Vercel vs Netlify vs Cloudflare Pages: Deployment Platforms Ranked

The State of Deployment in 2026

Deploying a web application used to mean provisioning a server, configuring nginx, and writing deployment scripts. The modern alternative — push to git, get a production URL — has become the default. Vercel, Netlify, and Cloudflare Pages are the three leading platforms offering this workflow, and while they appear similar on the surface, they differ in important ways.

We deployed a Next.js e-commerce storefront (server components, API routes, image optimization, ISR) to all three platforms and measured build times, response latency, edge function performance, and total cost at various traffic levels.

Framework Support

Vercel is the company behind Next.js, and it shows. Every Next.js feature works on Vercel without configuration. App Router, Server Actions, Partial Prerendering, ISR — all of it. Vercel also supports Nuxt, SvelteKit, Remix, Astro, and others, but Next.js is the first-class citizen.

Netlify supports Next.js through an adapter, but the support lags behind Vercel. During our testing, we encountered issues with Partial Prerendering (not yet supported on Netlify) and Image Optimization (requires additional configuration). Netlify's native framework support is strongest for Gatsby, Hugo, and Eleventy.

Cloudflare Pages supports Next.js via the @opennextjs/cloudflare adapter. The support has improved dramatically in the past year, but we still hit edge cases. One API route that used Node.js streams required a polyfill. Static generation and basic server rendering worked without issues.

Build Performance

We ran 20 builds on each platform from the same commit and measured mean build times:

Vercel is the fastest builder. The difference comes from aggressive caching (Vercel caches node_modules and .next between builds) and purpose-built build infrastructure. Netlify is the slowest, though the gap narrows on subsequent builds when the cache is warm.

Cloudflare Pages sits in the middle. Its build times are consistent, with less variance between fastest and slowest runs compared to the other two platforms.

Runtime Performance

This is where Cloudflare Pages distinguishes itself. Cloudflare's edge network is the largest of the three, with over 300 points of presence worldwide. This translates to consistently lower Time to First Byte (TTFB) for users in regions far from the US.

We measured TTFB from five global locations:

Cloudflare's numbers are remarkable. The consistency across regions — all under 60ms — reflects the advantage of running code on Workers, which execute at the edge globally rather than in a specific region. Vercel's edge functions provide similar global distribution, but their serverless functions default to a single region unless you configure otherwise. Netlify's edge performance is the weakest of the three.

Edge Functions and Serverless

Vercel offers two runtimes: Edge Functions (V8 isolates, globally distributed) and Serverless Functions (Node.js, regional). You choose per-route. Edge Functions have API limitations (no filesystem access, limited Node.js APIs) but are fast. Serverless Functions support the full Node.js API but are regional.

Netlify's Edge Functions run on Deno. Netlify Functions run on AWS Lambda. The Deno-based edge functions are fast but have a limited API surface. Lambda functions have cold start latency that can add 200-500ms to the first request after idle.

Cloudflare Workers are V8 isolates at every edge location. There are no cold starts — Workers are always warm at the edge. The tradeoff is that Workers have a different runtime than Node.js. Some Node.js APIs are not available, though compatibility has improved significantly with the nodejs_compat flag.

// Cloudflare Worker (Pages Function)
export async function onRequest(context) {
  const { searchParams } = new URL(context.request.url);
  const query = searchParams.get('q');
  
  // Access Cloudflare KV, D1, R2 directly
  const cached = await context.env.CACHE.get(query);
  if (cached) return new Response(cached, {
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }
  });
  
  const result = await context.env.DB
    .prepare('SELECT * FROM products WHERE name LIKE ?')
    .bind(`%${query}%`)
    .all();
  
  await context.env.CACHE.put(query, JSON.stringify(result), {
    expirationTtl: 3600
  });
  
  return Response.json(result);
}

Additional Services

The platforms differ significantly in what else they offer beyond deployment:

Vercel: Analytics (web vitals), Speed Insights, KV storage, Postgres (via Neon), Blob storage, Cron jobs, Firewall. Vercel's additional services are tightly integrated with the deployment platform.

Netlify: Forms, Identity (auth), Large Media, Split Testing. Netlify's extras are practical but feel less modern than the competition.

Cloudflare: Workers KV, D1 (SQLite at the edge), R2 (S3-compatible storage), Queues, Durable Objects, AI inference, Images, Stream. Cloudflare's ecosystem is the broadest by far. If you build on Cloudflare Pages, you have access to an entire platform of services that can replace dedicated providers.

Pricing

Cloudflare's free tier is the most generous. Unlimited bandwidth alone makes it attractive for content-heavy sites. Vercel's free tier is good for development and small projects but gets expensive as you scale.

On paid plans (Vercel Pro at $20/user/month, Netlify Pro at $19/user/month, Cloudflare Pro at $5/month), the cost difference is significant. Cloudflare is by far the cheapest, and the gap widens at scale. A site handling 1TB of bandwidth per month would cost roughly $150 on Vercel, $110 on Netlify, and $0 extra on Cloudflare (bandwidth is always free).

Developer Experience

Vercel has the best developer experience of the three. The dashboard is fast and well-designed. Preview deployments per PR are seamless. The CLI is excellent. Integration with Next.js means zero configuration for the most common framework.

Netlify's dashboard is functional but busier. There are more settings, more menus, and more concepts to understand. The CLI works well. Build plugins add flexibility but also complexity.

Cloudflare's dashboard has improved but still feels enterprise-oriented. The Pages interface is clean, but configuring Workers, KV, D1, and other services involves navigating a sprawling console. The Wrangler CLI is powerful but has a steeper learning curve.

Who Should Use What

Choose Vercel if:

• You use Next.js and want zero-configuration deployment
• Developer experience is a top priority
• You need preview deployments and team collaboration features
• You are willing to pay for premium deployment infrastructure

Choose Netlify if:

• You use Gatsby, Hugo, or Eleventy
• You need built-in forms or identity without external services
• You prefer a platform with a long track record

Choose Cloudflare Pages if:

• Global performance is critical
• You want the best pricing, especially at scale
• You plan to use edge storage (KV, D1, R2)
• You are comfortable with a non-Node.js runtime

The Verdict

For Next.js projects, Vercel is the path of least resistance. Everything works, the DX is excellent, and the performance is strong. For projects where cost and global edge performance are priorities, Cloudflare Pages is the better choice — and its ecosystem of edge services (D1, R2, KV) makes it a compelling full-stack platform. Netlify remains a solid option, particularly for static-first sites, but it has lost ground to both competitors in the past two years.

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