"Which cloud provider should I use?" is one of the most common questions I get. The answer is always "it depends"—but here's a framework to actually make that decision.
The Wrong Way to Choose
Here's how most people choose a cloud provider:
- "Everyone uses AWS, so I'll use AWS"
- "I heard Vercel is great for Next.js"
- "My friend works at Google, so GCP"
- "This influencer said Cloudflare is the future"
These aren't bad reasons, but they're not your reasons. You need to choose based on your actual requirements, not someone else's.
The Decision Framework
Here are the 5 questions I ask before choosing a cloud provider:
1. What's Your Budget?
Budget Tiers:
- $0-10/month: Cloudflare Pages, Netlify Free, Vercel Hobby
- $10-50/month: Vercel Pro, Netlify Pro, Hetzner, AWS (small)
- $50-500/month: AWS, GCP, Azure (optimized)
- $500+/month: AWS, GCP, Azure (enterprise)
Real talk: If you're just starting out, don't overpay for features you don't need. Cloudflare Pages is free and can handle millions of requests. Start there.
2. What's Your Traffic?
| Monthly Visitors | Best Options | Why |
|---|---|---|
| < 10k | Cloudflare, Netlify, Vercel | Free tiers cover you |
| 10k - 100k | Vercel Pro, Cloudflare, AWS | Predictable pricing |
| 100k - 1M | AWS, Cloudflare, Hetzner | Cost optimization matters |
| 1M+ | AWS, GCP, Cloudflare | Scale + cost efficiency |
3. What's Your Technical Expertise?
Beginner (first deployment):
- ✅ Vercel - Zero config, just works
- ✅ Netlify - Simple, great docs
- ✅ Cloudflare Pages - Free, fast, easy
- ❌ AWS - Too complex to start
Intermediate (deployed a few times):
- ✅ AWS - Good learning opportunity
- ✅ Hetzner - Cost-effective, not too complex
- ✅ GCP - Similar to AWS, better docs
Advanced (DevOps experience):
- ✅ AWS - Full control, all the features
- ✅ GCP - Kubernetes, ML workloads
- ✅ Azure - Enterprise integration
4. What's Your Framework?
▲ Next.js
Best: Vercel (built by the same team)
Also good: Netlify, AWS, Cloudflare
Why: Vercel has zero-config Next.js support, automatic optimizations, and preview deployments.
🚀 Astro / Static Sites
Best: Cloudflare Pages (free, fast, unlimited bandwidth)
Also good: Netlify, Vercel, AWS S3+CloudFront
Why: Static sites don't need serverless functions, so use the cheapest CDN.
🐳 Docker / Containers
Best: AWS ECS, GCP Cloud Run, Hetzner
Also good: Azure Container Instances
Why: You need container orchestration, which Vercel/Netlify don't provide.
☸️ Kubernetes
Best: GCP GKE, AWS EKS, Hetzner
Also good: Azure AKS
Why: GKE has the best Kubernetes experience (Google invented it). Hetzner is cheapest.
5. What's Your Priority?
Speed to Market:
- 🥇 Vercel - Deploy in 2 minutes
- 🥈 Netlify - Deploy in 5 minutes
- 🥉 Cloudflare Pages - Deploy in 10 minutes
Cost Optimization:
- 🥇 Cloudflare - Free for most use cases
- 🥈 Hetzner - Cheapest VPS/containers
- 🥉 AWS (optimized) - Cheap at scale
Developer Experience:
- 🥇 Vercel - Best DX, hands down
- 🥈 Netlify - Great DX, good docs
- 🥉 Cloudflare - Good DX, improving fast
Enterprise Features:
- 🥇 AWS - Everything you could need
- 🥈 Azure - Best for Microsoft shops
- 🥉 GCP - Great for data/ML
My Personal Recommendations
For Side Projects
Use Cloudflare Pages. It's free, fast, and has unlimited bandwidth. You can't beat free.
For Client Work
Use Vercel Pro ($20/month). The preview deployments alone are worth it. Clients love seeing changes before they go live.
For Startups
Start with Vercel, migrate to AWS when you hit 500k monthly visitors. Don't optimize for scale you don't have yet.
For Enterprise
AWS or Azure. You need the compliance, security, and enterprise support. GCP if you're doing ML/data work.
For Learning
Try them all! Deploy the same app to AWS, Vercel, and Cloudflare. See what you like. That's why I built Leaper—to make this easy.
The Real Answer
Here's the truth: The "best" cloud provider is the one that lets you ship your product fastest.
Don't spend 3 days optimizing your AWS setup to save $5/month. Your time is worth more than that. Start simple, scale when you need to.
Quick Decision Tree
- Static site? → Cloudflare Pages (free)
- Next.js? → Vercel ($0-20/month)
- Need containers? → GCP Cloud Run or Hetzner
- Need Kubernetes? → GCP GKE or Hetzner
- Enterprise requirements? → AWS or Azure
- Not sure? → Start with Vercel, migrate later if needed
Try Them All
The best way to choose is to actually deploy to different providers and see what you prefer. Check out our deployment blueprints to deploy the same app to multiple providers in minutes.
Compare the experience, the cost, and the features. Then make an informed decision based on your actual needs.
What cloud provider do you use and why? Let me know—I'd love to hear your reasoning!
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