Why This Comparison Matters
If you’re shipping web apps in 2026, static hosting is table stakes. The three major players — Vercel, Netlify, and Cloudflare Pages — all offer generous free tiers. But which one should you actually use?
I deployed the same application to all three and measured everything.
Free Tier Comparison
| Feature | Vercel | Netlify | Cloudflare Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bandwidth | 100 GB/month | 100 GB/month | Unlimited |
| Build Minutes | 6,000/month | 300/month | 500/month |
| Serverless Functions | Yes (Edge) | Yes | Yes (Workers) |
| Custom Domains | Unlimited | 1 per site | Unlimited |
| Preview Deployments | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Analytics | Basic | Basic | Web Analytics (free) |
Performance Results
Testing from 5 global locations with Lighthouse:
| Metric | Vercel | Netlify | Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|---|
| TTFB (avg) | 52ms | 78ms | 38ms |
| LCP | 0.8s | 1.1s | 0.7s |
| Performance Score | 99 | 97 | 100 |
Winner: Cloudflare Pages for raw performance, but the margins are thin.
Developer Experience
Vercel wins for developer experience. vercel deploy --prod and you’re done. Git integration is seamless, preview URLs are instant, and the dashboard is beautiful.
Netlify offers the most built-in features (forms, identity, CMS) but can feel bloated for simple projects.
Cloudflare Pages has the best performance and unlimited bandwidth, but the developer tools are still catching up.
My Recommendation
- Solo indie dev? → Vercel. Best DX, generous free tier.
- High-traffic static site? → Cloudflare Pages. Unlimited bandwidth.
- Need built-in CMS/forms? → Netlify. Most features out of the box.
For my projects, I use Vercel for everything. The 100GB bandwidth limit hasn’t been an issue yet, and the deployment experience is unmatched.