AI-powered cloud hosting
Flat per resource pack ($3 / $7 / $18 per month)
Vercel
Frontend cloud / serverless
$20/user/mo + metered usage on ~15 axes
Feature by feature
13 dimensions compared, August 2026
10
Hostwares
3
Vercel
| Feature | HHostwares | Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat per resource pack ($3 / $7 / $18 per month) | $20/user/mo + metered usage on ~15 axes |
| Typical production app cost | $10/mo (Standard pack + database pack) | $30–80+/mo (seat + bandwidth + functions + analytics) |
| Compute model | Dedicated persistent containers - any runtime, no cold starts | Serverless functions - cold starts, execution limits |
| Websockets / long-running processes | Fully supported | Limited by serverless model |
| Managed databases | Postgres, MySQL, Redis, Mongo - first-party, from $3/mo | Marketplace partners (Neon, Upstash) - separate bill |
| One-click services | 326+ (WordPress, n8n, Ghost, Supabase…) | None - frontend platform only |
| AI capabilities | AI DevOps agent deploys, debugs & fixes infra (web + CLI) | Code-review agent ($0.30/action + tokens), AI Gateway, v0 |
| Global edge / CDN | Standard CDN + auto-SSL | World-class global edge network |
| Preview deployments | Not yet | Per-PR previews, a core feature |
| Free tier | No free tier - entry at $3/mo | Hobby plan free forever (non-commercial) |
| Team pricing | No per-seat fees | $20/user/mo; SSO costs $300/mo extra |
| Bandwidth billing | Not metered (fair use) | 1TB included on Pro, then $0.15/GB |
| Payment methods | PayPal, Stripe, bKash | Credit card |
Sources: vercel.com pricing page & docs, August 2026. Vendors change pricing - confirm on their site.
Vercel pricing vs Hostwares pricing
Vercel Pro is $20 per user per month with a $20 usage credit included. Beyond that, everything is metered: fast data transfer $0.15/GB after 1TB, function invocations $0.60 per million, active CPU $0.128/hr, ISR writes $4 per million, Speed Insights $10 per project, log drains $0.50/GB, SAML SSO $300/mo, static IPs $100 per project per month. Hostwares has three flat packs - Starter $3/mo (0.5 vCPU / 512MB / 10GB), Standard $7/mo (1 vCPU / 2GB / 25GB), Performance $18/mo (2 vCPU / 4GB / 50GB) - and nothing is metered.
$ scenario: Production Next.js app + Postgres, 3-person team, modest traffic
HHostwares
- flat. same price in your biggest month.
The honest verdict
Choose Hostwares if…
- You want a predictable flat bill - $7/mo stays $7/mo
- Your app needs websockets, background jobs, or long-running processes
- You want the database included, not a separate marketplace vendor
- You're a team - Vercel charges $20/seat, Hostwares charges $0
- You want an AI that deploys, debugs, and fixes - not just reviews code
Choose Vercel if…
- You need a global edge CDN with points of presence worldwide
- You want per-PR preview deployments out of the box
- Your project is a free non-commercial hobby site (Vercel Hobby is $0)
- You rely on Next.js-specific optimizations (ISR at the edge, image CDN)
Why teams switch from Vercel
No surprise bills
Vercel overage bills are legendary. A traffic spike on Hostwares costs you $0 extra - your container has fixed resources at a fixed price.
Real backends welcome
Websockets, queues, cron workers, Puppeteer, ffmpeg - anything that can't live in a 300-second serverless function runs fine in a persistent container.
One platform, one bill
On Vercel a full-stack app means Vercel + a database vendor + a Redis vendor. On Hostwares it's one dashboard and one invoice.
AI that does the work
Tell the AI 'my site is down' and it reads container logs, patches the config, and restarts the service. Vercel's agent reviews your pull requests.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hostwares a good Vercel alternative?
Yes - if you want flat pricing, persistent containers, and bundled databases. Hostwares deploys Next.js, React, Vue, and 20+ other frameworks from GitHub with zero config, just like Vercel. You trade Vercel's global edge network and PR previews for a bill that never surprises you and an AI DevOps agent that manages the infrastructure.
Does Hostwares support Next.js like Vercel does?
Yes. Hostwares auto-detects Next.js and builds/serves it in a dedicated container, including SSR and API routes. Edge-specific features like ISR-at-edge run as standard server rendering instead.
How much cheaper is Hostwares than Vercel?
A typical production app with a database costs $10/mo on Hostwares (Standard pack + DB pack). The same setup on Vercel Pro with a 3-person team commonly lands at $90–150/mo once seats, usage, and a database vendor are added.
Can I migrate from Vercel to Hostwares?
Yes. Connect the same GitHub repository, and Hostwares auto-detects the framework and deploys. Copy your environment variables, point your domain, and SSL is issued automatically. The AI assistant can walk you through it in chat.
What does Vercel do better than Hostwares?
Global edge delivery, per-PR preview deployments, and its free Hobby tier. If your product is a latency-sensitive static/edge site with worldwide traffic, Vercel's CDN is best-in-class.
How much does Hostwares cost?
Resource packs are $2/mo for Micro (0.25 vCPU, 256 MB, 5 GB), $3 for Starter (0.5 vCPU, 512 MB, 10 GB), $7 for Standard (1 vCPU, 2 GB, 25 GB), $18 for Performance (2 vCPU, 4 GB, 50 GB) and $35 for Business (4 vCPU, 8 GB, 100 GB). One pack runs one deployment - a site, a database or a service.
Is there a free tier?
No. Entry is $2/mo for a Micro pack. There is no free tier and no signup bonus - if a competitor's free tier covers your project, use it.
Do you charge for bandwidth?
No. Packs are a flat monthly price and traffic is not metered, so a busy month costs the same as a quiet one.
Are there per-seat fees?
No. You pay for resources, not for people. Adding teammates does not change the bill.
What is your refund policy?
Resource packs carry a 7-day money-back guarantee on first purchase. cPanel hosting is a pro-rated refund within the first 7 days if the account has not been used. Servers are a full refund within 48 hours if not provisioned, pro-rated within 7 days. Domains are non-refundable per ICANN policy. Full terms are on the refund policy page.
How do I pay?
PayPal, Stripe (card) and bKash, invoice-based. AI credits are a separate balance and are only used for the AI agent, never for hosting.
Does the price change at renewal?
No. The price you buy at is the price you renew at. There is no introductory rate that steps up later.
How do I deploy an application?
Connect a GitHub repository and Hostwares detects the framework and builds it. Next.js, React, Vue, Svelte, Node, Python, Go, Ruby, PHP and static sites are detected without configuration. You can also deploy any Docker image or upload a ZIP.
Can I deploy from a private repository?
Yes. Connect your GitHub account and private repositories become selectable in the deploy panel.
Do you support Docker?
Yes. Deploy any public or private Docker image with a tag and a port, or let a Dockerfile in your repository drive the build.
What databases can I run?
Managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Redis and MongoDB from $3/mo, with automated backups and a connection string. Each database occupies its own pack.
Do I get shell access?
You get a shell into your own container. You do not get root on the host - if you need kernel modules or arbitrary system packages, an unmanaged VPS is the right tool rather than a managed platform.
Can I run background workers and cron jobs?
Yes. A worker or scheduled job is a separate deployment from the same repository with a different start command, so it needs its own pack.
How long does a deployment take?
Most applications build and go live in about 60 seconds. Larger stacks - Supabase runs 14 containers - take a few minutes.
Are custom domains and SSL included?
Yes. Custom domains are included on every pack and SSL certificates are issued and renewed automatically once DNS resolves to us. There is no per-domain charge.
Can I register domains through Hostwares?
Yes, from $9.58/yr for a .com, with DNS management included for domains in your account.
Do you offer email hosting?
Email mailboxes come with cPanel hosting, which is a separate product from container packs and starts around $1.25/mo equivalent. Container packs do not include mailboxes.
How do I migrate an existing application?
Push the project to GitHub, connect the repository, move your environment variables across, and dump and restore any databases. For most standard applications this is under an hour. Detailed guides exist for Heroku, Vercel and Railway.
Will you help me migrate?
Ask through a support ticket. The AI DevOps agent can also perform much of the work directly - connecting the repository, setting environment variables, provisioning a database and diagnosing failed builds.
What is the AI DevOps agent?
An AI that operates your infrastructure through conversation - deploying from GitHub, reading build logs, diagnosing failures, setting environment variables, configuring domains and provisioning databases. It is available in the dashboard, from a CLI, and as an MCP server for editors such as Cursor and Claude Desktop.
Does the AI agent cost extra?
It uses AI credits, which are a separate balance from hosting. Chat starts at $0.10 and task execution at $0.50. Billing and support questions are free regardless of balance.
What support do you offer?
Support tickets from the dashboard, with the AI agent available for technical troubleshooting at any hour. We are a small team - if you need a contractual enterprise SLA with named contacts, we do not offer that today.
Are backups included?
Managed databases have automated backups. Verify a restore before you rely on it - that advice applies to any provider, ours included.
Where are your servers located?
Deployments run in a single region per container rather than across a global edge network. If your application needs multi-region placement or edge delivery close to users on several continents, a platform built for that is the better choice.
Do you have a status page?
Yes, at /status, showing real-time platform and infrastructure status.
Are you SOC 2 certified?
No. We have not completed a SOC 2 audit. If your procurement process requires one, that is a genuine reason to choose a larger provider.
How long has Hostwares been running?
Hostwares LLC was incorporated in Wyoming in 2026, so we are a new platform. If a long uptime track record is your main criterion, an established provider is the honest answer.
Can I export my data and leave?
Yes. Deployments are standard containers built from your own repository, and databases can be dumped with the usual tools. There is no proprietary format holding your application in place.
What happens if I do not pay an invoice?
Invoices are raised ahead of the due date so you can pay early. After the due date a grace period runs before services are suspended, and suspended services are terminated after 30 days of non-payment. You are emailed at each stage.
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From $1/mo, flat.
Connect GitHub, pick a pack, and let the AI DevOps agent handle the rest - deploys, debugging, and fixes included.