DeployWise vs Vercel: Real Cost Comparison for Growing Apps
We deployed the same Next.js app on Vercel and on a $5 Hetzner VPS with DeployWise. Here's what happened when traffic grew.
The experiment
We took a standard Next.js 15 e-commerce app — server-side rendering, API routes, image optimization — and deployed it to two environments:
$20/month base. Automatic scaling, edge network, serverless functions.
$5.39/month. 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB SSD, 20TB bandwidth included.
Cost at different traffic levels
| Monthly Traffic | Vercel Pro | DeployWise + VPS | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10K visits (50GB) | $20 | $5 | 75% |
| 50K visits (200GB) | $35 | $5 | 86% |
| 100K visits (500GB) | $80 | $5 | 94% |
| 500K visits (2TB) | $170+ | $5 | 97% |
* Vercel costs include Pro plan ($20) + bandwidth overage ($0.15/GB over 1TB). VPS cost is Hetzner CX22 with 20TB included bandwidth.
Feature comparison
| Feature | DeployWise | Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly base cost | $5 (VPS) | $20 (Pro plan) |
| Bandwidth included | Unlimited* | 1 TB (then $0.15/GB) |
| Build minutes | Unlimited | 6,000/mo |
| Serverless functions | N/A (always-on PM2) | Included (cold starts) |
| Team members | Unlimited | $20/member/mo |
| Custom domains | Unlimited | 50 |
| SSL certificates | Free (Let's Encrypt) | Free |
| Server location | Your choice | Vercel's edge network |
| Vendor lock-in | None | Moderate |
| Source code | Open source (MIT) | Proprietary |
What Vercel does better
Let's be fair — Vercel has genuine advantages:
If you need global edge distribution for a latency-sensitive app, Vercel is hard to beat. But for most apps — blogs, dashboards, SaaS products, APIs — a single well-located VPS is fast enough. And it's 10-20x cheaper.
What DeployWise does better
The bottom line
For growing apps, DeployWise + a VPS saves 75-97% compared to Vercel. You trade edge functions and global CDN for full server control and predictable costs. For most developers, that's a trade worth making.
The best part? You can switch anytime. DeployWise uses standard tooling (PM2, Nginx, Git) — there's no lock-in. If you outgrow a single VPS, add another one. If you decide to go back to Vercel, your code works the same.
Try the $5 alternative
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