Apps using Vercel-specific features like Fluid compute or its marketplace database integrations, or Netlify-specific features like its built-in Postgres database, need those pieces rebuilt on the other platform's equivalent.
Vercel vs Netlify: common questions
Is Netlify cheaper than Vercel?
It depends on team size and usage. Netlify's Pro credits are shared across unlimited team members, while Vercel's Pro plan charges $20 a month per deploying seat, so teams with more deploying developers than heavy usage may find Vercel relatively more expensive.
Can I use Vercel's free plan for a commercial project?
No, Vercel's Hobby plan is restricted to personal, non-commercial use. Netlify's free plan doesn't carry that same restriction in its plan terms.
Does Netlify have a built-in database?
Yes, Netlify includes a built-in Postgres database as part of its platform. Vercel doesn't ship a first-party database; you add one through a marketplace integration.
Who built Vercel?
Vercel Inc., the same company that created and maintains Next.js.
How does Netlify's credit system work?
Since 4 September 2025, new Netlify accounts use a single monthly credit allowance that deploys, bandwidth and compute all draw from, rather than separate limits for each feature.
Other options to consider
All hosting toolsCloudflare Pages
JAMstack hosting platform with Git integration and unlimited bandwidth, deployed on Cloudflare's edge network.
Coolify
Open source, self-hostable alternative to Vercel, Heroku, Netlify and Railway for deploying apps.
AWS Amplify
AWS's platform for building and hosting full-stack web and mobile apps, priced pay-as-you-go.
Railway
Usage-billed cloud platform for deploying apps, databases and cron jobs from GitHub or Docker images.
Sources
More sources for each tool are on the Vercel and Netlify pages.