How it works
Netlify helped popularise the Jamstack approach of prebuilt pages served from a CDN; its co-founder coined the name. Connect a repository and each push is built and deployed, with a deploy preview for every pull request and instant rollback to any earlier version. It is framework-agnostic and works well with Astro, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Next.js and plain static sites.
Serverless functions, edge functions (which run on Deno), built-in form handling, Netlify Blobs storage and a managed Postgres database cover light backend needs. Billing is based on credits: each plan includes a monthly allowance, and deploys, bandwidth, requests and compute all draw from it, so a busy site on the free plan pauses when its credits run out rather than running up a bill.
Netlify pros and cons
Pros
- Works with almost any framework rather than favouring one
- Deploy previews, branch deploys and instant rollbacks
- Forms, functions and storage without a separate backend
- Pro includes unlimited team members for one flat fee
Cons
- Credit-based billing takes some effort to predict
- Free sites pause for the rest of the month when credits run out
- The newest Next.js features usually reach Vercel first
When to use Netlify
Pick it when
- Static sites, blogs and marketing sites built with Astro, Hugo or similar
- Teams that want previews and forms without running servers
Skip it when
- Long-running servers, background workers or WebSockets
- You need the latest Next.js features on the day they ship
Netlify pricing
Free tier
Free with 300 credits a month. Personal is $9 a month with 1,000 credits; Pro starts at $20 a month with unlimited members and 3,000 credits. Deploys, bandwidth and compute use credits.
Netlify pricing page (opens in a new tab)Approximate, checked September 2026.What the other tools cost
Netlify vs the alternatives
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