Alternatives

Netlify alternatives, with prices attached.

Netlify moved to a credit system, and most people arriving here want to know what the same site costs somewhere that bills in units they recognise.

Netlify is very good at what it was built for: a static site or a frontend framework, deployed from Git, on a global edge network. People look for alternatives when they need a backend that runs continuously, or when the credit maths stops being predictable. What follows is what each option is actually for — including the cases where staying on Netlify is the right answer.

The options

VercelFree, then $20 per seat
The closest match in feel, and the reference implementation for Next.js. Charged per seat, which is what pushes larger teams to look elsewhere.
Cloudflare PagesFree tier, then $5 Workers plan
The cheapest serious static and edge host, with unmetered bandwidth on the free tier. Least generous when you need a long-running process.
RenderFree static sites, $7 instance
Sensible when the site has outgrown static and needs a real always-on backend next to it, at a flat instance price.
DockupFree, then $5 or $20
For a frontend that has a backend, a database and a queue behind it. Metered per unit rather than per credit, and not charged per team member.
GitHub Pages or Cloudflare R2Free
If the site is genuinely static and has no build step worth paying for, this is the honest answer and it costs nothing.
Staying on NetlifyFree, $9 or $20
If the site is a frontend, the free tier covers it, and nobody is fighting the bill — there is no reason to move. Netlify Functions and its form handling have no direct equivalent below.

Questions this page gets asked

What is the cheapest Netlify alternative?

For a purely static site, GitHub Pages or Cloudflare Pages at nothing. Among platforms that also run a backend, a $7 Render instance or Dockup’s free plan, which does not sleep and grants $10 of infrastructure credit at signup.

Why did my Netlify bill change?

Netlify prices in credits rather than gigabytes and build minutes: the Free plan carries a 300-credit limit, Personal 1,000 and Pro 3,000, with bandwidth at 20 credits per GB and production deploys at 15 credits each. Published rates, checked 22 August 2026. A traffic spike and a busy deploy week draw on the same pool, which is what makes the total harder to predict than a per-GB rate.

Which alternative is best for a Next.js site?

Vercel, on the merits — it is built by the same people and gets framework features first. The reason teams still leave is per-seat pricing, which scales with headcount rather than with traffic.

Can I run a backend and a database on Netlify?

Not in the way you would on a platform-as-a-service. Netlify Functions are short-lived and there is no managed database. If the application needs a process that stays running, a queue or a database, that is the point at which the alternatives above stop being optional.

Compare something else

Try it against your own workload.

The free plan grants $10 of infrastructure credit at signup, needs no card, and does not sleep.

Start free with $10 credit See the rates