Vercel Free Tier Limits in 2026: Every Hobby Plan Restriction Explained
Vercel's free Hobby plan is one of the best ways to deploy a Next.js app with zero cost. But the limits are real, and hitting them can block your deployments without warning. Here's every restriction you need to know about before choosing the free tier in 2026.
TL;DR — Vercel Hobby Plan Limits at a Glance
- 100 GB bandwidth — enough for ~50K-100K page views per month
- 100K function invocations — every API call, SSR render, and middleware execution counts
- 10-second function timeout — no long-running tasks or heavy processing
- No commercial use — personal projects only, no revenue-generating apps
Every Vercel Hobby Plan Limit in Detail
Vercel's Hobby plan is free, but it comes with hard limits on every resource. Here is the complete list as of March 2026:
Bandwidth
100 GB/monthTotal data transferred to visitors. Includes HTML, CSS, JS, images, fonts, and API responses. A typical Next.js page load is 500KB-2MB.
Serverless Function Invocations
100,000/monthEvery API route call, SSR page render, and middleware execution counts. A single page load can trigger 3-10 invocations depending on your architecture.
Serverless Function Duration
10 seconds maxEach function must complete within 10 seconds. Database queries, external API calls, and image processing must all fit within this window.
Build Minutes
6,000/monthTime spent building your project. A typical Next.js build takes 1-5 minutes. At 3 minutes per build, that is roughly 2,000 deploys per month.
Concurrent Builds
1Only one build runs at a time. If you push multiple commits quickly, they queue up and deploy sequentially. Teams on the free tier will feel this bottleneck.
Team Members
1 (personal only)The Hobby plan is limited to a single developer. You cannot invite collaborators or share the project dashboard. Commercial use is not allowed.
Deployments per Day
100You can trigger up to 100 deployments per day. CI/CD pipelines with frequent pushes or preview deploys can eat through this quickly.
Serverless Function Size
50 MB (compressed)The maximum size for a single serverless function bundle after compression. Large dependencies or monorepo setups may exceed this.
What Happens When You Exceed the Limits
Unlike the Pro plan where overages are billed automatically, the Hobby plan has hard caps. Here is what happens for each limit:
Your site continues to serve cached content, but new deployments are blocked. Dynamic pages and API routes may start returning errors. Vercel sends email warnings at 80% and 100% usage. The limit resets on the first of each month.
Serverless functions stop executing. Any page using SSR, API routes, or middleware will fail. Static pages continue to work. This is the most common limit developers hit unexpectedly because a single page load can trigger multiple invocations.
New deployments are queued but will not build until the next cycle. Your live site remains unaffected, but you cannot push updates. This rarely happens for individual developers but can be an issue with frequent CI/CD pushes.
Any function that runs longer than 10 seconds is killed immediately with a 504 Gateway Timeout error. This applies per-request, not monthly. Database queries, external API calls, and file processing must all complete within 10 seconds.
Real-World Scenarios: When You Will Hit the Limits
The Hobby plan limits sound generous on paper, but real-world usage burns through them faster than you might expect. Here are common scenarios:
Portfolio Site with Blog
Safe on free tierA simple portfolio with static pages and a few blog posts will barely touch the free tier limits. This is exactly the use case the Hobby plan is designed for.
Side Project SaaS with API Routes
Will hit limitsA SaaS with user authentication, dashboard pages, and API calls approaches the 100K invocation limit quickly. Each authenticated page load can trigger 5+ function calls (middleware, auth check, data fetch, API routes). At 10K monthly visitors, you are at 80% capacity with no room to grow.
Blog Post Goes Viral on Social Media
Exceeds limitsA single viral post can blow through your entire monthly allocation in two days. Your site will go down at the worst possible moment — when the most people are trying to visit. On a VPS, this traffic would cost nothing extra.
E-commerce Store with Product Images
Exceeds limitsProduct images, cart API calls, and checkout flows generate heavy bandwidth and invocation usage. The Hobby plan also prohibits commercial use, so an e-commerce store requires the Pro plan regardless of traffic levels.
Vercel Hobby vs Pro vs Enterprise: Full Comparison
| Feature | Hobby (Free) | Pro ($20/seat) | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | Free | $20/seat/month | Custom |
| Bandwidth | 100 GB | 1 TB (then $40/100GB) | Custom |
| Function Invocations | 100K | 1M (then $0.60/1M) | Custom |
| Function Duration | 10 seconds | 60 seconds | 900 seconds |
| Build Minutes | 6,000/month | 24,000/month | Custom |
| Concurrent Builds | 1 | 1 (more on Enterprise) | Custom |
| Team Members | 1 (personal) | Unlimited ($20 each) | Unlimited |
| Commercial Use | Not allowed | Yes | Yes |
| Preview Deployments | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Edge Functions | 100K invocations | 1M invocations | Custom |
| Image Optimization | 1,000 images | 5,000 (then $5/1K) | Custom |
| Analytics | Not included | Included | Included |
| Support | Community only | Email support | Dedicated support |
| Password Protection | Not available | Available | Available |
When the Vercel Free Tier Is Enough
The Hobby plan is genuinely excellent for specific use cases. Stay on the free tier if:
Personal portfolio or resume site
Static pages with minimal JavaScript and no API routes. Under 5K monthly visitors. The free tier is more than enough and the DX is unbeatable.
Learning project or tutorial follow-along
Building something to learn Next.js, React, or web development. Traffic is just you and a few friends. Zero cost is the right price for learning.
Prototype or proof of concept
Validating an idea before investing in infrastructure. Preview deployments let you share progress with stakeholders instantly.
Static blog with no server-side rendering
A blog using only getStaticProps and static generation. No API routes, no middleware. Bandwidth is the only limit that matters, and 100GB goes far with text content.
When the Free Tier Is Not Enough
You have outgrown the Hobby plan if any of these apply:
Your app generates revenue (commercial use)
The Hobby plan explicitly prohibits commercial use. Any SaaS, e-commerce, or client project must be on the Pro plan. Violating this can result in account suspension.
You need more than 100K function invocations
A SaaS with authentication, API routes, and dynamic pages will hit this limit at around 10K-15K monthly visitors. Upgrading to Pro gives you 1M invocations.
Your team has more than one developer
The Hobby plan is limited to a single person. The moment you need to collaborate, you are looking at $20/seat/month on the Pro plan.
You expect traffic spikes or growth
If a blog post, Product Hunt launch, or marketing campaign could send 50K+ visitors, the free tier will go down at the worst time. Predictable infrastructure matters.
You need longer function execution times
10 seconds is not enough for complex database queries, PDF generation, email sending with retries, or any workflow that depends on external APIs with variable latency.
The Cheaper Alternative: VPS + DeployWise
When you outgrow the Hobby plan, upgrading to Vercel Pro at $20/seat/month is not the only option. A VPS with DeployWise gives you more resources at a lower price — with the same developer experience.
| Feature | Vercel Hobby | Vercel Pro | VPS + DeployWise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $20/seat/month | $4-10/month (flat) |
| Bandwidth | 100 GB | 1 TB + overages | 20 TB+ included |
| Function Invocations | 100K | 1M + overages | Unlimited |
| Function Timeout | 10 seconds | 60 seconds | No limit |
| Commercial Use | No | Yes | Yes |
| Team Members | 1 | $20 each | Unlimited (free) |
| Git Push Deploys | Yes | Yes | Yes (DeployWise) |
| SSL Certificates | Auto | Auto | Auto (Let's Encrypt) |
| Docker Support | No | No | Yes |
| WebSockets | No | No | Yes |
With DeployWise, you get the same workflow as Vercel — connect your GitHub repo, push to deploy, automatic SSL — but on a server you own. No bandwidth limits, no invocation caps, no per-seat pricing. The setup takes under 2 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Vercel really free?+
Yes, the Hobby plan is free. But it is limited to 100GB bandwidth, 100K function invocations, personal non-commercial use only, and a single developer. Once you exceed any limit or need commercial use, you must upgrade to Pro at $20/seat/month.
What happens when you exceed Vercel free tier limits?+
Deployments are paused and serverless functions may stop working. Your existing static content stays live, but you cannot deploy updates. The limits reset on the first of each month.
How much bandwidth does the Vercel free tier give you?+
100GB per month. A typical Next.js site uses 1-2MB per page load, so 100GB supports roughly 50,000-100,000 page views per month, depending on your assets.
Can I use Vercel free tier for commercial projects?+
No. The Hobby plan explicitly prohibits commercial use. SaaS apps, e-commerce sites, and client projects require the Pro plan at minimum.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Vercel Pro?+
Yes. A VPS ($4-10/month) with DeployWise gives you unlimited bandwidth, unlimited team members, and the same git-push-to-deploy workflow. DeployWise is free and open source.
How many page views can the Vercel free tier handle?+
Roughly 50,000-100,000 for a typical Next.js site. However, heavy API usage, large images, or SSR pages can reduce this to 10,000-20,000 page views before hitting limits.
Outgrown the free tier? Skip the overages.
Deploy to your own VPS with DeployWise. Unlimited bandwidth, unlimited team members, same DX. Free and open source.
Try DeployWise Free