Netlify vs Vercel (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Netlify grades higher than Vercel: 2.8 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Netlify grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Netlify
Git-based hosting for sites and web apps, priced by monthly credits
Vercel
Git-based hosting for front-end and full-stack web apps
Which one is for you
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
Pick Vercel if
- Fits if you ship Next.js or other framework apps from Git
- Works for personal projects on the free Hobby plan
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if the project earns money and you want to stay on the free plan
- Pricey if you have a team: each extra deploying seat is $20 a month
- Watch out: usage beyond the $20 credit is billed on demand
- Watch out: Enterprise pricing isn't published
How we grade them
| 2.8GPANetlifyGood | 2.4GPAVercelFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CPro is $20 a month per deploying seat with $20 of usage credit, just inside the dearer quarter ($19). Usage past the credit is billed per resource. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | BHobby is free with CI/CD, a CDN and a firewall, plus a 14-day Pro trial. But it's limited to non-commercial, personal use. |
| Features | 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. | CGit deploys, preview URLs, CDN, firewall, analytics and spend controls. It's front-end hosting first, and SCIM, multi-region failover and the SLA are Enterprise only. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record. You connect a Git repo and set up projects, domains and environment variables. |
| Platforms and 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. | BWeb only, with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps and Next.js. |
| Best for | hosting sites you build in code and push from Git | deploying front-end apps 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: Netlify and Vercel. How we grade
Price against what you get
Netlify starts at $9 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Vercel starts at $20 a month and scores 2.3.
Netlify scores higher and starts $11 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, none scores higher than Netlify for less, and 6 score higher than Vercel 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
- Netlify also covers AI agents and forms.
- Vercel also covers web analytics and page speed.
At a glance
| Netlify | Vercel | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9 per month for 1 member | $20 per month for 1 deploying seat (Pro) |
| Free plan | 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. | Hobby plan: $0 a month, with automatic CI/CD, a global CDN, a web application firewall and DDoS mitigation. Limited to non-commercial, personal use. |
| Free trial | None listed | Pro trial: 14 days with $20 in credits. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Netlify | Vercel |
| Price read from | netlify.com | vercel.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Vercel
- The Hobby plan is limited to non-commercial, personal use under Vercel's fair use guidelines.
- Pro includes one deploying seat; each extra Owner or Member seat is $20 a month, while viewer seats are free.
- Usage beyond the $20 monthly credit is billed on demand, per resource, such as per million requests or per GB-hour.
- Enterprise pricing is not published, and SCIM, multi-region failover and the 99.99% SLA are Enterprise only.
Key features
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.
Vercel
- Git deploys and preview URLs
- Projects deploy on every push from GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket or Azure DevOps, and each branch gets its own preview URL.
- Fluid compute
- Server code is billed for actual execution time rather than idle time, according to the pricing page.
- Global CDN and firewall
- Content is served from a global delivery network with HTTPS certificates, a web application firewall and DDoS mitigation on every plan.
- Analytics and observability
- Traffic and performance insights are included, with deeper observability available as a paid add-on on Pro.
- Spend management
- Pro teams can set a spending limit and alerts, and Vercel says it will stop usage before the budget is exceeded.
- AI Gateway and SDK
- Vercel offers an AI Gateway and an open-source AI SDK for apps that call language models, alongside Sandbox for running untrusted code.
Plans
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.
Vercel
Hobby$0
Import a repo and deploy, with CI/CD, CDN, firewall and fluid compute. Restricted to non-commercial, personal use.
Pro$20
per month, includes 1 deploying seat and $20 of usage credit
Adds $20 of monthly usage credit, spend management, cold start prevention and free viewer seats. More deploying seats are $20 a month each.
EnterpriseCustom
Sold through sales: SCIM and directory sync, managed WAF rulesets, multi-region compute and failover, 99.99% SLA and advanced support.
Ways to pay less
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.
Vercel
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Netlify or Vercel?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Netlify is cheaper to start with: $9 a month, against $20 a month for Vercel. Netlify starts at $9 per month for 1 member, and Vercel starts at $20 per month for 1 deploying seat (Pro).
Which has a free plan, Netlify or Vercel?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Netlify and Vercel 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.