Vercel

Vercel is the hosting platform created by the authors of Next.js. Its promise: deploy a modern web application in minutes, with automatic scaling, SSL certificates, global CDN, preview environments on every pull request, and native Next.js integration. For an SMB starting a Next.js or Astro site, it's the shortest path to production: often free for small projects, then $20/user/month on Pro for serious work.

• →Cloudflare PagesMore economical for static or Astro sites: unlimited bandwidth on the free planView page
• →NetlifyDirect competitor to Vercel, more SSG and forms oriented: comparable DX, equivalent pricing
• →Docker + VPS self-hostingFor full control and flat cost over time, requires a technical teamView page
• →Coolify / DokploySelf-hosted platform mimicking the Vercel experience: for teams wanting the DX without usage-based billing

1. 01

   Start on the free plan to validate the architecture

2. 02

   Move to Pro as soon as there are multiple developers or free quotas become limiting

3. 03

   Active monitoring of consumption (bandwidth, function executions, build minutes)

4. 04

   Preparation of a scriptable exit to Docker / VPS from the start, to avoid being locked in

5. 05

   Environment variables managed via Vercel dashboard, never plain in code

• Vercel or self-hosting?

  Vercel for quick starts and for projects where the technical team is small or unavailable for infrastructure. Self-hosting (VPS, Docker) as soon as your traffic justifies the infrastructure cost (often from 50-100,000 visitors/month) or you want full control over your data. Both are valid. The criterion is your operational maturity and cost constraints.
• How much does Vercel cost?

  Hobby plan free for personal projects (with bandwidth and function limits). Pro plan at $20/user/month, with 1 TB bandwidth included then $0.15/GB. Enterprise plan on request. For an SMB with a moderate marketing site, the Pro plan is largely sufficient. For a high-traffic e-commerce or an app with many serverless functions, billing can rise quickly, hence the value of actively monitoring consumption.
• Does Vercel work with anything other than Next.js?

  Yes. Astro, SvelteKit, Nuxt, Remix and even classic static sites deploy without difficulty. But Next.js is Vercel's native ground. Advanced features (ISR, edge functions, image optimization) are designed to work together. For other frameworks, Cloudflare Pages or Netlify are sometimes more economical.
• And GDPR compliance with Vercel?

  Vercel is GDPR compliant and offers a standard DPA. Data transits by default via global regions (US included), but deployment in EU region is available (Enterprise option to guarantee everything stays in EU). For a French SMB with a standard site, the default configuration is acceptable with mention in the privacy policy. For sensitive data (health, very personal data), a legal review is recommended.
• How to migrate from Vercel to self-hosted?

  Fairly simple if the application was designed cleanly. A standard Next.js application runs on any Node.js runtime: VPS with PM2, Docker, or Kubernetes. The real work: reproducing CI/CD (automatic deployments), preview environments, and environment variable management. For a Next.js app on Vercel, expect 2-5 days of migration to Docker + VPS, plus setting up monitoring.