Netlify vs Vercel: which should host your AI-built app?

For most apps built with AI tools, both Netlify and Vercel will host the front end well, and the choice comes down to three things: which framework your app uses, how each platform bills you, and whether the app is commercial. If your app is Next.js, Vercel is the natural home. If it is a Vite or React single-page app with a Supabase backend, either works, and pricing and convenience should decide.

This guide compares the two on the points that matter for a small team: plans and limits as of October 2026, framework support, previews, domains and what happens when you outgrow the free tier.

What do Netlify and Vercel actually do for your app?

Both take your code from GitHub, run the build command, and serve the result from a global network. Both create a preview URL for every branch or pull request, issue free HTTPS certificates for your domain and let you run server-side functions. Neither one is your database: if your app was built with Lovable or Bolt, the data and login probably live in Supabase, which you keep no matter where the front end runs.

So the question is narrower than it looks. You are choosing where the build runs, how functions are billed and which dashboard you'll live in.

How do the prices compare?

The two platforms bill in different ways, so compare the model, not just the sticker price. Figures below come from the official pricing pages in October 2026; check Vercel's pricing and Netlify's before deciding, since both change often.

A few details change the math:

• Commercial use. Vercel's Hobby plan is for personal, non-commercial projects. If your app sells something or serves a business, plan on Pro from day one.
• Netlify credits. On Netlify's credit plans, a production deploy costs 15 credits, bandwidth 20 credits per GB, compute 10 credits per GB-hour and web requests 2 credits per 10,000. The Free plan has a hard limit with no auto recharge, and paid plans can turn on auto recharge to keep projects online. If you deploy many times a day, deploys alone eat into the balance. Netlify accounts on older plans can stay on them.
• Seats. Vercel Pro charges per developer seat. Netlify Pro has unlimited members. With several people deploying, that difference matters more than the base price.

Which is better for Next.js, and which for Vite?

Vercel builds and maintains Next.js, and new Next.js features tend to work there first with no extra setup. If your project came from v0, which is made by Vercel, or uses server components, server actions and image optimization heavily, Vercel avoids friction.

Many Bolt projects, and Lovable projects created before mid-2026, are Vite plus React single-page apps. These are static files after the build, plus maybe a few functions. Both platforms serve them equally well; the main thing to get right on either one is the single-page-app fallback, so that refreshing /dashboard doesn't return a 404. Netlify uses a redirect rule for this and Vercel a rewrite. If you deploy a Vite app and deep links break, that is the first thing to check.

Newer Lovable projects use TanStack Start, which TanStack announced Lovable adopted for new projects in May 2026. That is a server-rendered framework, so it needs a host that runs its server output, not just static files. Vercel lists a TanStack Start preset for projects imported from Lovable; on any host, check that framework's deployment docs before you move.

How do previews, domains and HTTPS compare?

Both are strong here, with small differences:

• Previews. Vercel creates a preview for every push to a non-production branch and can restrict them to logged-in team members with Vercel Authentication; its Standard Protection setting, available on all plans, covers every URL except your production domains. Netlify offers Deploy Previews for pull requests and branch deploys for named branches.
• Environment variables. Vercel has Production, Preview, Development and custom environments; Netlify has deploy contexts (Production, Deploy Previews, Branch deploys, Preview server, Local development). Both let you give previews different values from production, which is what makes a staging setup possible.
• Domains and certificates. Both issue Let's Encrypt certificates automatically once DNS points to them. Our guide on DNS records explains the A and CNAME values each one asks for.
• Extras. Netlify includes built-in form handling, which is handy for marketing sites. Vercel's ecosystem leans toward Next.js features and its own marketplace of storage integrations.

When should you pick each one?

Pick Vercel when:

• The app is Next.js, or it came from v0.
• You want previews protected by default and are fine paying per developer.
• You expect to use server-side rendering heavily.

Pick Netlify when:

• The app is a Vite or React SPA, or a static marketing site with forms.
• Several people need to deploy and you'd rather not pay per seat.
• You already deploy there because Bolt published the project to Netlify, and it works.

Don't move just because. If the app runs fine where it is, migrating costs a day of DNS changes, environment variables and redirect rules for very little gain. Move when there is a concrete reason: a bill you can't predict, a framework feature you need, or a commercial-use restriction.

What usually breaks when you switch?

If you do move, these four things cause most of the trouble:

1. Environment variables have to be recreated by hand in the new platform, for each environment.
2. Redirects and rewrites use different formats (netlify.toml or _redirects versus vercel.json).
3. Functions written for one platform's format need adapting to the other.
4. Auth redirect URLs in Supabase or your login provider still point to the old preview domains.

Lower the TTL on your DNS records a day before, deploy on the new platform under its generated URL, test login and payments there, and only then switch the domain.

Quick answers

Is Vercel's free plan OK for a startup? Not if the app is commercial. Vercel's Hobby plan is for personal, non-commercial use, so a business app belongs on Pro.

What happens on Netlify's Free plan when credits run out? The Free plan has a hard credit limit with no auto recharge, so usage beyond it isn't bought automatically. Check Netlify's current docs for exactly what pauses and when the balance resets.

Does the host affect my Supabase bill? No. Supabase bills separately. The host only affects the front end and any functions you run there.

Can I host the same app on both? You can, but you'll maintain two sets of variables and settings. Pick one for production.

Not sure which fits your app?

If you'd like a second opinion before moving, our maintenance and support plans include hosting decisions like this one. You can also check what hosting really costs, run the free health check on your current URL, or contact us with your setup.