An honest, experience-based comparison of Vercel and AWS for deployment & hosting projects. We have shipped production systems with both — here is what we learned.
Vercel vs AWS — quick verdict: Vercel is the best developer experience for frontend and full-stack Next.js applications. AWS offers unlimited flexibility for complex backend infrastructure. Many teams use both. ZTABS has shipped production systems with both Vercel and AWS. Below is our honest, experience-based comparison. Need help choosing? Get a free consultation →
3
Vercel Wins
0
Ties
3
AWS Wins
Vercel
10/10
AWS
5/10
Vercel: git push → live in seconds. Automatic preview deployments, zero config. AWS requires configuring VPCs, security groups, load balancers — or using higher-level abstractions.
Vercel
3/10
AWS
10/10
AWS has 200+ services for every workload imaginable. Vercel focuses on frontend hosting, serverless functions, and edge computing — a narrow but excellent scope.
Vercel
5/10
AWS
9/10
Vercel pricing scales with usage and can become expensive for high-traffic sites. AWS offers Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, and more granular cost control.
Vercel
10/10
AWS
7/10
Vercel's Edge Network is optimized for frontend delivery: automatic CDN, edge middleware, ISR, and image optimization. AWS requires CloudFront configuration for similar results.
Vercel
4/10
AWS
10/10
AWS offers databases (RDS, DynamoDB), queues (SQS), containers (ECS/EKS), ML (SageMaker), and hundreds more. Vercel has serverless functions only.
Vercel
10/10
AWS
3/10
Every git branch gets a unique preview URL on Vercel automatically. AWS requires custom CI/CD pipeline setup for similar functionality.
Vercel built Next.js — deployment is zero-config with the best possible optimization.
AWS provides the databases, queues, containers, and networking that microservices require.
Vercel's Edge Network delivers the fastest frontend experience with minimal setup.
AWS provides the compliance certifications, service breadth, and infrastructure control that enterprises need.
The best technology choice depends on your specific context: team skills, project timeline, scaling requirements, and budget. We have built production systems with both Vercel and AWS — talk to us before committing to a stack.
We do not believe in one-size-fits-all technology recommendations. Every project we take on starts with understanding the client's constraints and goals, then recommending the technology that minimizes risk and maximizes delivery speed.
Our senior architects have shipped 500+ projects with both technologies. Get a free consultation — we will recommend the best fit for your specific project.