- What the free Hobby plan includes each month
- Hobby vs Pro: the limits that bite
- The catch: Hobby is non-commercial only
- How to keep a Hobby project inside the limits
- Can you try Pro for free?
- One more thing: personal accounts became Hobby teams
- What else Hobby includes
- Is Hobby right for your project?
- How to upgrade if you outgrow it
- Does the free plan include analytics?
- Frequently asked questions
Yes, Vercel is free on its Hobby plan. Vercel says Hobby is free and aimed at developers with personal projects and small apps. The rule to know is that Hobby is for non-commercial, personal use only, so a business site belongs on a Pro plan.
Vercel hosts websites and web apps, and it's a common place to publish projects built with Next.js or AI app builders. The free plan is generous for side projects, but it has two rules that matter more than the numbers: what you can use it for, and what happens when you go over a limit. Here's what's included and how to stay inside it.
What the free Hobby plan includes each month
| Resource | Included on Hobby |
|---|---|
| Fast Data Transfer | 100 GB |
| Fast Origin Transfer | 10 GB |
| CDN requests | 1,000,000 |
| Function invocations | 1,000,000 |
| Active CPU | 4 CPU hours |
| Image transformations | 5,000 |
| Web Analytics events | 50,000 |
Hobby vs Pro: the limits that bite
| Feature | Hobby | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Projects | 200 | Unlimited |
| Deployments per day | 100 | 6,000 |
| Domains per project | 50 | Unlimited |
| Team collaboration | No | Yes |
| Runtime logs | 1 hour | 1 day |
| Email support | No | Yes |
| Function maximum duration | 5 minutes | Configurable, longer |
Both tables come from Vercel's Hobby plan documentation.
The catch: Hobby is non-commercial only
This is the rule that matters most. Vercel's documentation says that, under its fair use guidelines, the Hobby plan is restricted to non-commercial, personal use only. So a portfolio, a learning project or a hobby app is fine. A site for your business, a client project or anything run for profit isn't what Hobby is for.
The second catch is what happens when you hit a limit. Vercel says Hobby has no monthly cycle, so if you go over a usage limit, in most cases you'll have to wait until 30 days have passed before you can use that feature again. Web Analytics is shorter: collection pauses and can resume after 7 days. There's no option to top up on Hobby and carry on.
How to keep a Hobby project inside the limits
- Check your usage in the Vercel dashboard each week while a project is new.
- Compress and resize images before you upload them, so you use fewer image transformations.
- Avoid deploying on every small change, because Hobby allows 100 deployments a day.
- Turn off features you don't need, such as analytics on test projects.
- Move the project to Pro before it becomes something commercial.
Can you try Pro for free?
Yes. Vercel offers a 14 day Pro trial with some limitations, so you can test team features and extra analytics before you decide. Vercel notes that a free first-year domain offer isn't part of the trial. If you upgrade later and change your mind, Vercel says you can downgrade back to Hobby.
One more thing: personal accounts became Hobby teams
Vercel says that when a personal account is converted to a Hobby team, your usage and activity log are reset. That's worth knowing if you're checking old numbers and they've disappeared.
If Hobby's rules don't fit your project, my roundup of Vercel alternatives compares other hosts, and my guide to GitHub alternatives covers where to keep your code.
What else Hobby includes
- Builds: 2 build vCPUs, 8 GB of build memory and 32 GB of build disk.
- Protection: DDoS mitigation on by default, plus up to 3 firewall IP blocks and 3 custom rules.
- Deployment Protection: Vercel Authentication on preview and production deployments, with shareable links.
- Speed Insights: 10,000 events over the last 30 days.
That's plenty for a personal site with modest traffic.
Is Hobby right for your project?
| Project | Hobby? |
|---|---|
| Personal portfolio | Yes |
| Side project or learning app | Yes |
| Open demo of something you built for fun | Yes |
| Website for your own business | No, Vercel says Hobby is non-commercial |
| Client website | No |
| Anything with teammates who need access | No, team collaboration is a Pro feature |
How to upgrade if you outgrow it
- Go to your Vercel dashboard and choose the team you want to upgrade.
- Open Settings and go to the plan section.
- Under Plan, click Upgrade, or create a team first if Vercel asks you to.
- Add any team members.
- Confirm the upgrade.
Vercel says Developer seats on Pro are for people who build and deploy, while Viewer seats are free, which helps if a client or teammate only needs to look at previews, not deploy anything themselves.
Does the free plan include analytics?
Yes, within limits. Hobby includes 50,000 Web Analytics events a month and one month of data, plus 10,000 Speed Insights events over the last 30 days, shared across the team. If Web Analytics goes past its limit, Vercel says collection pauses and can resume after 7 days, rather than the usual 30 day wait for other features. On test projects, switch analytics off so it doesn't eat into the allowance your main site needs each month.
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My verdict: Vercel is free for personal projects, and the Hobby plan is plenty for portfolios and experiments. Just treat the non-commercial rule as a hard line, and watch your usage, because going over a limit can pause a feature for a month.
Frequently asked questions
Is Vercel free?
Yes. Vercel's Hobby plan is free and aimed at developers with personal projects and small apps.
Can I use Vercel's free plan for a business?
No. Vercel says the Hobby plan is restricted to non-commercial, personal use only under its fair use guidelines.
What happens if I go over Vercel's free limits?
Vercel says that in most cases you'll have to wait until 30 days have passed before you can use that feature again. Web Analytics can resume after 7 days.
How much bandwidth does Vercel's free plan include?
Vercel's Hobby plan includes 100 GB of Fast Data Transfer and 10 GB of Fast Origin Transfer a month.
Does Vercel have a Pro free trial?
Yes. Vercel offers a 14 day Pro trial with some limitations, and you can downgrade back to Hobby later.
Does Vercel's free plan include DDoS protection?
Yes. Vercel says DDoS mitigation is on by default on the Hobby plan, with up to 3 firewall IP blocks and 3 custom rules.
How many projects does Vercel's free plan allow?
Vercel's Hobby plan allows 200 projects, 100 deployments a day and 50 domains per project.
