Nodion vs Vercel
Vercel is the company behind Next.js and has built one of the most popular frontend deployment platforms. It excels at serverless and edge-based deployments for frameworks like Next.js, Nuxt and SvelteKit. Nodion is a European full-stack PaaS that covers the entire application lifecycle, from Docker-based applications and managed databases to object storage, CDN, transactional emails and DNS.
| Feature | Nodion | Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Stuttgart, Germany (EU) | San Francisco, USA |
| Data Residency | EU, US and APAC regions | Global Edge (US-managed) |
| GDPR by Default | Yes | DPA available, data passes through US |
| Managed Applications | Yes (Docker + Buildpacks) | Serverless and framework-based |
| Managed PostgreSQL | Yes | Via Marketplace (Neon) |
| Managed MySQL | Yes | No |
| Managed Valkey / Redis | Yes | Via Marketplace (Upstash) |
| Object Storage | Yes (S3-compatible) | Vercel Blob |
| Global CDN | Yes (25 locations) | Yes |
| Transactional Emails | Yes (SMTP) | No |
| Managed DNS | Yes (free, GeoDNS) | Basic (for Vercel domains) |
| Billing Model | Per-second | Per-seat + usage credits |
| Free Tier | First 5 EUR/month free | Hobby (non-commercial only) |
| Docker + Buildpacks | Yes | No |
| 1-Click Deploy Marketplace | 25+ apps | Templates (framework starters) |
Frontend Platform vs Full-Stack PaaS
Vercel is built around frontend frameworks and serverless functions. It does not support long-running processes, background workers or Docker containers. If your application needs a traditional backend like a Rails app, a Django service or a Go API, you cannot deploy it on Vercel. Nodion supports any application that runs in a Docker container or can be built with Cloud Native Buildpacks, making it suitable for full-stack applications, APIs, background workers and more.
EU Hosting and Data Sovereignty
Vercel is a US company. While it caches content at edge locations worldwide, no data is stored permanently in EU regions, and some data always passes through US infrastructure for DDoS protection. Nodion is a German company headquartered in Stuttgart, operating under EU jurisdiction with data stored in EU data centers by default. For organizations where the legal entity and permanent data residency matter, this distinction is significant.
Pricing and Billing
Vercel's free Hobby plan is restricted to personal, non-commercial projects. Any commercial use requires the Pro plan at $20 per team member per month, plus usage-based charges for bandwidth, serverless function execution and storage. A team of three already pays $60 per month before any usage charges. Nodion has no per-seat fees at all. You only pay for the resources you actually use, billed down to the second. The first 5 EUR of monthly usage is free for every user, including commercial projects, with no payment method required to get started. A small commercial project that would cost $20+ per month on Vercel Pro can run for free on Nodion.
Docker and Deployment Flexibility
Vercel is a serverless platform that does not support Docker deployments. You deploy by pushing code, and Vercel builds and runs it using its own framework adapters. This works well for supported frameworks but limits flexibility. Nodion supports both Docker and Buildpacks, giving you full control over your runtime environment, dependencies and application architecture.
When Vercel Might Be the Better Choice
If you are building a frontend-heavy application with Next.js, Nuxt or SvelteKit and need the best possible edge delivery performance, Vercel is purpose-built for that workflow. Its 119 edge locations, built-in image optimization and framework-specific optimizations are hard to beat for frontend-focused projects. For teams that need a full-stack platform with Docker support, managed databases, EU hosting and integrated services like email and DNS, Nodion is the stronger choice.
Start for free! The first 5 EUR of monthly usage is free for everyone.