The Truth About Vercel Pricing
Avoid the $20k bill with these optimizations.
TL;DR
Vercel is only expensive if you use it wrong. The #1 cause of high bills is uncached API calls and unoptimized images. Use Cache-Control headers and Cloudflare R2 for assets to keep your bill under $20/mo.
Cost Saving Checklist
| Optimization | Impact | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Cache-Control Headers | High (90% reduction) | Easy |
| Offload Images to R2 | Medium (Bandwidth savings) | Medium |
| Disable ISR for Admin Pages | Low | Easy |
Cache-Control is Your Friend
The #1 reason for high bills is uncached API calls. Use `next/cache` aggressively. Vibe Pilot's roadmap generator uses stale-while-revalidate to keep costs near zero.
The Image Optimization Trap
Next/image is magic, but it costs money. Set `unoptimized=` for external images or use Cloudflare R2 for cheaper bandwidth.
Get a Cost-Optimized Stack
Vibe Pilot architectures are pre-configured for minimal Vercel spend.
Start Generating →