Public Cloud vs Vercel: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Public Cloud and Vercel to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Public Cloud
6.1/10
OpenStack-based pay-as-you-go IaaS from Swiss host Infomaniak. It offers instances, block and S3-compatible object storage, and Kubernetes, all hosted in Swiss data centers.
Vercel
6.9/10
Frontend cloud platform from the makers of Next.js that builds and deploys web apps from Git to a global CDN with serverless functions.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.1/10 | 6.9/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 8/10 | 4/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Reliability | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 5/10 | 9/10 |
| Analytics | 3/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | $20/user/mo Pro |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | $200/mo Pro |
| Features | ||
| VPS Hosting | ||
| API and CLI | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| Object Storage | ||
| Cloud Compute | Not listed | |
| Content Delivery Network | Not listed | |
| Dedicated Servers | Not listed | |
| Free SSL Certificates | Not listed | |
| Git Deployments | Not listed | |
| Managed Kubernetes | Not listed | |
| Managed WordPress | Not listed | |
| Multiple Regions | Not listed | |
| Serverless Functions | Not listed | |
| Shared Hosting | Not listed | |
Public Cloud vs Vercel cost by team size
| Team size | Public Cloud | Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | Contact for pricing | FreeHobby |
| 5 users | Contact for pricing | $100/moPro |
| 10 users | Contact for pricing | $200/moPro |
| 25 users | Contact for pricing | $500/moPro |
| 50 users | Contact for pricing | $1,000/moPro |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Public Cloud
- Higher Cost score (8/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Customization score (7/10 vs 6/10)
- Includes VPS Hosting, which Vercel lacks
Why choose Vercel
- Has a free plan (Public Cloud does not)
- Higher Ease of Use score (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Analytics score (7/10 vs 3/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for startups (8/10 vs 6/10)
Pros & Cons
Public Cloud
Pros
- Owned data centers located only in Switzerland, which supports data-sovereignty requirements
- Built on standard OpenStack, so existing tooling works and moving to another provider is easier
- Hourly billing that excludes most charges for stopped instances
- CHF 300 of free credit for the first 3 months
- S3-compatible object storage, encrypted block storage and DDoS protection
Cons
- All regions are in Switzerland, so there is no wider geographic footprint
- Invoices can only be paid by credit card
- Third-party benchmarks note missing monitoring charts and reverse DNS
- Very few independent user reviews on G2 or Capterra
Vercel
Pros
- Every pull request automatically gets its own preview URL, which reviewers rate as the most polished preview workflow available.
- New Next.js features work on Vercel from launch day, because Vercel maintains the framework.
- Automatic DDoS mitigation and a basic firewall are included on every plan, including the free one.
- The compliance list is strong: ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type 2, PCI DSS, TISAX Level 2, and HIPAA on Enterprise.
- Pro includes unlimited viewer seats, so non-developers can review work without paying for a seat.
Cons
- There is no hard spending cap, only alerts, so traffic spikes or bot crawls can produce large overage bills.
- Each developer costs $20 per month on Pro, which makes larger teams expensive.
- Next.js features such as ISR, image optimization and middleware create lock-in that makes migrating away costly.
- It is not a full backend: databases come from marketplace partners rather than Vercel itself.
- The jump from Pro to Enterprise is steep, and user reports complain of slow support on billing issues.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Vercel scores higher on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria: 6.9/10 against 6.1/10 for Public Cloud. The largest gap is in Analytics: 3/10 for Public Cloud and 7/10 for Vercel.
Vercel has a free plan; Public Cloud does not list one.
Vercel is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 7/10 for them, against 5/10 for Public Cloud.
Public Cloud has VPS Hosting, which Vercel lacks.
