Netlify

Hosting and CI/CD for static sites and serverless functions with a mature build pipeline, forms and edge functions.

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Netlify is a platform for building, deploying, and hosting static sites and Jamstack applications, centered on Git-connected continuous deployment, a global edge CDN, and serverless/edge compute. It helped popularize the atomic-deploy and deploy-preview workflow, and pairs static hosting with backend primitives — functions, form handling, blob storage, and a managed database — so frontend teams can add dynamic behavior without running servers. More recently it has layered on AI-oriented tooling such as Agent Runners and an AI Gateway.

Key features

Git-connected continuous deployment with automatic builds
Deploy Previews for every branch and pull request
Serverless, edge, background, and scheduled functions
Global edge CDN with automatic HTTPS and instant rollbacks
Built-in form handling and user authentication
Netlify Blobs storage, a managed Postgres database, and Image CDN

Specs

Category	Static / Jamstack
Pricing model	tiered
Free tier	Yes
Managed database	Yes
Regions	global edge
Self-hostable	No
Docker-native	No
Git deploy	Yes
Open source	No

Last reviewed 2026-07-16 — see our methodology. Specs, pricing and free tiers change often, so confirm current details on the provider before deciding.

Pros & cons

Our editorial assessment — not vendor-stated facts.

Pros

Streamlined Git-based workflow with atomic deploys, per-branch previews, and one-click rollback
Broad framework support and a mature build/CI system
Integrated backend primitives (functions, forms, storage) cover simple dynamic needs without extra services
Large ecosystem, extensions, and extensive documentation
Free tier available for hobby and small projects

Cons

Credit-based pricing (introduced in 2025) makes spend harder to predict — bandwidth, compute, and web requests all draw down a single credit balance, not just deploys
Serverless functions have execution-time limits (10s on Free and Personal plans) and no persistent servers, long-running processes, or WebSockets
Bandwidth-heavy sites can become costly relative to competitors offering flat or unlimited bandwidth
Oriented toward static/Jamstack; full-stack apps often still require stitching in external database and backend services

Pricing

Freemium with a credit/usage-based model. The free tier grants a fixed monthly credit allotment that hard-caps: when it is exhausted, projects pause (visitors see an unavailable page) with no overage or auto-recharge. Paid tiers pair a flat monthly fee with an included credit allotment consumed by production deploys, bandwidth, compute, and requests — deploy previews and forms don't count — with optional paid add-on credits, plus a custom-priced enterprise tier.

Who should use Netlify?

Frontend and Jamstack teams deploying static sites, SPAs, or framework apps (React, Vue, Astro, and similar) who want Git-driven deploys, previews, and edge delivery without managing infrastructure. Less suited to persistent-server, WebSocket, or heavy full-stack backend workloads.

Frequently asked questions

Does Netlify have a free tier?: Yes.
How much does Netlify cost?: Freemium with a credit/usage-based model. The free tier grants a fixed monthly credit allotment that hard-caps: when it is exhausted, projects pause (visitors see an unavailable page) with no overage or auto-recharge. Paid tiers pair a flat monthly fee with an included credit allotment consumed by production deploys, bandwidth, compute, and requests — deploy previews and forms don't count — with optional paid add-on credits, plus a custom-priced enterprise tier.
Who should use Netlify?: Frontend and Jamstack teams deploying static sites, SPAs, or framework apps (React, Vue, Astro, and similar) who want Git-driven deploys, previews, and edge delivery without managing infrastructure. Less suited to persistent-server, WebSocket, or heavy full-stack backend workloads.