Hosting Your Web App: AWS vs Vercel vs Netlify for Non-Technical Founders

Your web app is built. Now you need somewhere to put it. The hosting question might seem like a technical detail you can leave to your developers — and to some extent, you can. But the choice affects your monthly costs, your app's performance, your ability to scale, and how dependent you become on any single platform.

The three names you will hear most often are AWS (Amazon Web Services), Vercel, and Netlify. Each has genuine strengths, genuine limitations, and a particular type of project it suits best. This guide explains the differences in plain English so you can have an informed conversation with your development team. It is part of our complete guide to building a web app for your business.

The Quick Comparison

Before we go deeper, here is the overview:

Factor	AWS	Vercel	Netlify
Best for	Complex, large-scale applications	Next.js and React apps	Static sites and JAMstack apps
Ease of use	Steep learning curve	Very easy	Very easy
Pricing model	Pay-per-use (complex)	Free tier + usage-based	Free tier + usage-based
Monthly cost (small app)	£20 - £100	£0 - £20	£0 - £20
Monthly cost (medium app)	£100 - £500	£20 - £150	£20 - £100
Monthly cost (high traffic)	£500 - £5,000+	£150 - £1,000+	£100 - £500+
Scalability	Virtually unlimited	Excellent for frontend	Good for static/JAMstack
Control	Total	Limited	Limited
Requires DevOps expertise	Yes	No	No
CDN included	Extra service (CloudFront)	Built-in (global edge)	Built-in (global edge)

AWS: Power and Complexity

Amazon Web Services is a cloud computing ecosystem with over 200 services. It powers Netflix, Airbnb, and a significant portion of the internet. AWS gives you complete control — custom networking, background jobs, machine learning models, the works.

But the complexity is real. Setting up a basic web application involves configuring multiple services, each with its own pricing model. You need DevOps expertise, which is an additional cost. For a startup launching a straightforward app, AWS is often overkill. Pricing is pay-per-use but difficult to predict — surprise bills are a genuine risk.

Choose AWS when: You have complex backend requirements, need specific server configurations for compliance, require ML/IoT/big data services, or are building at scale where managed platforms become expensive.

Vercel: The Modern Default for React Apps

Vercel built Next.js, and their hosting platform is optimised for it. Deploying is as simple as connecting your code repository. Every push triggers automatic deployment, preview URLs let you test changes, and a global edge network ensures fast loading everywhere.

The limitations: Vercel is primarily a frontend platform. Complex backends — heavy processing, long-running tasks, websockets — need a separate service. Pricing starts free, with Pro at around £16/month. High-traffic apps can incur significant bandwidth costs.

Choose Vercel when: You are building with Next.js or React without complex backend requirements. This is what we use for most Halo projects. FilmWaffle scaled to 5 million monthly views on Vercel without any infrastructure management on our part.

Netlify: The JAMstack Pioneer

Netlify champions the JAMstack architecture and excels at static sites. It offers easy Git deployment, a global CDN, and built-in form handling and serverless functions.

Where Netlify differs is framework agnosticism. It works equally well with Gatsby, Hugo, Astro, and Nuxt. If you are not using Next.js, Netlify may be the better choice. Pricing is similar to Vercel, generally slightly lower at higher traffic levels.

Choose Netlify when: You have a static or JAMstack site, are not using Next.js, or need built-in form handling.

Managed vs Self-Managed: The Real Question

The AWS-vs-Vercel/Netlify debate is really a question about managed versus self-managed infrastructure.

Managed platforms (Vercel, Netlify) handle scaling, security patches, SSL certificates, CDN configuration, and monitoring automatically. You deploy your code and the platform handles the rest. The trade-off is less control and potential vendor lock-in.

Self-managed infrastructure (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure) gives you complete control. You can optimise every layer, choose any technology, and avoid platform-specific limitations. The trade-off is complexity, the need for DevOps expertise, and ongoing maintenance responsibility.

For most startups and SMEs, managed platforms are the right starting point. They let your development team focus on building features rather than managing servers. You can always migrate to AWS later if your needs outgrow the managed platform's capabilities.

Cost at Different Scales

At the early stage (under 10,000 monthly users), Vercel and Netlify are essentially free while AWS runs £30-80/month. At the growth stage (10,000-100,000 users), managed platforms cost £20-200/month versus £100-400/month for AWS. At scale (100,000+ users), AWS can actually become more cost-effective because you have more control — but that saving comes with the cost of DevOps expertise.

Other options worth knowing: Railway and Render offer a middle ground between AWS and Vercel. DigitalOcean provides straightforward cloud hosting at predictable prices. Google Cloud and Azure are AWS competitors with similar capabilities.

Making Your Decision

For most readers of this guide, the decision tree is straightforward:

1. Are you building with Next.js? Start with Vercel.
2. Are you building a static or JAMstack site? Start with Netlify.
3. Do you have complex backend requirements? You probably need AWS (or a hybrid approach).
4. Are you unsure? Start with Vercel or Netlify. They are easier, cheaper to start with, and you can migrate later.

If you are considering a migration from WordPress to a custom platform, our React vs WordPress guide covers the hosting implications of that transition.

Key Takeaways

• AWS offers maximum power and control but requires DevOps expertise and has unpredictable pricing.
• Vercel is the best choice for Next.js and React applications, with excellent performance and easy deployment.
• Netlify excels at static sites and JAMstack architectures with strong framework flexibility.
• For most startups and SMEs, start with a managed platform (Vercel or Netlify) and consider AWS only if your needs outgrow it.
• Hosting costs are relatively modest compared to development costs — do not over-optimise this decision early on.
• The biggest risk is not choosing the wrong platform; it is spending too much time and money on infrastructure instead of product features.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I switch hosting platforms later?

Yes, but with caveats. Moving from Vercel to Netlify (or vice versa) is relatively straightforward for most applications. Moving from a managed platform to AWS is more involved — you will need to set up and manage the infrastructure that the managed platform handled automatically. Moving from AWS to a managed platform is usually simpler. Plan for 1-3 weeks for a hosting migration.

Do I need to worry about hosting security?

With managed platforms, security is largely handled for you — SSL certificates, DDoS protection, and platform security are included. With AWS, you are responsible for security configuration, which requires expertise. Regardless of platform, your application code still needs to follow security best practices, particularly around authentication and data handling under GDPR.

What happens if my app goes viral and traffic spikes overnight?

This is where managed platforms shine. Both Vercel and Netlify auto-scale to handle traffic spikes with no configuration needed. On AWS, you need to have auto-scaling configured in advance, or you risk your application crashing under load. The managed platforms charge for the additional usage, but they keep your app running.

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Hosting decisions feel technical, but they are ultimately business decisions about cost, risk, and flexibility. If you need help choosing the right approach for your project, get in touch. You can also explore our full-stack web app solutions or read our complete guide to building a web app for the broader context.