Netlify vs Vercel - Which one to choose?
Static site generators have become very popular in recent years. There are many tools to help you build and deploy your websites, but two of the most popular cloud hosting services for static sites are Netlify and Vercel. Both services offer a range of features and benefits, making it difficult to choose between them. In this blog post, we will compare Netlify and Vercel to help you decide which one is better for your project.
Features comparison
Both Netlify and Vercel have several features in common, including:
- HTTPS support
- Custom domains
- Global CDN
- Continuous Deployment
- Custom redirects and headers
- Easy SSL certificates installation
- Git-based deployment
- Automated builds
Netlify: Features and drawbacks
Netlify is a popular cloud hosting service for static websites, providing robust features for developers. Netlify comes with a range of benefits, such as:
- The service is free to start for a basic package, which is perfect for small-scale projects.
- Automatic Continuous Deployment is available on every plan, allowing developers to test changes on their local machines before they are deployed to a live site.
- Netlify integrates seamlessly with GitHub, Bitbucket, and GitLab.
- Netlify provides an incredible build system that allows Front-end developers to build and deploy JavaScript apps without any hassle, thanks to the wide range of automatic build plugins.
- DNS configuration is made simple with Netlify, making it super easy to manage your DNS.
- Fully customizable branch builds and automatic branch deployments.
However, Netlify also has its drawbacks, such as:
- Pricing can be a pain point for some users. Netlify is free to start, but the pricing can get out of hand for advanced features for higher traffic sites.
Vercel: Features and drawbacks
Vercel is another popular cloud hosting service for static websites with an easy-to-use deployment workflow. Here are some of the benefits of Vercel:
- Vercel integrates closely with Front-end frameworks like Next.js and Gatsby.
- Deployments are faster and automatic, because Vercel is designed to work with GitHub repositories and can automatically update your live site without any manual intervention required.
- Vercel has an excellent command-line interface, making it ideal for Front-end developers.
- Stable pricing structure.
However, Vercel also has some drawbacks:
- Vercel's free plan lacks some of the more advanced features, such as easy SSL installations and custom domains.
- The interface can be somewhat lacking in modernity and can feel outdated compared to Netlify.
Comparing performance benchmarks
We decided to run some speed tests comparing Netlify and Vercel. We used two different tools to run these tests:
With Pagespeed Insights, Netlify got a score of 98 on mobile and 100 on desktop, compared to Vercel's 96 on mobile and 98 on desktop.
We also ran some tests on WebPageTest, and the average time to the first byte was 400ms on Netlify and 420ms on Vercel.
It's worth noting that these tests reveal only surface-level information and might not reflect the real-world performance of your website.
Conclusion
In our opinion, both Netlify and Vercel are fantastic cloud hosting services, and which one you choose ultimately depends on your specific needs.
If you're looking for a more modern user interface and a pricing structure that's more stable, Vercel might be the better choice for you. But if you're looking for a more advanced level of flexibility and free pricing options, Netlify could be your goldmine.
We hope this comparison has helped you decide which service to use for your next static website project.