Netlify vs Vercel in India: Next.js, Free Plans, Regions, INR

Netlify vs Vercel is the first choice most Indian frontend developers face once a project leaves localhost. Both deploy from Git, put your site on a global CDN and run server code as functions. They differ in the places that matter here: how well Next.js runs, how long a function may run, whether the free plan allows a client project, whether code can run in Mumbai, and what a team pays in rupees. Every Netlify and Vercel fact below comes from their own pricing pages and documentation, read on 14 November 2026.

Netlify vs Vercel in One Paragraph

Pick Vercel if your app is Next.js with server rendering, you want functions in Mumbai, or a function must run longer than a minute. Pick Netlify if you need a free plan with no rule against commercial work, a team of several people on one flat fee, or Postgres built into the platform.

Both have only just started to run long-lived processes, and both still do it in early form: Netlify Server is in Early Access and Vercel Daemons are in beta. If an always-on backend is your main need, see the last section.

Next.js on Each Platform

Vercel builds Next.js. The Next.js deployment docs list Vercel as a verified adapter, which means it runs the full Next.js test suite before major releases.

Netlify runs Next.js through its own OpenNext adapter, with zero configuration, for Next.js 13.5 and later. Its docs mark the App Router, ISR and image optimisation as full support, and middleware runs as Netlify Edge Functions. They also list four gaps:

• Pages that use the edge runtime for server rendering run on Node.js in your functions region, not at the edge.
• Headers and redirects are applied after middleware, which differs from a standalone Next.js server.
• Node.js middleware cannot use C++ addons or the filesystem.
• Rewrites in the Next.js config cannot point to static files in the public folder.

The Next.js docs say Netlify is working on a verified adapter, and until then its integration is “not verified by the Next.js team”. For a static Next.js export, a Vite app or Astro, both platforms are equally at home.

Functions and Edge Code: Limits That Decide Real Apps

This is where the two differ most for backend work.

Netlify’s scheduled functions stop at 30 seconds.

If an API calls a slow payment gateway or generates a PDF, the 60-second cap on Netlify is the one to check first.

Can Your Code Run in India?

Static files are served from each platform’s CDN. Your server code is a different story.

• Vercel lists Mumbai (bom1) among 19 compute regions. Its regions page says functions default to Washington, D.C. (iad1), so change the function region to Mumbai yourself. Mumbai rates are slightly higher: $0.14 per hour of Active CPU and $0.20 per GB of data transfer on Pro.
• Netlify lists 12 self-serve regions in its function configuration docs. None is in India; the nearest are Singapore and Tokyo. Functions default to Ohio, and changing the region needs a Pro or Enterprise plan. Netlify Server, its new long-running option, offers only Ohio and Frankfurt.

If your database sits in India, a Vercel function in Mumbai saves a round trip abroad on every query. A Netlify function in Singapore cannot avoid it.

Builds and Deploy Limits

Netlify’s 15-minute figure comes from its support guide, not its docs. On new credit-based plans, Netlify no longer counts build minutes. It charges 15 credits per successful production deploy, and deploy previews cost nothing.

Free Plan Rules: Commercial Use and Running Out

This is the clearest difference.

Vercel Hobby is free, but Vercel’s terms say you “shall only use the Services under a Hobby plan for your personal or non-commercial use.” It includes 100 GB of data transfer, 1,000,000 function invocations and 4 hours of Active CPU a month. Go over and you wait until 30 days have passed. You cannot buy more on Hobby, and Hobby cannot deploy a private repository owned by a GitHub organisation.

Netlify Free has no such rule. Netlify’s 2024 Free plan announcement said you can “deploy commercial projects”, and nothing on the current pricing page restricts it. Vercel’s own comparison page lists free commercial use as a Netlify strength. Free gives 300 credits a month with a hard limit. When they run out, Netlify’s docs say every project is paused and visitors see a “Site not available” page until the cycle resets. Each production deploy costs 15 credits and each GB of bandwidth costs 20, so 20 production deploys use the whole month on their own.

Accounts created before 4 September 2025 stay on Netlify’s legacy plans unless they switch: 100 GB of bandwidth and 300 build minutes on Free. Our Netlify free plan limits guide works through the credit maths.

Paid Plans in Rupees

Both price in US dollars. The rupee figures below are list prices only: plan fee converted at Rs 94.20 to the dollar (the RBI reference rate on 13 November 2026), before any usage over the allowance, 18% GST and your card’s forex markup. GST and a typical 4.13% card markup alone add about 23%.

Netlify Pro includes unlimited team members. Vercel charges each developer seat; viewer seats are free. For a small agency in Pune or Bengaluru, that seat price is often the deciding line. Our Netlify pricing guide for India and Vercel pricing in rupees work full bills through, with usage, GST and card charges added. That is why a Netlify Pro bill of $20 lands at about Rs 2,315 on an Indian card there.

Billing, GST and Invoices From India

Vercel’s tax page says prices exclude GST and that it began collecting VAT, GST or equivalent from international customers on 1 April 2026, where it is registered to collect. Its tax-ID guidance names EU and UK VAT numbers. It does not mention a GSTIN or rupee invoices.

Netlify’s pricing page shows dollars. Its Self-Serve Subscription Agreement says fees exclude taxes and that Netlify may invoice them, but we could not find an official Netlify page on Indian GST.

For a GST-registered business, a dollar invoice without GST usually means paying 18% yourself under reverse charge. Our guide to reverse charge on foreign hosting explains the steps.

Databases and Storage

Netlify Database is a managed Postgres built into Netlify, generally available since April 2026 on credit-based plans. Each deploy preview gets its own database branch. It uses credits for compute and bandwidth; storage is free for now. Netlify’s docs we read do not say which region the database runs in.

Vercel’s first-party storage on Hobby and Pro is Blob. For Postgres or Redis, its pricing page points to Marketplace Integrations.

Netlify vs Vercel at a Glance

When You Need Neither

Most code on both platforms runs as functions that start on a request and stop. That fits a frontend with a few API routes. A backend that must stay up is a harder fit:

• an Express or Django API holding database connections open,
• a queue worker that runs all day,
• a Socket.IO server, or
• Postgres that must sit next to the API in India.

Both have begun to close this gap. Netlify Server, in Early Access since November 2026, runs any Node.js server such as Express, Fastify or Hono, and holds WebSocket connections open. It is free during Early Access and will be charged in credits later. Each instance stops after 5 minutes without requests, a server scales to 1 instance on Free and Personal plans (3 on others), full-stack frameworks such as Next.js do not run on it yet, and its regions are Ohio and Frankfurt.

Vercel Daemons, in beta on all plans, run containerised background processes that pull their own work and do not receive traffic. On Hobby they stop at 5 Active CPU-hours or 420 GB-hours of memory in a month.

So you can now run a server on either, but not one that stays up in India. A common split is to keep the frontend on Netlify or Vercel and run the API, workers and database somewhere built for processes, near your users and your data.

Run the Backend on Voroa, in Mumbai

Voroa runs your API as a long-running web service in Mumbai, next to a managed PostgreSQL database in India. A Next.js app runs with next build and next start, the Node.js server mode the Next.js docs say supports every feature; the Next.js deploy guide has the settings. Pull requests can get their own preview environments.

The free Nano size is Rs 0 with 512 MB and 0.1 vCPU shared, and free web services sleep after 15 minutes without requests; see what the free tier includes. Paid web sizes start at Rs 298 a month plus GST, billed in rupees with a GST invoice, and you can pay by UPI. Compare sizes on the Voroa pricing page.

FAQ

Is Netlify or Vercel better for a Next.js app?

Vercel, for most server-rendered Next.js apps. Next.js lists it as a verified adapter, and its functions can run in Mumbai. Netlify works well for Next.js 13.5 and later, with the few gaps its docs list.

Can I use Vercel’s free plan for a client project?

No. Vercel’s terms limit Hobby to personal or non-commercial use. Netlify’s Free plan has no such restriction: its 2024 launch post said commercial projects are fine, and the current pricing page does not limit them. It is capped at 300 credits a month.

Does Netlify have servers in India?

Netlify’s documented function regions do not include India. The nearest are Singapore and Tokyo, and choosing a region needs a Pro or Enterprise plan. Netlify Server runs only in Ohio or Frankfurt.

Do Netlify and Vercel charge GST to Indian customers?

Vercel says it collects GST or equivalent from international customers since 1 April 2026, where it is registered. Netlify’s public pages do not say. Both bill in US dollars.