Vercel vs AWS for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

Vercel Overview

Vercel does one thing exceptionally well: deploy frontend applications. Connect your repository, push code, get a live site. SSL certificates, CDN distribution, preview deployments, and edge functions all happen automatically. For Next.js projects, the integration goes deeper than any other platform, since Vercel created Next.js.

The platform abstracts away all infrastructure decisions. You don't choose regions, configure load balancers, or set up CDN invalidation rules. Vercel handles it. This lets solo developers focus entirely on building their application instead of managing deployment infrastructure.

The free tier handles most solo projects. When you need more, the $20/month Pro tier scales without architectural changes. The pricing is simple, predictable, and doesn't require a spreadsheet to estimate.

AWS Overview

Amazon Web Services is the largest cloud platform on the planet. Over 200 services covering compute, storage, databases, networking, machine learning, IoT, and everything in between. AWS can run anything at any scale, from a single static site to Netflix's entire streaming infrastructure.

For web hosting, the relevant AWS services include: S3 + CloudFront for static sites, Lambda for serverless functions, EC2 for virtual servers, RDS for managed databases, ECS/EKS for containers, Amplify for frontend hosting, and dozens of supporting services for monitoring, logging, and security.

I've used AWS professionally, and the capability is undeniable. You can build anything. But the complexity is equally undeniable. Deploying a simple web application requires understanding IAM roles, VPCs, security groups, S3 bucket policies, CloudFront distributions, Route 53 DNS, and ACM certificates. Each service has its own console, pricing model, and configuration quirks.

Key Differences

Complexity. Vercel: push code, get a URL. AWS: choose from 200+ services, configure IAM, set up networking, manage certificates, and understand billing across multiple services. The complexity gap is not linear. It's exponential. AWS assumes you're a team with infrastructure engineers. Vercel assumes you're a developer who wants to ship.

Capability ceiling. AWS has no ceiling. Literally any cloud workload can run on AWS. Vercel has a clearly defined scope: frontend applications, serverless functions, and edge computing. If your project fits Vercel's model, it's the better choice. If it doesn't, AWS can handle it.

Pricing. Vercel's pricing is simple: free, $20/month, or enterprise. AWS pricing requires a PhD to understand. Each service has its own billing dimensions: compute hours, storage GB, request counts, data transfer, provisioned capacity. Surprise bills are a real risk for solo developers. I've seen small projects accidentally rack up hundreds in AWS charges from misconfigured services.

Operational burden. On Vercel, you maintain your code. On AWS, you maintain your code, your infrastructure, your security configuration, your networking, and your monitoring setup. Solo developers who choose AWS are signing up for a second job as a systems administrator.

Vendor lock-in. Vercel's lock-in is moderate. Your Next.js or React app is portable. Some Vercel-specific features (edge config, analytics) don't transfer. AWS's lock-in is deep. Once you use Lambda, DynamoDB, SQS, and API Gateway together, migrating away requires rewriting significant infrastructure code.

Support and documentation. AWS documentation is comprehensive but overwhelming. Finding the right approach for a simple task often means reading pages of documentation across multiple services. Vercel's documentation is focused and clear because the platform does fewer things.

When to Choose Vercel

• You're deploying frontend applications and want zero infrastructure overhead
• Simple, predictable pricing without surprise bills is important
• You need preview deployments and Git-based workflows
• Your project fits the serverless/edge computing model
• You want to spend your time building, not configuring cloud services

When to Choose AWS

• You need infrastructure that Vercel simply doesn't offer (VMs, containers, ML)
• Your project requires specific AWS services (SQS, DynamoDB, Cognito, etc.)
• You have AWS experience and are comfortable with the operational overhead
• Cost optimization at scale matters (AWS can be cheaper for high-volume workloads)
• You're building for enterprise clients who require AWS deployment

The Verdict

Vercel gets 9/10 for solo developers because it makes deployment a solved problem. AWS gets 5/10 not because it's bad (it's the most capable cloud platform on Earth) but because its complexity actively works against solo developers. Every hour spent configuring AWS is an hour not spent building your product.

The 5/10 is not an indictment of AWS. It's a reflection that AWS was built for teams with dedicated DevOps engineers, and solo developers don't have that luxury. The services that matter most for solo developers (Amplify, Lambda, S3+CloudFront) can be replicated more simply on Vercel, Render, Railway, or Fly.io.

Use AWS if you need specific services that don't exist elsewhere, or if you already have deep AWS expertise. Otherwise, deploy your frontend on Vercel and your backend on a simpler platform. Your time is the scarcest resource when you're building alone, and AWS consumes more of it than almost any alternative.