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Software · head to head

Alibaba Cloud vs Netlify

Alibaba Cloud logo

Alibaba Cloud

Software

Asia's leading cloud computing provider

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Netlify logo

Netlify

Software

The fastest way to build the fastest sites

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Alibaba Cloud technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included; Netlify the free tier is an individual account with 300 credits; team members require the Pro plan at $20 a month
  • They diverge on capability: Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Netlify covers Continuous deployment.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alibaba Cloud and Netlify actually diverge.

Attributes where Alibaba Cloud and Netlify differ
AttributeAlibaba CloudNetlify
Pricing modelusage-basedfreemium
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Api, CliWeb
Founded20092014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Alibaba Cloud

  • Elastic Compute Service
  • Object Storage Service
  • RDS Database
  • MaxCompute
  • Function Compute
  • CDN
  • Load Balancer
  • API Gateway

Only in Netlify

  • Continuous deployment
  • Instant rollbacks
  • Deploy previews
  • Split testing
  • Forms handling
  • Identity/Auth
  • Serverless functions
  • Edge handlers

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in China and Asia Pacificnot Netlify
  • Pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitmentnot Netlify
  • Committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloadsnot Netlify
  • CDN and data transfer packages for content deliverynot Netlify

Netlify

  • Hosting static sites and frontend frameworks with global CDN deliverynot Alibaba Cloud
  • Deploy previews on every pull requestnot Alibaba Cloud
  • Serverless functions alongside a static sitenot Alibaba Cloud
  • Netlify Database and Blob storage for small application statenot Alibaba Cloud

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
  • Service prices are not shown as a rate card and route through a calculator or sales
  • Committed discounts require savings plans, reserved instances or capacity packages rather than being automatic

Netlify

  • The free tier is an individual account with 300 credits; team members require the Pro plan at $20 a month
  • Everything is metered in credits, so bandwidth at 20 credits per GB and production deploys at 15 credits each consume the allowance in ways a bandwidth figure alone would not show
  • Compute is billed at 10 credits per GB-hour, so server-rendered work costs more than static hosting
  • Running past the allowance means buying credit packs, at $5 for 500 on Personal and $10 for 1,500 on Pro
  • AI inference is priced by model rather than at a flat credit rate

Pricing, plan by plan

Alibaba Cloud

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • Free tier credits
    • ECS instances
    • Cloud storage
  • Pay-as-You-GoFree
    • Flexible billing
    • No commitments
    • Global reach

Netlify

Free
  • StarterFree
    • 100GB bandwidth
    • 300 build minutes
    • 1 concurrent build
  • Pro$19/month
    • 400GB bandwidth
    • 25,000 build minutes
    • 3 concurrent builds
  • Business$99/month
    • 600GB bandwidth
    • 35,000 build minutes
    • 5 concurrent builds
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom bandwidth
    • Custom build minutes
    • Unlimited concurrent builds

Which should you pick?

Choose Alibaba Cloud if

  • You need elastic compute service.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
  • You also want object storage service.
Alibaba Cloud review

Choose Netlify if

  • You need continuous deployment.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want instant rollbacks.
Netlify review

Questions people ask

Is Alibaba Cloud or Netlify better?
Neither clearly leads. Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Netlify at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alibaba Cloud or Netlify?
Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Netlify at Free.
Does Alibaba Cloud or Netlify run on more platforms?
Alibaba Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli. Netlify runs on Web.
Can I use Alibaba Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Alibaba Cloud best used for?
Alibaba Cloud is most often used for cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific, pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment, committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloads, cdn and data transfer packages for content delivery. Of those, cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific and pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment are not what Netlify is typically brought in for.
What can Alibaba Cloud do that Netlify cannot?
Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Object Storage Service, RDS Database, MaxCompute. Netlify covers Continuous deployment, Instant rollbacks, Deploy previews, Split testing.
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