Nodion vs Vercel
Vercel is the company behind Next.js and has built one of the most popular frontend deployment platforms. It runs code as functions behind its global CDN, with first-class support for frameworks like Next.js, Nuxt and SvelteKit. Nodion is a European full-stack PaaS that runs always-on applications from Docker or Buildpacks, with managed databases, object storage, CDN, transactional emails and DNS built in.
What it costs per month
Always-on prices in USD per month, excl. tax: list prices, or estimates at list rates where a provider bills by usage. For every provider the cheapest plans that meet each minimum, in its cheapest region.
Small project
1 app with 512 MB RAM and the cheapest managed SQL database
About 93% less on Nodion
Nodion
App, 512 MB $2.40 + PostgreSQL, 256 MB RAM, 4 GB $1.80 (3.50 EUR)
Vercel Pro + Neon
Standard instance, 2 GB (smallest size), 25% CPU $38.84 + Neon, 0.25 CU, 1 GB storage $19.70
Growing app
2 app instances with 2 GB RAM each, a PostgreSQL or MySQL database with 4 GB RAM and 50 GB storage
About 72% less on Nodion
Nodion
2 × app, 2 GB $19.20 + PostgreSQL, 4 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 64 GB $28.80 (40 EUR)
Vercel Pro + Neon
2 × Standard, 2 GB, 25% CPU $77.67 + Neon, 1 CU (4 GB RAM), 50 GB storage $94.88
Production at scale
4 app instances with 8 GB RAM and 2 vCPU each, a PostgreSQL or MySQL database with 16 GB RAM, 4 vCPU and 250 GB storage, without HA
About 68% less on Nodion
Nodion Standby available
4 × app, 8 GB, 2 vCPU $153.60 + PostgreSQL, 16 GB RAM, 4 vCPU, 256 GB $115.20 (224 EUR)
Vercel Pro + Neon No standby
8 × Performance, 4 GB (no 8 GB size), 25% CPU $434.50 + Neon, 4 CU (16 GB RAM), no standby, 250 GB storage $397.02
Vercel bills usage, so these are estimates at its list rates in its cheapest region (iad1): $0.128 per active CPU-hour and $0.0106 per GB-hour of provisioned memory, with instances alive around the clock and CPU active 25% of the time, plus Neon from the Vercel Marketplace at $0.106 per CU-hour and $0.35 per GB-month, always on. At 100% CPU the estimates are $128.61, $312.71 and $1,392.16. Vercel's smallest instance has 2 GB and its largest 4 GB, so the production setup uses eight 4 GB instances; Neon offers no database standby, so the production setup is priced without HA on both sides; on Nodion, an HA standby can be added as a second database node at the same package price. Invocations and data transfer are not included, and the Pro plan's $20 fee is covered by its included usage credit. Nodion: DS-G2 and GP-G2 packages from its public price book; an HA standby is billed as a second database node. List prices checked on October 12, 2026; usage beyond what is listed, such as traffic, is not included.
Fixed monthly fees
Platform, plan and seat fees for commercial use with five team members, before any usage. Monthly list prices in USD, excl. tax.
Team of five
Commercial use, before any usage
Nodion
No plan or seat fees $0
Vercel Pro
Platform fee with 1 deploying seat $20 + 4 more deploying seats $80
Vercel Pro is required for commercial use and includes $20 of usage credit per month; usage beyond it is billed on demand, and viewer seats are free. Nodion bills only the resources you run. List prices checked on October 12, 2026; usage beyond what is listed, such as traffic, is not included.
| Feature | Nodion | Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Stuttgart, Germany (EU) | San Francisco, USA |
| Where Apps and Data Run | EU (Frankfurt), US (Manassas, San Jose), APAC (Singapore) | 19 compute regions incl. EU (default: Washington, D.C.) |
| Data Protection | EU company, self-service DPA | US company, DPA on Pro and Enterprise |
| Managed Applications | Yes (always-on Docker + Buildpacks) | Functions, incl. Docker images (beta) |
| Managed PostgreSQL | Yes | Via Marketplace (Neon, Supabase, AWS and others) |
| Managed MySQL | Yes | No native offering (third-party integrations) |
| Managed Valkey (Redis-compatible) | Yes | Via Marketplace (Upstash, Redis Cloud) |
| Object Storage | Yes (S3-compatible) | Yes (Vercel Blob) |
| CDN | Yes (30 locations) | Yes |
| Transactional Emails | Yes (SMTP) | No |
| Managed DNS | Yes (free, GeoDNS) | Yes (Vercel DNS) |
| Billing Model | Per-second, no plan or seat fees | $20 per deploying seat, plus usage beyond the included credit |
| Free Tier / Credit | Up to 15 EUR sign-up credit, commercial use included | Hobby (non-commercial only) |
| Docker + Buildpacks | Yes | Docker images (beta), no Buildpacks |
| 1-Click Deploy Marketplace | 20+ open source apps | Templates (starters and example apps) |
Functions vs Always-On Applications
Vercel runs code as functions with a capped execution time (up to 800 seconds on Pro) that scale down when idle. Backends such as Django, Go or Rails can run there as functions or, in beta, as Docker images, but they stay stateless, without persistent disks or always-on processes. Nodion runs Docker and Buildpack apps as always-on processes with persistent volumes, suitable for full-stack applications, APIs, background workers and more.
EU Hosting and Data Sovereignty
Vercel is a US company. It offers EU compute regions, but functions default to Washington, D.C., its primary processing facilities are in the United States and the company is subject to US jurisdiction. Its DPA covers the Pro and Enterprise plans. Nodion is a German company headquartered in Stuttgart, operating under EU law, and runs your apps and data in the region you choose, including Frankfurt for the EU. For organizations where the legal entity and the data location matter, this distinction is significant.
Pricing and Billing
Vercel's free Hobby plan is restricted to personal, non-commercial projects. Commercial use requires the Pro plan at $20 per month per deploying seat, which includes $20 of monthly usage credit, plus usage-based charges beyond that. A team of three deploying developers pays $60 per month before any extra usage. Nodion has no plan or seat fees. You only pay for the resources you use, billed down to the second, and commercial projects are welcome from day one. Earn up to 15 EUR in credit when signing up. A small always-on app with a database starts at 2.50 EUR per month on Nodion.
Docker and Deployment Flexibility
Vercel added Docker image support in beta in 2026. These containers run as stateless, autoscaling functions within Vercel's function limits. Nodion runs Docker and Buildpack apps as always-on processes, with full control over your runtime environment, dependencies and process model, including web, worker and release processes in one app.
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