Cloudgate vs Vercel
Vercel is built for frontends and serverless functions on its own network. Cloudgate runs whole apps as long-running containers, with their databases, on machines you own.
Where your app runs
- Your Server
- Your AWS
- Your Google Cloud
- Vercel’s network
Cloudgate vs Vercel: the short answer
Choose Vercel for a Next.js or frontend-heavy site that wants global edge delivery and a preview for every push, with no servers.
Choose Cloudgate when your app is more than a frontend: a long-running backend, workers, cron jobs and a database, on your own servers or cloud account for a flat monthly price.
Many teams use both: the frontend on Vercel and the backend and data on Cloudgate.
Vercel is described here in general terms that rarely change. Check its own site for current plans and limits before you decide.
How do Cloudgate and Vercel compare?
The questions that decide it: whose machines, what it costs as you grow, and how far an AI agent can reach.
| Cloudgate | Vercel | |
|---|---|---|
| Where your apps run | Your own Servers over SSH, your AWS or Google Cloud account, or a server bought from Cloudgate | Vercel’s own global network and serverless functions |
| Who owns the servers | You do. Apps and data stay on your machines and in your cloud accounts | Vercel does |
| What you can run | Long-running containers: web apps, workers, private services, cron jobs, static sites, Compose stacks and AI models | Frontends, static sites and serverless functions; long-running processes are not its model |
| Pricing model | Hosted: $15 or $35 a month, counting Servers and Cloud Environments, never members. Servers and cloud usage are billed by their provider | Plans per team member, plus metered usage |
| AI agent access over MCP | Built in. Each Agent is a member with its own role, grant and keys; every call is audited, secrets are masked, and it gets 120 reads and 10 writes a minute | Has an MCP server of its own; see Vercel’s docs for what an agent can reach |
| Self-hosting | Yes, free under the Elastic License 2.0 (source-available) | No. The Next.js framework itself can be self-hosted, for example on Cloudgate |
| Databases | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, Redis and libSQL on your Servers; RDS, Cloud SQL, ElastiCache and Memorystore in your cloud | Through integrations with third-party database providers |
| Preview deployments | One per GitHub pull request, or a requested preview that expires on its own | A preview deployment for every push, a core feature |
The Cloudgate column is checked against the product. See Cloudgate’s plans and prices, everything Cloudgate deploys and runs, and how AI agents connect over MCP.
When should you choose Vercel instead?
Honestly, sometimes you should. And sometimes Cloudgate fits better.
Choose Vercel if
- Your app is a Next.js or other frontend that benefits from an edge network and serverless functions.
- You want a preview URL for every push with no setup at all.
- You do not need long-running processes, background workers or a database next to the app.
Choose Cloudgate if
- Your app needs a long-running server, background workers or cron jobs.
- You want the database on the same Server or in your own cloud account, not with a third party.
- You would rather pay a flat price for servers you fill than a bill that follows traffic.
- You want AI agents to deploy with their own role, grant and audit trail.
Worth knowing: Cloudgate is young. Its command-line tool is still a beta on npm, and the Servers you connect are yours to keep updated. Read what changed recently.
Cloudgate vs Vercel: questions people ask
Is Cloudgate a Vercel alternative?
For full-stack apps, yes. Cloudgate runs a Next.js app, or any other app, as a long-running container on your own Server, AWS or Google Cloud, with its database, workers and cron jobs beside it. For a purely static or edge-rendered frontend, Vercel’s global network is hard to beat.
Can I deploy a Next.js app to Cloudgate?
Yes. Cloudgate builds it with Nixpacks, Railpack, buildpacks or your Dockerfile and runs it as a web Service with a domain and a Let’s Encrypt certificate. It runs as one long-running server rather than as serverless functions.
Does Cloudgate have preview deployments like Vercel?
Yes. Cloudgate makes one preview per GitHub pull request, and you or an AI agent can ask for a requested preview of a branch that expires on its own.
How does pricing differ?
Cloudgate’s hosted plans are a flat monthly price that counts Servers and Cloud Environments, not members or traffic. Your server or cloud provider bills you for the machines. Or self-host Cloudgate for free.
Can I use Vercel and Cloudgate together?
Yes. A common split is the frontend on Vercel and the API, workers and database on Cloudgate, on your own Server or cloud account.
Other comparisons
- Cloudgate vs HerokuA long-running platform as a service that runs your apps on its own infrastructure.
- Cloudgate vs RenderA cloud platform for web services, workers, cron jobs and managed databases on its own cloud.
- Cloudgate vs CoolifyAn open-source, self-hostable platform that deploys apps and databases to your servers.
- All comparisonsCloudgate beside Heroku, Vercel, Render and Coolify in one table.
Try Cloudgate beside Vercel
Start the 30-day free trial, connect one server or cloud account, and deploy the same app to both. Or self-host Cloudgate for free.