Case Study · Build-to-Exit

Where Do You Actually Put Your SaaS? The Solo Builder's Hosting Guide

Cloudflare vs Vercel vs Railway vs Fly.io vs Netlify. Real pricing, real limitations, and the one thing Vercel's free tier won't let you do.

by jynlab · Friday, May 8, 2026 · 7 min read

It works on localhost. Congratulations. Now where do you put it so actual humans can use it? Five hosting platforms, five pricing models, five different answers to "what happens when I get traffic." This is the honest breakdown.

The short version

Static site or Next.js app: Cloudflare Pages. Unlimited bandwidth on the free tier. $5/month unlocks Workers.
Full-stack with backend/database: Railway ($5/mo + usage). Closest to the old Heroku feel.
Next.js and want the official experience: Vercel ($20/mo). Best DX, but Hobby plan bans commercial use.
Need multi-region containers: Fly.io ($5/mo minimum). No free tier for new accounts.
JAMstack with forms and easy CI/CD: Netlify ($9/mo). Credit system makes cost hard to predict.

Two types of hosting, two decisions

Before comparing platforms, decide what you are deploying:

Frontend only (static site, SPA, SSR frontend): Cloudflare Pages, Vercel, or Netlify. These are CDN-first platforms that serve HTML/JS/CSS globally. If your backend lives in Supabase or another BaaS, this is all you need.

Full-stack with custom backend (API server, containers, background jobs): Railway or Fly.io. These run your actual server code, not just serve static files.

Most vibe coders who built with Lovable or Bolt need frontend hosting plus Supabase. That means Cloudflare Pages or Vercel. If you wrote custom backend code with Cursor, you might need Railway too.

Cloudflare Pages: the default for solo builders

Pricing: Free tier with unlimited bandwidth, 20K files per site, 100K Workers requests per day. Paid Workers plan at $5/month extends request limits significantly.

Best at: Global CDN, edge functions (Workers), zero bandwidth costs. If your SaaS is a React app with Supabase backend, Cloudflare Pages is the cheapest path to production.

Limitation: Workers platform has a learning curve. The 20K file limit per site can be an issue for large apps. Not as polished a DX as Vercel for Next.js specifically.

jynlab runs on Cloudflare Pages. Unlimited bandwidth on the free tier, $5/month for Workers. At our traffic level, hosting costs less than a coffee.

Vercel: the Next.js home

Pricing: Free Hobby tier (non-commercial use only). Pro at $20/developer/month with $20 in monthly credits, collaboration features, no deployment queues.

Best at: Next.js deployment (they built it), preview deployments, edge functions, developer experience. If you are building with Next.js, Vercel is the smoothest path.

Limitation: The Hobby plan explicitly prohibits commercial use. You must upgrade to Pro ($20/month) before charging users. Per-seat pricing means team cost scales. 100GB bandwidth cap on Hobby.

Railway: the modern Heroku

Pricing: Trial with $5 one-time credit (no card). Hobby at $5/month base plus usage (CPU, RAM, egress billed on top). Pro at $20/month base plus usage.

Best at: Full-stack deployment. Containers, Postgres, Redis, background workers, cron jobs. The closest thing to the old Heroku experience with modern pricing.

Limitation: The real bill is unpredictable because usage charges stack on top of the base price. A small app might cost $5-10/month. A busy one could hit $50+.

Fly.io: multi-region containers

Pricing: No free tier for new accounts as of 2026 (legacy accounts grandfathered). Hobby at $5/month minimum plus usage. A minimal always-on app runs about $7/month total.

Best at: Running containers close to users globally. If your SaaS needs low latency in multiple regions, Fly.io is the choice.

Limitation: No free tier anymore. Steeper learning curve than Railway. Better for experienced developers who know containers.

Netlify: the JAMstack veteran

Pricing: Free tier with 300 credits/month, custom domain, SSL, Functions, and Postgres database. Personal at $9/month (1,000 credits). Pro at $20/month (3,000 credits, unlimited team members since April 2026).

Best at: JAMstack sites, form handling, identity/auth, easy CI/CD from Git. The simplest deploy experience for static sites.

Limitation: Credit-based system makes cost hard to predict once traffic grows. Less suitable for complex full-stack apps.

Pricing comparison (mid-2026)

Platform	Free tier	Paid starts at	Billing model
Cloudflare Pages	Unlimited BW, 100K req/day	$5/mo (Workers)	Usage on top
Vercel	Non-commercial only	$20/dev/mo	Flat + credits
Railway	$5 trial credit	$5/mo + usage	Usage on top
Fly.io	None (new accounts)	$5/mo + usage	Pure usage
Netlify	300 credits/mo	$9/mo	Credit-based

What I use

jynlab runs on Cloudflare Pages with Supabase for the backend. Total hosting cost: under $10/month. The frontend serves globally from Cloudflare's CDN. Edge Functions handle server-side logic. Supabase handles auth, database, and realtime.

If I were building a product with a custom Node/Python backend, I would add Railway for the server and keep Cloudflare for the frontend. That combo gives you global CDN plus flexible backend for about $15/month.

FAQ

What is the cheapest hosting for a solo SaaS?

Cloudflare Pages free tier plus Supabase free tier. Total: $0/month for low traffic. When you need more, Cloudflare Workers at $5/month is the first upgrade.

Can I use Vercel's free tier for a commercial SaaS?

No. Vercel's Hobby plan explicitly prohibits commercial use. You must upgrade to Pro ($20/month) before accepting payments or running a business on it.

Does Fly.io still have a free tier in 2026?

No. Fly.io removed the free tier for new accounts. Legacy accounts are grandfathered. The minimum cost for new accounts is $5/month plus usage.

Should I use Cloudflare or Vercel for a Next.js app?

If you want the smoothest DX and don't mind $20/month, Vercel. If you want the cheapest option and are comfortable with Cloudflare's Workers model, Cloudflare Pages with the Next.js adapter works and costs a fraction.