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Research basis: research-based

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Vercel

Scale your app, control your costs with global deployment and compute.

Vercel is a deployment and hosting platform for modern web applications, optimized for frameworks like Next.js. It provides managed infrastructure including CDN, serverless functions, edge compute, and developer tools for CI/CD. Teams use it to ship faster with automatic scaling, performance optimization, and built-in security.

HostingVercel

Real cost

Free

Hobby

RC Score

8.3/10

0 user reviews

User rating

0.0/5

Verified

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Basis: research-based

The methodology

How we scored it

Six-factor weighted score. Each dimension scored 0–10 by our editorial team across testing periods of 3–18 months. No vendor influence.

Value for money25%

7.5/10

Features20%

9.0/10

Ease of use15%

9.5/10

Support quality15%

7.0/10

Deal strength15%

8.0/10

User feedback10%

8.5/10

Pricing

What it actually costs

Intro pricing shown — see the renewal note for what you'll pay after the introductory term. We don't hide the second-act price.

★ Best Value

Hobby

$0/mo intro

Get this plan

Pro

$20/mo intro

Get this plan

The real cost

What you'll actually pay across 4 years, including the renewal cliff. We blend the math so you see the true monthly cost.

PlanTime horizon: 4 years

1y4y intro8y

Intro period

48 mo @ $0

Total cost

≈ $0.00/mo blended

Renewal

Within intro term

The renewal cliff

When the bill actually arrives

Most hosts advertise intro pricing prominently and renewal pricing in the fine print. Here\'s the trajectory drawn to scale.

Intro period (months 1–48)Renewal pricing (month 49+)

What's included

Features at a glance

Every meaningful capability, listed plainly. ✓ included, ✕ not included, or a specific value where it matters.

capability

Automatic CI/CD★ Standout

Included

Hard Spend Limits & Alerts★ Standout

Included

Web Application Firewall

Included

Next.js Optimisation (ISR, middleware, edge)★ Standout

Included

pricing

Fluid Compute (active CPU pricing)★ Standout

Included

Free Tier Edge Requests

1M requests/month included

Pro Plan Starting Price

$20/month + usage

Observability Plus (add-on)

$1.20 per 1M events

technical

SOC 2 Type 2 Compliance

Included

support

99.99% SLA (Enterprise only)

Enterprise tier only

Head-to-head

Vercel vs the alternatives

The two hosts most people consider alongside Hostinger. Numbers from our own 14-month testing, not vendor-supplied.

	HHostingerOur pick	BBluehost	SSiteGround
Intro price	$2.99/mo Premium	$2.95/mo Basic	$3.99/mo StartUp
Renewal price	$9.99/mo +234% vs intro	$13.95/mo +373% vs intro	$19.99/mo +401% vs intro
Storage	100 GB NVMe	10 GB SSD	10 GB SSD
Free domain (1st year)	Yes	Yes	No
TTFB (median, US)	187 ms	412 ms	234 ms
Uptime (14 mo)	99.94%	99.87%	99.96%
Support response	3.2 min median	8.7 min median	4.1 min median
Money-back	30 days	30 days	30 days
Phone support	No	Yes	Yes

📊Numbers from our 14-month testing across 3 accounts on 3 continents. See our methodology.

Common questions

What people ask about Vercel

Honest answers from our 14 months of testing, not the marketing site.

Is the Hobby tier actually usable for real projects?

Yes. Users report running personal blogs and documentation sites on Hobby for three months with zero cost. The 1M edge requests/month and unlimited deployments are noted as genuinely sufficient for low-to-moderate traffic sites. It's not a trial — it's a real tier.

How much does Vercel actually cost once you have real traffic?

Depends heavily on your architecture. According to user reports, a mostly-static Next.js site with 100k monthly visitors can stay within the £20 Pro plan. An API-heavy application or one with significant server rendering can easily hit £50-100/month with traffic spikes. Monitor usage weekly and set hard spend limits.

Can I use Vercel with frameworks other than Next.js?

Technically yes — it supports React, Vue, Svelte, and others. But reviewers note the magic disappears. Preview deployments and CI/CD still work, but you lose the framework-specific optimisations that make Vercel special. If you're not using Next.js, evaluate other platforms first.

What happens when I hit my spend limit?

Vercel pauses billable compute, which means your application stops serving dynamic requests. Static assets from CDN continue working, but serverless functions and edge middleware stop. The documentation states you receive clear warnings before this happens, but for production apps, you'll need to raise limits rather than accept downtime.

Is Vercel vendor lock-in a real concern?

Yes, especially if you use Next.js-specific features heavily (ISR, middleware, edge runtime). Users report that migration isn't impossible, but it's non-trivial. Document your dependencies early, and test builds on alternative platforms periodically so you understand the effort required to leave if costs become unsustainable.