Comparison
VPS vs Vercel: When to Move Your App Off the Platform
Vercel is great for getting started. But once your Lovable, Bolt, Base44, v0, Replit, or Cursor app grows, the bills, runtime limits, and platform lock-in start biting. Here is when a VPS makes more sense and how we handle the migration.
| Feature | Production VPS | Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost (small app) | ~$5/mo VPS, predictable | Free tier then $20-$150+/mo, scales with traffic |
| Cost at scale | One VPS can run 5-10 small apps | Each app needs separate hosting, multiplies fast |
| Runtime limits | No limits, run anything as long as you want | Serverless functions timeout, v8 memory limits |
| Database | Postgres, MySQL, Mongo all on same box | Separate database service, separate bill |
| Control | Full root access, install anything | Sandboxed environment, limited access |
| Backups | You control them, on your schedule | Platform manages them, restore is manual |
| Setup effort | You do it yourself or hire us | Push to git, it just works |
| Developer experience | CLI, SSH, server management | Git push, preview URLs, easy CI |
Stay on Vercel if
- Your app is small and traffic is predictable
- You value preview deployments and CI workflow
- You do not want to think about servers
- Your app started in Lovable, Bolt, Base44, v0, Replit, or Cursor and now needs a real host
Move to a VPS if
- You are paying more than $50/mo for hosting and databases
- You hit v8 memory limits or serverless timeouts
- You run multiple apps and want one server for all of them
We migrate you in 24h. Same code, new server.
No downtime. We set up the VPS, move your app, test everything, then switch DNS. Keep Vercel as backup until the new server proves stable.