Netlify vs Vercel vs Cloudflare Pages for a small static site
Buy the .com at DropTheHassle if you want EUR 19 a year including VAT in the EU, or USD 19 elsewhere, the same every year, and no DNS edit; use Netlify, Vercel, or Cloudflare Pages when the site needs functions, a team, or very high traffic, or when you are fine editing DNS, and check their current .com price because the pages linked below do not publish one.
Your AI can publish. It can never spend your money.
Built it with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Cursor, Replit, v0, Windsurf or by hand? Same steps.
Last updated: 27 September 2026. Every competitor claim below was checked against the linked page on that date. Where that page has no .com number, the cell says check current price.
Comparison
The table scrolls sideways on a narrow screen. Each competitor cell links to the page the claim came from.
| Question | DropTheHassle | Netlify | Vercel | Cloudflare Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier with a custom domain | Free name.dropthehassle.app link with HTTPS. Connecting a domain you own is free. |
Yes. Free plan lists custom domains with SSL. 300 credits. A production deploy is 15 credits. source | Yes on Hobby. Up to 50 domains per project. HTTPS included. source | Yes. Up to 100 custom domains per project on Free. source |
| Commercial use on the free tier | The free link is not described as personal-only. | Listed for an individual. No non-commercial ban on the pricing page. source | No. Hobby is personal, non-commercial use only. source | The Free limits page states no personal-only rule. source |
| Drag and drop, no git | Yes. Drop the folder. No card for the free link. | Yes. Netlify Drop, no account, claim later. source | Not described on the Hobby or pricing pages. Hobby pricing | Yes, after login. Dashboard drag-and-drop or Wrangler. Not anonymous. source |
| Buy a domain in the product | Yes. A .com is EUR 19 a year including VAT in the EU, or USD 19 elsewhere, the same every year. | Yes. Buying it creates the DNS zone. No .com price on the page. source | Yes. Nameservers are set for you. No .com price on the page. source | Yes, Cloudflare Registrar. No .com price on the page. source |
| .com, first year | EUR 19 including VAT in the EU, or USD 19 elsewhere, the same every year. | Check current price. source | Check current price. The free first year is Pro only, and .com is not in the eligible list. source | Check current price. At or below registry and ICANN cost. source |
| .com, renewal | EUR 19 a year including VAT in the EU, or USD 19 elsewhere, the same every year. | Check current price. Netlify emails the renewal cost. source | Check current price. After a free first year, renewal is "the standard rate". source | Check current price. Renewal is at or below registry and ICANN cost. source |
| DNS you edit yourself | None if you buy the name here. One A record if it stays at your registrar. | None if you buy it there. If you bring a name, you edit DNS. buy bring | None if you buy it there. Otherwise you edit DNS at your registrar. source | Apex: point nameservers at Cloudflare. Subdomain: a CNAME you add yourself. source |
| Email or mailbox | EUR 5 a month including VAT for the first inbox, EUR 3 a month for each extra. | Not listed on the pricing or domain pages. pricing domains | No mail service for domains bought or transferred there. source | Not listed on the Pages limits or Registrar pages. limits registrar |
| Agent or MCP deploy | Yes. A first deploy needs no token and returns a claim link, on the remote MCP and on stdio (npx -y dropthehassle-mcp, 0.4.2). |
Yes. Agents deploy from netlify.ai, including with no account. Drop | Yes. Vercel documents MCP tools, including purchases. source | Dashboard or Wrangler after login. No agent pay step is described. source |
| Can the agent spend money? | No. Your AI can publish. It can never spend your money. | The agent page describes deploy. It does not say the agent can pay. source | Yes, after you confirm. The charge hits the team card and is non-refundable. changelog tools | Not stated. The upload docs do not say an agent can pay. source |
Netlify Drop
Netlify's own history of Drop says you drag a folder onto netlify.com/drop and get a live URL with no account. Claim the site if you want to keep it. Otherwise it expires. The same post says that this summer Drop can connect a custom domain, you can redeploy a drop, and you can drop a project that needs a build so Netlify builds and deploys it. Agent instructions are at netlify.ai. Source: Thirteen years of Netlify Drop.
Choose DropTheHassle if
The site is already built files (a folder with index.html). You want the renewal price in writing: a .com is EUR 19 a year including VAT in the EU, or USD 19 elsewhere, the same every year. You do not want to edit DNS, or you already own the name and one A record is enough. You want a mailbox at that name. You want an agent that can publish and cannot spend.
DropTheHassle is the wrong host when the app needs a server, serverless functions, or a team deploy pipeline. Use Netlify, Vercel, or Cloudflare Pages for that. We publish the folder. We do not run Node, Python, or PHP for you.
Looking at app builders instead of hosts? Retool, Taskade, Boonful, and my-app.engineer are a different comparison.
Choose Netlify if
You want the anonymous drag-and-drop, or you want Netlify to build the project and run functions. The Free plan is $0 and lists custom domains with SSL, with a 300 credit limit (pricing). You are fine editing DNS when the domain stays at your registrar (bring a domain). Check the current .com price before you buy it there. A mailbox is not listed on those pages.
Choose Vercel if
You are shipping a framework app, you want serverless functions, or you are a team. Budget for Pro if the site is commercial: Hobby is personal, non-commercial use only (Hobby). Pro on the pricing page is $20 a month (pricing). A domain bought at Vercel needs no DNS records from you, and Vercel does not provide a mailbox (domains). Their agent can spend: purchase tools charge the card after you confirm (MCP tools).
Choose Cloudflare Pages if
The site fits Pages, you expect a lot of files or traffic inside the Free limits, and you are fine pointing nameservers at Cloudflare for an apex domain (custom domains, limits). Registrar pricing is at cost, and the product page does not list a .com number, so check the current price (registrar). Drag-and-drop is in the dashboard after login, not an anonymous drop (Direct Upload).
Questions
Which is cheapest for a small static site, including renewal?
If you buy the .com here, it is EUR 19 a year including VAT in the EU, or USD 19 elsewhere, the same every year, and hosting the built files on the free link costs nothing. If you already own the domain and you will edit DNS, Netlify, Vercel, and Cloudflare Pages can host those files on a free plan, inside the limits linked above. Vercel Hobby cannot be the commercial plan. None of those three publish a .com renewal number on the pages checked here, so check the current price before you treat them as cheaper.
When is Netlify, Vercel, or Cloudflare the better choice?
When you need a framework build, serverless functions, a team, or very high traffic, or when editing DNS does not bother you. DropTheHassle is for the built folder, the name, and the mailbox.
Does Netlify Drop include a custom domain?
The Drop post says that this summer you can connect a custom domain, redeploy, and drop a project that needs a build. The no-account drag-and-drop is still there. Claim the site if you want to keep it.
Can my AI spend money?
Not here. Your AI can publish. It can never spend your money. On Vercel, the MCP purchase tools can charge the team after you confirm. Netlify's agent page describes deploy and does not say the agent can pay.
What does the .com cost next year?
At DropTheHassle, EUR 19 a year including VAT in the EU, or USD 19 elsewhere, the same every year. Elsewhere, check the current price on the registrar page linked in the table.