StackBlaze vs Vercel
Vercel excels at shipping Next.js to the edge. StackBlaze is for teams whose product also needs workers, WebSockets, Docker, and databases on one private network, not stitched across serverless limits.
Architecture
One dashboard vs many services
On Vercel, production often means Vercel plus Vercel Postgres plus KV plus an external worker. On StackBlaze, the diagram is one box.
Serverless ceiling
When your API outgrows a function
PDF generation, video transcoding, ML inference, and large ETL jobs routinely exceed Vercel's function duration limits, even on Pro. Teams split architecture: frontend on Vercel, workers somewhere else.
- WebSockets need a always-on process, not an edge function
- Cron on Vercel requires Pro and still runs as short-lived functions
- Docker images are not a first-class deploy unit
Serverless limits
Long-running work must move to a separate service, queue, or external worker, more moving parts on Vercel. StackBlaze runs the same process until the job finishes.
Hybrid migration
Keep marketing on Vercel, move the API to StackBlaze
Many teams don't rip out Vercel overnight. Point NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL at a StackBlaze-hosted API, run workers and Postgres there, and leave the static marketing site on Vercel's CDN until you're ready to consolidate.
1
Deploy API + DB on StackBlaze
2
Update env in Next.js on Vercel
3
Migrate frontend when ready
Vercel Pro (typical)
$20+/mo
Plus usage for bandwidth, function invocations, and add-on Postgres/KV. Full-stack bills often land at $60“150/mo for small teams.
StackBlaze starter
$7/mo
Flat compute. Databases billed separately but co-located, no per-invocation surprise on your background jobs.
Vercel
Optimised for Next.js, frontend static sites, and serverless functions. World-class DX for deploying React apps, but the platform is serverless-first — long-running processes, raw TCP, and Docker are outside its scope.
StackBlaze
Runs any language, any framework, plus managed databases and services on Kubernetes-backed infrastructure. Deploy a Next.js frontend, a Python API, a Postgres database, and a Redis cache — all in one place, all on the same private network.
Feature comparison
Your app needs more than a frontend host
APIs with long-running requests
Serverless functions time out after seconds. StackBlaze runs persistent processes that handle multi-minute operations without cold-start penalties.
Apps that need WebSockets
Real-time features, chat, live dashboards, collaborative editing, require persistent connections. StackBlaze supports WebSockets natively with no extra configuration.
Teams needing co-located databases
Managed Postgres, Redis, and MongoDB live in the same private network as your compute, giving you low-latency database access without extra egress costs.
Docker workloads
Bring your own Dockerfile and StackBlaze runs it as-is. No platform-specific build restrictions, no vendor lock-in on the runtime layer.
Non-Node.js backends
Go, Python, Ruby, Rust, Java, StackBlaze deploys any language as a long-running service, not a serverless function that cold-starts on every request.
Background workers and cron jobs
Queue consumers, scheduled scripts, data pipelines, StackBlaze runs worker processes alongside your web services in the same private network.
Your whole stack lives in Next.js
Pure Next.js marketing sites
Vercel is the home of Next.js and optimises SSR, ISR, and static generation for it first. If your entire stack is a Next.js site, you get first-class tooling.
Jamstack and static sites
Vercel's global CDN and edge network excel at serving pre-built static assets as fast as possible to users around the world.
Teams deep in the Vercel ecosystem
If your team already relies on Vercel Analytics, Speed Insights, or the Vercel edge network for ultra-low latency, staying on Vercel makes sense.
Already on Vercel? Bring everything to one place.
If you're running a Next.js app with API routes and a database on Vercel, you're probably stitching together Vercel Postgres, Vercel KV, and third-party services across multiple dashboards. StackBlaze can host all of it in one place — your Next.js frontend, your API, your Postgres database, your Redis cache, and your background workers — all on the same private network with a single bill.
Pull env from Vercel
Export Vercel environment variables (dashboard or CLI). Paste into StackBlaze, DATABASE_URL, KV URLs, and secrets import in bulk.
vercel env pull .env.production
# Upload in StackBlaze → Environment → Import
Split web and API services
Deploy Next.js as a web service and extract API routes into a Node/Go/Python service if they need long timeouts or WebSockets.
Add data layer on private network
Provision Postgres, Redis, or MongoDB. Services reference each other with internal hostnames, no public database URLs in production.
Cut over traffic
Point API subdomain to StackBlaze, keep Vercel on www until you migrate the frontend. Roll back by flipping DNS if needed.
Ready for full-stack hosting?
Start for free. No credit card required. Deploy your first service in minutes and see why teams migrating from Vercel love having their entire stack in one place.