INTRO
Founders ask “Vercel or DigitalOcean?” as if it is one box. Usually the Next.js UI belongs on a platform like Vercel, while stateful APIs and databases live managed elsewhere. Here is how I split it for early SaaS.
Vercel strengths for App Router
Preview deploys, edge/network defaults, and simple env config for frontend + serverless routes. Great for marketing + BFF-style handlers.
Watch: long-running jobs, heavy websocket fanout, and DB connections from too many serverless instances — design for that early.
When a VPS / always-on API wins
Sticky processes, queues, puppeteer-like workloads, or a classic Express API you already operate. Pair with MongoDB Atlas or managed Postgres.
You buy operational responsibility: patches, reverse proxy, backups. Fine when you have the appetite — wasteful for a brochure site.
Hybrid that I ship often
Next.js on Vercel + API on Render/Railway/VPS + managed DB. Keep `NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL` correct so sitemaps never point at preview hosts.
Document the diagram in handover — founders should know which bill pays for which failure mode.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
“Split UI hosting from stateful workloads.”
- 02
Previews ≠ canonical SEO origin.
- 03
Choose ops burden deliberately.
CONCLUSION
Closing thought
Unsure where to host your MVP? Describe traffic and background jobs on Contact — I will recommend a boring topology.
CONTINUE
Related pages
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