AWS vs Vercel
AWS vs Vercel compared for European indie developers and small startups. Pricing, EU jurisdiction, GDPR posture, and why Runsite (an EU-registered PaaS in Frankfurt) is worth a look.
AWS vs Vercel: quick answer
AWS and Vercel both offer Git-push deploy workflows, but they differ where it counts. Vercel starts around $20/user/mo. AWS and Vercel are both US-headquartered, so neither escapes US jurisdiction or the CLOUD Act, and neither runs EU-native infrastructure or offers hard spending caps. For European teams that need GDPR-compliant hosting in Frankfurt with predictable EUR billing and a permanent free tier, Runsite is the EU-native alternative to both.
// aws problems → runsite solutions
Common AWS frustrations. Sound familiar?
Every AWS frustration, solved.
AWS problem
"I need DevOps just to deploy a simple app"
EC2 requires VPC config, security groups, IAM roles, and manual deployment pipelines. Even ECS/Fargate has a steep learning curve.
Runsite solution
Git push and done
Connect your GitHub repo, choose a region, deploy. No cloud certifications required.
AWS problem
"My AWS bill had 47 line items"
EC2, EBS, data transfer, NAT gateway, CloudWatch, Route53, ACM, every service adds charges.
Runsite solution
One line on your invoice
Web service: €5/mo. PostgreSQL: €5/mo. That's it. No data transfer fees, no hidden charges.
AWS problem
"Budget alerts don't actually stop spending"
AWS sends you an email when you hit 80% budget. But charges keep accruing. There's no hard cap.
Runsite solution
Hard spending cap + Telegram alerts
Set a monthly limit. Get Telegram notifications at 80%. We physically stop charges at your cap.
// comparison
Runsite vs AWS
Side-by-side. No marketing fluff, just facts.
| Feature | Runsite | AWS |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Complexity | ✓ Git push deploy | EC2 + VPC + IAM + Security Groups |
| Billing Clarity | ✓ One plan, one price | ✗ 20+ line items per invoice |
| Spending Limits | ✓ Hard cap: cannot overspend | ✗ Budget alerts only, charges continue |
| GDPR Compliance | ✓ EU entity, not subject to CLOUD Act | ✗ US company, CLOUD Act applies |
| Free Tier | ✓ Permanent | 12-month trial only |
| Data Egress | ✓ Included in plan | $0.09/GB after 100GB |
| Service Catalog | Focused PaaS | ✓ 200+ services |
| Global Regions | Frankfurt (eu-central) only | ✓ 30+ regions worldwide |
// the other side
What about Vercel?
Vercel is great for frontend. But if you need backend hosting in Europe with GDPR compliance, Runsite is the answer.
// vercel problems → runsite solutions
Common Vercel frustrations. Sound familiar?
Every Vercel frustration, solved.
Vercel problem
"Vercel is frontend-only"
Need to deploy a Python API or Go service? Vercel's serverless model doesn't support long-running backend processes.
Runsite solution
Full container hosting, any stack
Deploy Django, FastAPI, Express, Go, or Rust in persistent containers. No cold starts, no function timeouts.
Vercel problem
"Origin servers are in the US"
Vercel's edge caches content globally, but your serverless functions and data origin are US-based.
Runsite solution
EU-only infrastructure
Compute, storage, and databases all run in EU data centers. True data residency, beyond edge caching.
Vercel problem
"Surprise bills from function invocations"
Serverless pricing is unpredictable. A traffic spike can lead to unexpected charges.
Runsite solution
Fixed pricing + hard spending caps
Predictable monthly bills. Set a cap, get alerts. No pay-per-request surprises.
// comparison
Runsite vs Vercel
Side-by-side. No marketing fluff, just facts.
| Feature | Runsite | Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Backend Hosting | ✓ Full containers, any stack | Serverless functions only |
| EU Data Centers | ✓ Frankfurt (eu-central) | Edge only, origin = US |
| GDPR Compliance | ✓ EU entity, full compliance | ✗ US company |
| Managed PostgreSQL | ✓ From €5/mo | Via Vercel Postgres (Neon) |
| Docker Support | ✓ Any Dockerfile | ✗ Not supported |
| Spending Limits | ✓ Hard cap + alerts | Soft limits only |
| Frontend Hosting | Static files via S3 | ✓ Fast global CDN |
| Free Tier | ✓ Permanent | ✓ With limits |
// pricing, side by side
AWS vs Vercel: what each actually costs
Hobby plan is free for personal, non-commercial projects. Commercial use requires Pro at $20/user/mo, and usage charges apply on top.
Vercel is excellent for frontend and serverless, and the free Hobby plan is real, but per-seat Pro pricing and metered usage make costs unpredictable at scale, and you still need another provider for a proper backend.
Pricing verified June 2026. Check the official pricing page of each provider for current rates.
// in-depth comparison
How AWS and Vercel each compare to Runsite
AWS vs Runsite
Two hundred-plus services. Thirty-plus regions. Deep integrations across every technology stack you can name. AWS is the most comprehensive cloud platform on the planet, and for enterprises with dedicated DevOps teams and complex multi-service architectures, that flexibility is unmatched.
Now try to deploy one small web application. Suddenly you are navigating EC2, VPC, IAM, security groups, and load balancers, or learning the abstractions of ECS, Fargate, or App Runner. The invoice lands with dozens of line items. Worse, the budget alerts you set up do not actually stop spending. And AWS is a US company subject to the CLOUD Act.
Runsite runs the other way: a focused PaaS with git-push deploys, hard spending limits, one-line invoices, and EU-only infrastructure under EU jurisdiction. If your project does not need 200 AWS services and you just want to ship an application to EU users without hiring a cloud engineer, Runsite gets you deployed in minutes with transparent, predictable costs.
Vercel vs Runsite
Give Vercel its due: for frontend work, it is arguably the best deployment platform available today. The Next.js integration just works, preview deployments are instant, and the global edge network delivers fast load times worldwide. If your project lives in the browser, it is genuinely hard to beat.
Backend hosting is where the model strains. Serverless functions have execution time limits, cold starts affect API latency, and the origin servers for your data sit in the US regardless of which edge locations cache your content. Per-invocation pricing can also lead to unpredictable bills during traffic spikes. Runsite takes a different approach: persistent Docker containers that run any language or framework, with all compute happening in EU data centers and fixed monthly pricing capped by hard spending limits.
Vercel stays the right choice for pure frontend projects. But if you need to deploy a Python API, a Go microservice, or a full-stack app with EU data residency, Runsite fills the gap that Vercel's serverless model leaves open.
// why consider runsite
Beyond AWS and Vercel
EU PaaS for indie developers and small European startups. One region: Frankfurt.
EU-First Infrastructure
While AWS and Vercel default to US markets, Runsite is built exclusively for European developers. Frankfurt (eu-central) region, EU entity, EU jurisdiction, with no transatlantic transfers.
Real GDPR Compliance
EU-registered entity. Your data is governed by European law. No US jurisdiction, no CLOUD Act.
Predictable Pricing
No per-invocation charges, no surprise bills. Fixed plans with hard spending caps and Telegram alerts.
Common Questions
FAQ
Which is better for EU hosting, AWS or Vercel?
Neither AWS nor Vercel is EU-native. Both are US-based (AWS: US-headquartered (Amazon); Vercel: US-headquartered) and route most traffic through US regions, with EU availability that is usually limited or gated behind higher tiers. Even when you can select a European region, the parent company stays subject to the US CLOUD Act, which can compel disclosure of EU customer data. For genuine EU data residency, an EU-registered platform is the safer choice: Runsite runs exclusively in Frankfurt (eu-central) under EU jurisdiction, with no transatlantic transfers and no CLOUD Act exposure — the kind of guarantee neither US provider can make.
Which has the better free tier, AWS or Vercel?
Free tiers on both AWS and Vercel change frequently and tend to share the same catch: compute that sleeps after inactivity, bandwidth or build-minute caps, or trial credits that expire after a fixed window. They are fine for quick experiments but rarely sustainable for an always-on hobby project. If a permanent free tier matters, read the current terms carefully. Limits are often buried in the pricing footnotes. Runsite takes the opposite approach: a free tier with no credit card and no expiry, designed to keep small projects online indefinitely rather than nudging you onto a paid plan.
Is AWS or Vercel GDPR-compliant?
Both AWS and Vercel can be configured to support GDPR-compliant workloads through a signed Data Processing Agreement (DPA) and EU region selection where available. However, as US-incorporated entities they remain subject to the US CLOUD Act regardless of where the data physically sits, which is a documented sticking point for European compliance and DPO review. For workloads where US jurisdiction is a hard blocker (public-sector, healthcare, or privacy-sensitive consumer apps), an EU-headquartered provider removes the ambiguity entirely. Runsite is EU-registered with data kept inside the EU, so GDPR posture is the default rather than a configuration exercise.
What is the cheapest way to deploy a side project, AWS or Vercel?
For a single small service, both AWS and Vercel can look inexpensive on paper. The headline price rarely matches the real bill. Per-service billing, metered bandwidth, build minutes, and add-ons for databases or key-value stores stack up quickly, and neither platform offers a hard spending cap to stop a surprise invoice. The cheapest predictable option is one with fixed monthly pricing and an enforced ceiling. Runsite bills in EUR from €5/month with hard spending caps and Telegram alerts, plus a permanent free tier, so a side project stays cheap by design, not by careful monitoring.
// explore alternatives
Try the European Alternative
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