Quick answer
Vercel - Vercel wins for most builders who want a free tier for real web app workflows, while Deno Deploy is the better pick if you want a simpler serverless runtime with clearer request and compute caps.
How the free tiers compare
These two free tiers solve different problems. Deno Deploy is a narrower serverless hosting product with straightforward caps on requests, bandwidth, CPU, memory, domains, apps, and team size. That makes it easier to understand when you will hit limits, and its paid ladder is simple and flat-priced at first. Vercel’s Hobby plan is broader: it bundles deployment workflow, CDN, security, observability, blobs, functions, sandboxes, analytics, and team primitives, but the limits are spread across many resources and the paid plan quickly becomes usage-based. For a solo builder shipping a typical modern web app, Vercel gives more platform around the app. For a builder who mainly wants to run TypeScript services with predictable quota boundaries, Deno Deploy is more focused and easier to reason about.
Deno Deploy vs Vercel free tier, side by side
| Deno DeployFTV 48 | VercelFTV 48 | |
|---|---|---|
| Requests includedBoth are capped, but Vercel’s request quota applies to edge requests rather than a single generic HTTP counter. | 1M inbound HTTP requests/month | 1M Edge Requests/month |
| Egress / transferVercel’s transfer allowance is materially larger on the free tier. | 20GB monthly egress bandwidth | 100 GB Fast Data Transfer/month |
| ComputeDeno Deploy gives more raw CPU time in the free tier. | 15 hours CPU time/month | 4 hours Vercel Functions active CPU/month |
| MemoryThese are close in headline amount, but the metric names differ. | 350 GB-hours memory time/month | 360 GB-hours Vercel Functions provisioned memory/month |
| Custom domainsDo not assume a free-domain limit for Vercel from this input. | Up to 50 custom domains per organization | Not specified in the supplied free-tier items |
| Team members / seatsVercel separates active developer access from viewer access. | Up to 5 team members | 1 developer seat, unlimited viewer seats, 1 billing seat |
| StorageDifferent storage types, so this is not a direct apples-to-apples storage comparison. | 1 GiB volume storage and 1 GiB KV storage | 1 GB Blob storage |
| Logs / analytics retentionDeno Deploy keeps logs longer on the free tier; Vercel exposes broader product analytics items. | 1 day log retention; trailing 30 days analytics dashboard and user analytics API | 1 hour runtime logs; 1 hour session traces; 10,000 Speed Insights events; 50,000 Web Analytics events |
After you outgrow the free tier
Deno Deploy starts with a flat $20/month Pro plan, then a $200/month Builder plan, then custom Enterprise pricing. That makes the first step up predictable. Vercel starts at $20/mo Pro too, but the plan is usage-based, with $20 of included usage credit and costs that rise as you consume more. For small steady workloads, Deno Deploy is easier to budget. For app teams that use many platform features but stay within credit, Vercel can be fine; once usage grows, Vercel’s cost is the less predictable one.
Cost at real usage
| Usage | Deno Deploy | Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Small app staying inside free-tier capsBoth remain free if you stay within included quotas. | Free (within tier) | Free (within tier) |
| 5M requests/mo, 200GB egress, 10 team membersDeno Deploy’s Pro tier explicitly includes 5M requests and 200GB egress; Vercel Pro includes $20 of usage credit, but the supplied data does not provide exact unit overage rates. | $20/mo Pro | $20/mo Pro + additional usage |
| 20M requests/mo and 300GB egressDeno Deploy’s Builder tier explicitly includes 20M requests and 300GB egress. Vercel’s total would vary by usage because the input does not provide overage pricing. | $200/mo Builder | $20/mo Pro + additional usage |
Estimates, not quotes. Usage-based rates change - verify with the vendor's pricing page before committing.
When to pick each one
Pick Deno Deploy when…
- You want a compact serverless host for JavaScript or TypeScript apps and do not need a large platform surface area.
- You prefer simple quota tracking across requests, CPU time, memory time, bandwidth, domains, and apps.
- You are testing a small app or API where 1M requests and 20GB egress are enough for now.
- You want up to 5 team members on the free tier without needing broader collaboration features.
- You expect to move first to a flat-priced paid plan rather than usage-based billing.
Pick Vercel when…
- You are building a modern web app and want hosting, previews, CDN, observability, and security in one place.
- You need built-in workflow pieces like automatic CI/CD, Web Application Firewall, DDoS mitigation, and analytics.
- You want more generous free-tier breadth across edge requests, function invocations, blobs, images, workflows, and sandboxes.
- You need team-oriented basics like unlimited viewer seats and role-based access control.
- You are okay with a paid path that starts with a $20/mo plan plus additional usage.
Bottom line
For the most common builder choosing a free tier, Vercel wins because its Hobby plan covers more of the surrounding web app workflow, not just hosting. If you want deployment, CDN, security, previews, analytics, and multiple operational knobs in one place, Vercel is the broader free starting point. Deno Deploy is the better choice when you want a smaller serverless surface, clearer caps, and a paid ladder that stays flat at the first step instead of turning usage-based immediately.
Read the full listings: Deno Deploy and Vercel. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.