Neocities vs Netlify (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Netlify grades higher than Neocities: 2.8 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Neocities grades higher on value for money. Netlify grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Neocities
Free static website hosting with an in-browser editor
Netlify
Git-based hosting for sites and web apps, priced by monthly credits
Which one is for you
Pick Neocities if
- Fits if you want a personal static page
- Works for hobby sites you build by hand
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need server-side code or a database, as hosting is static only
- Tight if you want a custom domain, which needs Supporter at $5 a month
- Watch out: free sites are limited in file types and get a stricter content security policy
- Too light for a growing site, with free storage capped at 1 GB
Pick Netlify if
- Fits if you build sites with a front-end framework and push them to GitHub
- Works for teams whose reviewers need a preview link for every pull request
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a WordPress blog installed in one click, the way a shared host does it
- Tight if traffic spikes, as every GB of bandwidth costs 20 credits and an empty tank pauses the site
- Pricey if a few of you need to share, since more than one member means Pro at $20 a month
- Watch out: each production deploy costs 15 credits, and the free plan's 300 a month can't be exceeded
- Not for you if you need SSO, SCIM, an SLA or 24/7 support, which are Enterprise only, priced by sales
How we grade them
| 2.6GPANeocitiesGood | 2.8GPANetlifyGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe free plan is substantial for a static site: 1 GB, 200 GB of bandwidth and no ads. Supporter is $5 a month. | BGraded against its own alternatives, since it hosts sites built elsewhere: Personal is $9 a month with no intro price to expire, so the second year costs what the first did. That's under Cloudways' $11 and far under Kinsta's $30. Extra credits are $5 for 500, and a team needs Pro at $20. |
| Free plan and trial | BA free site with SSL and the editor, enough for a personal page. It has file-type limits and a stricter content security policy. | BFree plan: custom domains with SSL, functions, a database and unlimited deploy previews, with 300 credits a month. A small personal site fits. A busy one doesn't, and it pauses when the credits run out rather than billing you. |
| Features | CIn-browser editor, CLI, API, CDN and community features. Static only, with no server code or database, so it does a smaller job. | BAgainst its own alternatives it covers the whole job: deploys from Git, the command line, a folder or an AI agent, preview links with feedback, rollbacks, functions, Postgres, file storage, forms and user sign-ups. Just know it's for sites built in code. |
| Ease of use | CThe work is building the pages yourself, even though an editor sits in the browser. | CNo store rating on record. Dropping a folder in works, but most of it assumes you build sites in code and push them from Git, and credits are one more thing to keep an eye on. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with a CLI and API but no apps or listed integrations. | BA web dashboard with no app on record, plus a command-line tool. It hooks into GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Slack, and AI agents such as Claude, Codex, Gemini and Cursor can ship code through it. |
| Best for | a hobby static site | hosting sites you build in code and push from Git |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Neocities and Netlify. How we grade
Price against what you get
Neocities starts at $5 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Netlify starts at $9 a month and scores 2.7.
Netlify scores higher, and starts $4 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 13 score higher than Neocities for less, and none scores higher than Netlify for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Neocities is open source, according to its own site.
- Netlify also covers AI agents and forms.
At a glance
| Neocities | Netlify | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per month (Supporter) | $9 per month for 1 member |
| Free plan | 1 GB storage and 200 GB bandwidth on a neocities.org subdomain with SSL, the site editor, the CLI tool and no ads. | 300 credits a month as a hard limit, one member, custom domains with SSL, functions, database, blob storage and unlimited deploy previews. Sites pause when credits run out. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Neocities | Netlify |
| Price read from | neocities.org | netlify.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Neocities
- Hosting is static only; there is no server-side code or database.
- Custom domains, SFTP, WebDAV and multiple sites need the $5 a month Supporter plan.
- The free plan restricts which file types can be uploaded and applies a stricter content security policy.
- The Free plan caps storage at 1 GB and bandwidth at 200 GB.
Netlify
- Deploys, bandwidth, compute and requests all draw on monthly credits: 15 per production deploy and 20 per GB of bandwidth.
- When an account's credits run out its sites pause until the next cycle, unless auto recharge ($5 for 500 on Personal, $10 for 1,500 on Pro) is turned on.
- Free and Personal allow one member; private organization repos and shared env variables start at Pro, and extra concurrent builds are $40 a month.
- SSO, SCIM, a 99.99% uptime SLA, log drains and 24/7 support are on the Enterprise plan only.
Key features
Neocities
- In-browser editor
- Pages can be written in an HTML editor in the browser or uploaded by drag and drop.
- Command line tool and API
- A CLI and an API are available on both plans, for deploying a site from a terminal or building developer tools.
- Anycast CDN
- Sites are served from Neocities' own caching CDN in more than a dozen datacenters, with SSL and HTTP/2.
- Custom domains
- Custom domains with SSL certificates, SFTP and WebDAV uploads are Supporter features.
- Community features
- Site tags, a gallery, follows, comments and RSS feeds are included, in the manner of a social network for sites.
- AI blocking control
- Both plans list full control over blocking AI crawlers, and the site says it will not sell data for AI training.
Netlify
- Deploy from Git, CLI, AI or a folder
- Projects deploy on every push from GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket, from the Netlify CLI, by drag and drop, or from an AI agent, with one-click rollbacks.
- Deploy Previews
- Every pull request and branch gets its own preview URL where reviewers can leave visual feedback, and new projects stay private until you publish them.
- Agent Runners
- AI agents such as Claude, Codex and Gemini can be asked to fix, update and ship code from the dashboard, with 1 to 50 concurrent runs by plan.
- Functions, database and storage
- Serverless and edge functions, Netlify Database (a managed Postgres database) and blob storage for files and images run beside the site.
- AI Gateway
- Calls major AI models without managing your own API keys, billed through credits at 180 credits per $1 of model cost.
- Forms, identity and image CDN
- Collects form submissions without a backend, signs up and authenticates site users, and resizes and serves images on demand.
Plans
Neocities
Free$0
1 GB storage, 200 GB bandwidth, a free neocities.org subdomain with SSL, one-click backups, the site editor and CLI tool. No custom domains, SFTP or WebDAV.
Supporter$5
per month
50 GB storage, 3000 GB bandwidth, custom domains with SSL certificates, multiple sites, SFTP, WebDAV, site stats history and basic email support.
Netlify
Free$0
300 credits a month that cannot be exceeded, one member, one concurrent build, and 1-day observability and analytics.
Personal$9
per month for 1 member
1,000 credits a month, smart secret detection, 7-day analytics and priority email support. Extra credits are $5 for 500.
Pro$20
per month for unlimited members
3,000 credits a month, private org repos, shared env variables, 3 concurrent builds. 10,000 credits is $63 a month, 20,000 is $126.
EnterpriseCustom
Sold through sales: 99.99% SLA, enterprise network tier, faster builds, SSO and SCIM, log drains and 24/7 support.
Ways to pay less
Neocities
No public discounts listed.
Netlify
- Other savings
Free Open Source plan for non-commercial projects
Projects with an OSI-approved or Creative Commons license and a code of conduct can apply for 10,000 credits a month, unlimited members and free production deploys.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Neocities or Netlify?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Neocities is cheaper to start with: $5 a month, against $9 a month for Netlify. Neocities starts at $5 per month (Supporter), and Netlify starts at $9 per month for 1 member.
Which has a free plan, Neocities or Netlify?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Neocities and Netlify have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.