Technology · head to head
Netlify vs SST
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Netlify the free tier is an individual account with 300 credits; team members require the Pro plan at $20 a month; SST primarily optimized for AWS with Cloudflare support
- They diverge on capability: Netlify covers Continuous deployment, SST covers Single config file.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Netlify and SST actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
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 Netlify
- Continuous deployment
- Instant rollbacks
- Deploy previews
- Split testing
- Forms handling
- Identity/Auth
- Serverless functions
- Edge handlers
Only in SST
- Single config file
- Resource linking
- Local development
- Multi-cloud support
- Multiple deployment stages
- VPC tunneling
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Netlify
- Hosting static sites and frontend frameworks with global CDN deliverynot SST
- Deploy previews on every pull requestnot SST
- Serverless functions alongside a static sitenot SST
- Netlify Database and Blob storage for small application statenot SST
SST
- Deploying Next.js frontends with serverless backendsnot Netlify
- Managing databases and storage alongside application codenot Netlify
- Creating staging environments for feature testingnot Netlify
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
SST
- Primarily optimized for AWS with Cloudflare support
- Learning curve for developers unfamiliar with infrastructure concepts
- Limited documentation for some advanced use cases
Pricing, plan by plan
Netlify
Free- Free PlanFree
- 300 credit limit
- Deploy previews, custom domains with SSL, functions, database storage
- Global CDN access
- Personal Plan$9/month
- 1000 credits
- Smart secret detection
- Extended observability 1-day
- Pro Plan$20/month
- 3000 credits
- Private repositories, shared environment variables
- Concurrent builds 3 plus
- Enterprise Plan$null/mo
- Unlimited credits
- 99.99 percent SLA guarantee
- Enterprise networking, SSO/SCIM integration
SST
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the SST review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Netlify if
- You need continuous deployment.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want instant rollbacks.
Choose SST if
- You need single config file.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on AWS, Cloudflare, Node.js.
- You also want resource linking.
Questions people ask
- Is Netlify or SST better?
- Neither clearly leads. Netlify starts at Free and SST at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Netlify or SST?
- Netlify starts at Free and SST at Free.
- Does Netlify or SST run on more platforms?
- Netlify runs on Web. SST runs on AWS, Cloudflare, Node.js.
- Can I use Netlify for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Netlify best used for?
- Netlify is most often used for hosting static sites and frontend frameworks with global cdn delivery, deploy previews on every pull request, serverless functions alongside a static site, netlify database and blob storage for small application state. Of those, hosting static sites and frontend frameworks with global cdn delivery and deploy previews on every pull request are not what SST is typically brought in for.
- What can Netlify do that SST cannot?
- Netlify covers Continuous deployment, Instant rollbacks, Deploy previews, Split testing. SST covers Single config file, Resource linking, Local development, Multi-cloud support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Netlify: Is Netlify free?
Netlify offers a free tier with 300 credits per month, suitable for individual developers. It includes deploy previews, custom domains with SSL, functions, database storage, and global CDN access.
SourceSST: Is SST free?
Yes, SST is open source and free. You only pay for cloud resources from AWS and other providers.
SourceNetlify: What is Netlify's pricing model?
Netlify charges based on credits. Production deployments cost 15 credits at 0.10 dollars each. Compute costs 10 credits per GB-hour at 0.07 dollars. Bandwidth costs 20 credits per GB at 0.13 dollars. Web requests cost 2 credits per 10000 requests at 0.01 dollars.
SourceSST: What cloud providers does SST support?
SST supports over 150 providers through built-in AWS and Cloudflare components, plus Pulumi and Terraform providers.
SourceNetlify: What does the Pro plan include?
The Pro Plan costs 20 dollars per month and includes 3000 credits, private repositories, shared environment variables, 3 plus concurrent builds, and 30-day analytics periods.
SourceRelated pages
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