Vercel vs VPS vs Cloudflare Workers
Vercel = managed JS hosting. Cloudflare Workers = edge runtime at every PoP. VPS = a Linux box you fully control.
Plain English
Vercel is the easy default for Next/React/TanStack apps. Cloudflare Workers run your code at the edge — fast everywhere, but with runtime constraints (no real Node). A VPS is a raw Linux server you log into; full control, full responsibility.
Vercel = serviced apartment. Workers = pop-up kiosks in every city. VPS = your own house, you fix the plumbing.
Wedding portal: Vercel — fast iteration, zero ops.
CRM with custom long-running jobs: Vercel + workers, or a VPS if you need persistent processes.
Real estate search: Cloudflare Workers — global, cheap, fast.
Go deeper
Managed vs edge vs raw server.
Common mistakes
- Trying to run Node-only packages on Workers (sharp, puppeteer) — they break.
- Picking VPS for ego — it's real ongoing work.
- Mixing hosts and losing track of which env vars live where.
AI-agent trap
Summary
Vercel handles build, CDN, serverless functions, env vars. Workers run V8 isolates everywhere with a constrained runtime. VPS gives you root: nginx, systemd, your own logs.