Netlify vs AWS for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

Netlify Overview

Netlify does one thing and does it well. Static site hosting with Git-based deploys, a global CDN, preview URLs, form handling, and serverless functions. Connect a repo, configure a build command, and you're live. The free tier is generous. The dashboard is clean. The deploy logs make sense. For putting a frontend on the internet, the experience is nearly perfect.

I've never had a Netlify deploy confuse me. The mental model is simple. Code goes in, website comes out. If the build fails, the logs point to the exact problem. Rollbacks take one click. Branches get preview URLs. It's the kind of tooling that lets you focus on your actual product instead of fighting infrastructure.

The tradeoff is scope. Netlify solves frontend hosting. If you need a database, a backend, or anything that requires persistent infrastructure, you'll need another platform alongside it.

AWS Overview

AWS is the everything platform. EC2 for virtual machines, S3 for storage, Lambda for serverless functions, RDS for databases, CloudFront for CDN, ECS for containers, and about 200 more services. Whatever you want to build, AWS has a service for it. Probably three services for it, actually, and you'll spend a week figuring out which one to use.

I'll be honest. AWS is overwhelming for solo developers. The console is dense, the documentation assumes enterprise context, and the pricing model requires a spreadsheet to predict. I've had months where a misconfigured service silently charged $30 for something I thought was free. The 12-month free tier is generous, but it expires, and the transition to paid can be jarring.

That said, AWS is the industry standard for a reason. If you're building something that needs to scale, needs specific infrastructure, or needs enterprise-grade reliability, AWS can handle it. The question is whether the complexity tax is worth it for a solo developer.

Key Differences

Complexity gap. This is the biggest difference. Deploying a static site on Netlify takes 2 minutes. Doing the equivalent on AWS (S3 + CloudFront + Route 53 + ACM for SSL) takes 30-60 minutes and involves four different services. The end result is similar, but the effort is not.

Scope of services. Netlify does frontend hosting. AWS does everything. Need a machine learning pipeline? AWS. Need a message queue? AWS. Need managed Kubernetes? AWS. If your project has complex infrastructure requirements, AWS is the only platform on this list that can handle all of it.

Pricing predictability. Netlify has clear pricing. Free or $19/month. AWS pricing is infamously complex. You pay per request, per GB transferred, per GB stored, per hour of compute, and the rates vary by region and service. Solo developers have been surprised by unexpected bills more times than I can count.

Vendor lock-in. Netlify has minimal lock-in. Your site is a folder of HTML files that deploys anywhere. AWS services like DynamoDB, Lambda, and SQS create deep lock-in. Once your architecture depends on multiple AWS-specific services, migration becomes a major project.

Support and community. Netlify's documentation is concise and targeted at web developers. AWS documentation is encyclopedic but written for cloud engineers. For solo developers who aren't infrastructure specialists, Netlify's docs are significantly more approachable.

CDN performance. Both deliver static content globally through CDNs. Netlify's CDN is excellent and requires zero configuration. AWS CloudFront is more configurable but requires explicit setup. For most solo projects, the performance is equivalent, but Netlify gets you there faster.

When to Choose Netlify

• Your project is a static site, SPA, or JAMstack application
• You want the simplest path from code to production
• Predictable pricing matters more than infrastructure flexibility
• You don't want to learn cloud infrastructure to deploy a website
• Built-in features like forms and preview deploys save you time

When to Choose AWS

• Your project has infrastructure needs beyond static hosting
• You need specific services like SQS, DynamoDB, or SageMaker
• You're building for enterprise clients who require AWS compliance
• You want to learn cloud infrastructure as a career skill
• Your application will scale to levels that require AWS's capacity

The Verdict

For solo developers deploying websites and web applications, Netlify is the better choice 90% of the time. The developer experience gap is enormous. What takes minutes on Netlify takes hours on AWS, and the end result for a static site is functionally identical.

AWS makes sense when your project has genuinely complex infrastructure needs. Persistent queues, machine learning services, multi-region deployments with specific compliance requirements. These are real use cases, but they're not typical solo developer problems.

My honest recommendation for solo developers: use Netlify for static hosting and avoid AWS unless you have a specific reason to be there. The time you save not fighting AWS configuration is time you can spend building your actual product. If you need backend infrastructure, look at Railway, Render, or even a $6 DigitalOcean Droplet before reaching for AWS.