Vercel and Hangar start from different shapes. Vercel runs front ends on a global edge network and your server code as functions. Hangar runs your whole app as long-lived containers, next to its databases. Which one fits depends on what you are deploying.
Facts about Vercel below come from its public pricing page as of October 2026. Check vercel.com/pricing for the current state.
At a glance
| Hangar | Vercel | |
|---|---|---|
| Runtime model | Long-running containers | Functions and edge network |
| Languages | Anything that runs in a container | JavaScript and TypeScript first, plus a few function runtimes |
| WebSockets, workers, queues | Yes | Not the native model |
| Scheduled jobs | Yes | Cron jobs that call a function |
| Managed databases | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, Redis, libSQL | Through marketplace integrations |
| Global CDN for static assets | No, served from your region | Yes |
| Preview per pull request | Yes | Yes |
Runtime model
This is the real difference.
On Vercel your server code runs as functions, started for requests and billed while active. That is an excellent fit for front ends and request-and-response APIs, and it puts static assets on a CDN near every user.
On Hangar your app is a process that stays up. It can hold WebSocket connections, run a queue worker, keep an in-memory cache, open a pool of database connections and run for as long as a job takes. Any language works, and so does any Dockerfile.
Pricing
Vercel's Pro plan is $20 a month per developer seat and includes $20 of usage. Compute is billed on active CPU time, at $0.128 an hour, and on provisioned memory, with function invocations and data transfer metered separately: 1 TB of transfer is included on Pro and more is $0.15 per GB. The Hobby plan is free and, by Vercel's terms, for personal and non-commercial use.
Hangar's plans turn the subscription into usage credit, and CPU, memory, storage and egress are metered by the second. Databases are metered the same way as any service, on the same bill. Plans and rates are on the pricing page.
The two are hard to compare with one number. A front end with spiky traffic and little server work is usually cheap on Vercel. A backend that is always doing something, a worker or a database is where containers billed for use are simpler and usually cheaper.
Databases
Vercel connects you to database providers through its marketplace; each is a separate service in another network.
Hangar runs the database inside your project, on a private network with your app. Queries do not cross the public internet and private traffic is not billed.
When Vercel is the better choice
- Your project is a front end or a content site and you want it served from an edge network worldwide.
- You want the closest integration with Next.js features as they ship.
- Your server code is light request-and-response work.
When Hangar is the better choice
- You have a backend that needs to stay up: WebSockets, workers, queues, long jobs.
- Your stack is not JavaScript, or it ships as a Dockerfile.
- You want the database next to the app, on one bill.
- You want predictable cost for always-on workloads, with spend limits.
Using both
A common setup is to keep the front end on Vercel and run the API, workers and databases on Hangar. Add a domain such as api.example.com to the Hangar service and call it from the front end.
Moving a Next.js app from Vercel to Hangar
- Create a project, add a service from the repository and leave the builder on Automatic.
- Copy the environment variables.
NEXT_PUBLIC_values must also be set as build arguments. - Replace Vercel-specific services, such as its cron or storage integrations, with a scheduled task or your own provider.
- Add your domain with container port
3000and HTTPS on.
The Next.js guide has each step in detail.