Pick Vercel when
The app is a Next.js or static frontend. You want preview deploys per pull request and a global CDN with no setup. Traffic is high but server work per request is small. Your backend already lives somewhere else.
Side by side
From each vendor’s own pricing and docs pages.
| Render | Vercel | |
|---|---|---|
| What it runs | Web services, private services, background workers, cron jobs, static sites. Native runtimes or Docker. Processes stay running | Static files, Next.js and other frameworks, serverless Functions |
| Plan fee | Hobby $0 (1 seat). Pro $25/month per workspace, unlimited seats | Hobby $0. Pro $20/month per developer seat, with $20 of usage credit |
| Compute billing | Fixed price per instance, prorated by the second: $7 (512 MB), $25 (2 GB), $85 (4 GB) | Active CPU from $0.128/hour, memory from $0.0106/GB-hour, $0.60 per million invocations |
| Free option | Free web service (512 MB) that spins down after 15 min idle; 750 hours/month. Free Postgres expires after 30 days | Hobby: personal, non-commercial use only. 100 GB data transfer/month |
| Traffic | 5 GB included on Hobby, 25 GB on Pro, then $0.15/GB | 1 TB included on Pro (Flat Rate CDN). Next tier $20/month for 50 TB |
| Databases | Postgres from $6/month (256 MB RAM), 1 GB storage included, then $0.30/GB. Key Value from $10/month | None built in. Neon, Supabase, Upstash and others via the Marketplace, billed by them |
| Long-running work | Yes: workers, cron jobs, WebSockets | Functions stop after 300 s by default, 800 s max on Pro. No always-on processes |
| Persistent disk | Yes, $0.25/GB-month | No |
| Regions | Oregon, Ohio, Virginia, Frankfurt, Singapore. Static sites on a global CDN | Global CDN. Functions default to Washington, D.C. (iad1); Frankfurt (fra1) and others available |
| Company | US | US |
Sources: Render pricing, Render workspace plans (April 2026), Render free instances, Render regions, Next.js on Render, Vercel pricing, Vercel Flat Rate CDN, Vercel Functions limits, Vercel regions. Read on 2026-10-02.
What it costs per month
Three app sizes, list prices, converted at $1 = €0.88, without VAT.
| Workload | Render | Vercel | Hostim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next.js site, no database, 100 GB traffic | €18.70 | €17.60 | €2.50 |
| Small API, 512 MB RAM, 1 GB Postgres, 50 GB traffic | €17.38 | €17.60 | €3.50 |
| Growing app, 2 GB RAM, 10 GB Postgres, 500 GB traffic | €95.00 | €37.70 | €14.50 |
How the numbers are built:
- Render: free Hobby workspace. One web service at the smallest instance with enough RAM ($7 for 512 MB, $25 for 2 GB). Postgres is the $6 plan with 1 GB of storage included, then $0.30 per GB. Traffic above the included 5 GB costs $0.15 per GB, and that is most of the bill at 500 GB. A team on Render Pro pays $25 more and gets 25 GB included.
- Vercel: Pro plan with one seat. Light function usage fits in the $20 credit. Postgres is Neon from the Marketplace: free up to 1 GB per project (with 100 compute hours a month), otherwise priced always-on at 0.25 compute units. A Neon database that scales to zero costs less.
- Hostim: that is us, so read this row with that in mind. Flat plan prices from our price list, traffic included.
Which one to pick
Pick Render when
You run a backend that must stay up: an API, workers, cron jobs, WebSockets. You want Postgres and Redis next to the app on one bill. You deploy from a Dockerfile. You need a disk. You want a fixed price per service.
Use both when
The frontend is Next.js and the backend is not. Keep them in the same city — Vercel fra1 with Render Frankfurt — so API calls do not cross the Atlantic.
Price your own app
Same price models as the table above. Move the sliders to match your workload.
A standalone Next.js container runs comfortably in 512 MB. Most apps pull a small Postgres for sessions/data; bandwidth grows with image traffic.
Managed app platforms (PaaS)
Push code or a Docker image; the platform handles ops.
Provider
Compute
Database
Egress
Total / mo
HostimRecommendedDedicated bare metal in Germany. Traffic included, no egress fees.
€3
€1
—
€4/mo
VercelPro plan, one seat. Light function usage fits in the $20 included credit; RAM is not billed as a fixed size.Postgres via the Marketplace (Neon), priced always-on. Scale-to-zero costs less.
€18
—
—
€18/mo
RenderHobby workspace. Frankfurt region available.Only 5 GB of bandwidth included, then $0.15/GB.
€6
€5
€13
€24/mo
Estimates from each provider's published list prices, read on 2026-09-23 and converted to EUR at $1 = €0.88. Excludes VAT. The (i) next to each provider states the plan and assumptions used. Pricing changes — check the provider's own page before you commit.
A third option, if you need the EU
We built Hostim, so we are not neutral here. Hostim runs containers and managed Postgres, MySQL and Redis like Render, but at flat monthly prices with traffic included, and only in Germany, from a German company. It has no global CDN and no edge functions, so it does not replace Vercel for a frontend that must be fast worldwide. It fits the backend half, when the data has to stay under EU jurisdiction. See the Render and Vercel comparisons, Railway vs Vercel, and our Render vs Railway vs Fly.io pricing breakdown.
Comparisons
See how Hostim compares.
Side by side against the platform you are moving from, or a round-up covering several at once.
Explore other alternatives
Heroku Alternative (EU)Render Alternative (EU)Railway Alternative (EU)Vercel Alternative (EU)Sevalla AlternativeNeon Alternative (EU Postgres)Fly.io AlternativeCoolify AlternativeCapRover AlternativePortainer AlternativeDokku AlternativeNorthflank AlternativeDigitalOcean App Platform Alternative
Compare several platforms at once
Frequently asked questions
Is Render cheaper than Vercel?
It depends on traffic. Render charges per service: $7 a month for a 512 MB web service and $6 for the smallest Postgres, so a small app with a database starts around $13 plus traffic. Vercel Pro is $20 a month per developer seat and has no database of its own. But Render’s free Hobby workspace includes only 5 GB of bandwidth, then $0.15 per GB, while Vercel Pro includes 1 TB. Above roughly 100 GB of traffic a month, Vercel is usually cheaper for the frontend.
Can Render host a Next.js app?
Yes. Render deploys a full Next.js app as a Node.js web service that runs `next start`, or a static export as a free static site on its CDN. Server rendering and API routes work. The web service runs in the one region you pick, such as Frankfurt. You do not get Vercel’s per-route functions spread over a global network.
Can Vercel run a backend and a database?
A backend, partly. Vercel runs server code as Functions. A function stops after 300 seconds by default and 800 seconds at most on Pro. There are no always-on processes and no persistent disk. Vercel has no database of its own: you add Postgres, Redis or others from the Vercel Marketplace, and that provider bills you. Render runs long-lived web services, background workers, cron jobs, Postgres and Key Value (Redis-compatible) on one bill.
What do the free tiers include?
Render’s free web service spins down after 15 minutes without traffic and takes about one minute to start again. You get 750 free instance hours a month. Free Postgres has 1 GB of storage and expires 30 days after creation. Vercel Hobby is free with 100 GB of data transfer a month, but only for personal, non-commercial use. It has hard usage caps, and you cannot buy extra usage on it.
Do Render and Vercel have an EU region?
Yes, both have Frankfurt. On Render you pick Frankfurt for web services and databases; static sites always use a global CDN. On Vercel, Functions run in Washington, D.C. (iad1) by default and you can move them to Frankfurt (fra1); the CDN is global. Both are US companies, so both fall under US law such as the CLOUD Act. If you need an EU-owned provider, neither qualifies.
Can I use Render and Vercel together?
Yes. A common setup is the Next.js frontend on Vercel and the API, workers and database on Render. Put Vercel Functions in fra1 and Render services in Frankfurt, or every API call crosses the Atlantic. You then pay two bills: the $20 Vercel seat and Render compute, plus Render bandwidth above 5 GB.
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