Where you deploy your app determines your developer experience, your costs, and your scaling ceiling. In 2026, the options range from push-to-deploy platforms to full cloud infrastructure. Here's how they compare.
| Tool | Description | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend & Jamstack | ||
| Vercel | Next.js-optimized. Edge functions, preview deployments, analytics. | Free, Pro $20/mo |
| Netlify | Static sites, serverless functions, deploy previews on every PR. | Free, Pro $19/mo |
| Cloudflare Pages | Global CDN, Workers integration, unlimited bandwidth. | Free, Pro $20/mo |
| App Platforms | ||
| Railway | Deploy any language. Built-in Postgres, Redis, MySQL. | Trial free, Hobby $5/mo |
| Render | Web services, databases, cron. Modern Heroku alternative. | Free, Individual $7/mo |
| Fly.io | Global VMs in 35+ regions. Edge computing, Fly Machines API. | Free (3 VMs), pay-as-you-go |
| Container & VM Platforms | ||
| Docker | Industry-standard containers. Build once, run anywhere. | Personal free, Pro $5/mo |
| AWS ECS/Fargate | Managed containers on AWS. Fargate = serverless containers. | Pay-as-you-go |
| Google Cloud Run | Serverless containers on Google Cloud. Scale to zero. | Pay-per-use |
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