Netlify and Vercel made front-end deployment feel easy, and that bar is exactly what Ngris app hosting is built to meet — front-end framework builds, managed backends, and scale-to-zero serverless functions — while folding it into a full edge platform instead of a separate silo. Here's an honest, feature-by-feature look at how they compare for shipping an app.
TL;DR
If all you ever do is host a front end, any of the three works. Ngris is different in one structural way: your deployed app is a first-class edge endpoint, so a WAF, per-endpoint auth, rate limits, live traffic inspection, and your tunnels all live on the same platform and the same bill — no add-ons, no second vendor for the security layer.
Deploying
| Feature | Ngris | Netlify / Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Git push-to-deploy | ||
| Folder / CLI upload | ||
| Framework auto-detection | ||
| Live build logs | ||
| Preview URL per deploy | ||
| Env vars & secrets | ||
| Instant atomic rollback | ||
| Monorepo / root-directory builds | ||
| Per-environment env vars (production / preview) | ||
| Full-stack backend hosting (Go/Node/Python or any Dockerfile) | ||
| Serverless / edge functions (scale-to-zero, per-request) | ||
| Image optimization, web analytics & Speed Insights (paid) | ||
| Managed database (per-app, connection injected as env) | MariaDB (paid) | Bring your own (Supabase/Neon/…) |
On the core deploy loop the three are at parity, and that's on purpose. Where they diverge is everything around the deploy — and, for a full-stack app, whether the platform can also run your backend and hand it a database.
A managed database for full-stack apps
Netlify and Vercel host your front end and point you to a third-party database (Supabase, Neon, PlanetScale) that you connect yourself. On Ngris a full-stack app — a static front end plus a backend Ngris runs in-cluster — can add a managed, MySQL-compatible database (MariaDB) straight from its detail page. Ngris provisions it per app with its own schema and a least-privilege user scoped to just that schema (so one app can never read another's data), then injects the connection as environment variables — DB_HOST, DB_PORT, DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, and a mysql:// DATABASE_URL — and redeploys the app. Nothing to copy; your code reads DATABASE_URL. Two honest bounds: it's MariaDB/MySQL only (not Postgres, Redis, or Mongo) and a paid-plan feature (off on the free tier).
The security & edge layer
| Capability | Ngris | Netlify / Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in WAF (OWASP) | Add-on / limited | |
| Per-endpoint auth (OAuth, SSO, API keys) | Partial / paid | |
| Rate limits & bot management | Limited | |
| Live traffic inspection & replay | — | |
| Secure tunnels for your backend | — | |
| AI assistant that edits your config | — |
On Netlify and Vercel, once your site is up, hardening it usually means bolting on another product or a third-party WAF. On Ngris a deployed app is an endpoint, so you attach a firewall policy, a login requirement, or a rate limit the same way you would for a tunnel — and inspect the live traffic hitting it in the same dashboard.
One platform, one bill
The subtle cost of the deploy-only tools shows up later: the front end lives in one place, the API tunnel in another, the WAF in a third, and each meters separately. Ngris puts the app, its backend tunnels, and the security layer behind one login with a single unified data-transfer allowance — and transparent pricing with no per-feature a la carte.
When each one wins
Reach for Netlify or Vercel if you want their specific ecosystem — their build cache, deep framework integrations, and (on Vercel) a native zero-config SSR runtime — and you don't need much of a security layer. Reach for Ngris when the app is one part of a system: you also have backends to run or expose, you want a real WAF and per-endpoint auth in front of everything, and you'd rather run it all — front end, backend, scale-to-zero functions, and the security edge — and let an AI tune it, from one place. Ngris also runs serverless functions, image optimization, analytics and Speed Insights, so the gap is narrower than it used to be.
Try it
Ship an app in one push with the Static Apps guide, or see the whole platform on the homepage. No credit card to start.