Vercel alternatives for Next.js and full-stack apps with commercial traffic
Vercel is the best place to run a Next.js site that needs a global edge and per-PR previews, and its Hobby plan is free. The published limits are what send people looking: Hobby is for personal, non-commercial use and cannot buy more usage; Pro is $20 per developer seat per month with a $20 usage credit, 1 TB of fast data transfer and 1M function invocations included, then $0.15/GB and $0.60 per million invocations. A pack here runs the same Next.js app as a server process at a flat price, with bandwidth not metered and no seats, and without Vercel's edge network.
Side by side
5 rows favour Hostwares, 3 favour Vercel, 0 even
| Feature | HHostwares | Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | None; entry at $1/mo | Hobby $0, personal and non-commercial use only |
| Paid plan | A pack, $1 / $5 / $10 / $25 per month, no seats | Pro $20 per developer seat per month, $20 usage credit included |
| Data transfer | Not metered | 100 GB on Hobby; 1 TB on Pro, then from $0.15/GB |
| Function invocations | Not metered; the app runs as a server process | 1M per month included, then from $0.60 per 1M |
| Global edge network | Standard delivery with automatic SSL | World-class global edge |
| Preview deployments | Not yet | Per pull request, a core feature |
| Websockets and long-running work | Yes; persistent server | Limited by the serverless model |
| Database | Database packs from $10/mo on the same account | Marketplace partners on a separate bill |
Vercel facts read on 2026-11-06 from Vercel pricing. Vendors change prices; confirm on their site. Hostwares prices are read from our pack table when this page is rendered.
When to stay with Vercel
Stay on Vercel if your project is personal and Hobby covers it, if latency to a worldwide audience is the product, or if per-PR previews and the Next.js-specific optimisations are part of how your team works. Move when the app is commercial and needs to leave Hobby, when seats are most of the bill, when data transfer past 1 TB is recurring, or when the app needs websockets, background jobs or anything that outlives a function.
What it costs on Hostwares
Smallest site pack
$1/mo
Starter: 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 10 GB
Production site pack
$5/mo
Standard: 1 vCPU / 4 GB / 25 GB
Managed database
$10/mo
Postgres, MySQL and more, its own pack
Dedicated Supabase
$5/mo
Auth, storage and Postgres on one instance
- • A Next.js app runs here with SSR and API routes in one server process; edge-specific features such as ISR at the edge run as ordinary server rendering.
- • Flat for the pack's term. Bandwidth is not metered, there is no per-seat fee, and payment comes before the build starts.
Moving off Vercel?
Point HW — our AI DevOps agent — at your repo and it migrates your Vercel app for you: detects the framework, wires the database, sets env vars, and configures SSL. No manual reconfiguration.
- Managed Postgres, MySQL, Redis or bring your own — env vars injected automatically.
- One-click SSL, global CDN, and flat container pricing — no per-deploy credits.
- The AI does the migration — you review and go live.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Vercel's free plan for a commercial site?
Vercel's pricing page says the Hobby plan is for personal, non-commercial use. A commercial project moves to Pro at $20 per developer seat per month.
How much does Vercel Pro cost for a small team?
$20 per developer seat per month with a $20 usage credit, 1 TB of fast data transfer and 1M function invocations included. Beyond that, transfer is from $0.15/GB and invocations from $0.60 per million.
What is the flat alternative for a Next.js app?
A Hostwares pack at $1 / $5 / $10 / $25 per month, no seats, bandwidth not metered, with a database pack from $10/mo if you need one. The app runs as a server process rather than as serverless functions.
What do I give up by leaving Vercel?
The global edge network, per-PR preview deployments and the Next.js-specific optimisations. If worldwide latency is the product, Vercel is the right tool.
How do I move?
Connect the same GitHub repository, copy the environment variables, point your domain and SSL is issued. The framework is detected and built the same way.