vs
Vercel vs Netlify: which free plan?
Netlify has fewer strings attached on its free plan (score 100 vs 88). Vercel can still be the better choice for the cases below.
Both checked against their official pricing pages on 1 Nov 2026.
| Type | Frontend cloud | Static + serverless |
|---|---|---|
| Free-tier score | 88 / 100 | 100 / 100 |
| Card to sign up | Not required | Not required |
| Free plan ends | Never | Never |
| Sleeps when idle | No | No |
| Commercial use | Not allowed | Allowed |
| Own domain on free | Yes | Yes |
| Free subdomain | *.vercel.app | *.netlify.app |
| Free limits |
|
|
| The catch | Hobby is for personal, non-commercial use only, so a business site has to move to Pro. | Every production deploy costs 15 credits, so about 20 deploys a month uses the whole free allowance before any traffic. |
| Paid from | $20/mo (Pro) | $9/mo (Personal) |
| Source | Official pricing for Vercel (opens in a new tab) | Official pricing for Netlify (opens in a new tab) |
Which one should you pick?
Pick Vercel if…
- your project is: personal Next.js and frontend projects
Pick Netlify if…
- it is for a business or paid product
- your project is: small static sites that deploy occasionally
Questions
Which is better for free, Vercel or Netlify?
Netlify has fewer strings attached on its free plan (score 100 vs 88). Vercel can still be the better choice for the cases below.
Does Vercel or Netlify need a credit card?
Vercel: no. Netlify: no.
What is the catch with Vercel and Netlify?
Vercel: Hobby is for personal, non-commercial use only, so a business site has to move to Pro. Netlify: Every production deploy costs 15 credits, so about 20 deploys a month uses the whole free allowance before any traffic.