Cost comparison guide

VPS vs Vercel + Supabase: when one server is cheaper

A managed platform stack is convenient, but small apps can collect multiple monthly bills before they collect customers. One VPS can sometimes replace several of those bills.

What is probably broken

Each service starts cheap, but frontend hosting, database, analytics, logs, storage, and backups add up across multiple small apps.

What production should look like

A simple way to decide whether to stay managed or consolidate modest apps onto one production VPS.

STEP 01

Add the whole stack, not just hosting

Do not compare VPS only against frontend hosting. Compare the whole production stack.

  • Frontend hosting, database, storage, analytics, logs, backups, and team seats all count.
  • Multiply per-app costs if you run multiple MVPs or client projects.
  • Keep payment processing, email, and DNS external unless you have a strong reason.

STEP 02

Know when VPS is the wrong choice

VPS is not automatically better. It is only better when control and predictable cost outweigh platform convenience.

  • Stay managed if you need platform support, previews, edge features, or zero ops.
  • Use VPS when traffic is modest and several apps can share one server.
  • Budget for backups, updates, monitoring, and occasional maintenance.

STEP 03

Use a calculator before migrating

Rough numbers prevent bad decisions. The right answer changes by traffic, team, and app count.

  • Estimate monthly and yearly cost for both paths.
  • Include one-time setup cost for manual or done-for-you migration.
  • Recalculate when traffic grows enough to split services.

Quick check

Is your app production-ready?

If you cannot tick all five, we can fix it. Send us the repo and we handle the rest.

  • ?Custom domain with HTTPS
  • ?Environment variables configured
  • ?Database wired and backed up
  • ?Auto-deploy on push
  • ?Smoke tested and live

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