---
title: "Vercel and Netlify alternative for AI-made games and apps"
description: "This page is written by the KUMODeck team. It compares KUMODeck with Vercel and Netlify for putting a game or app made with an AI online, using facts from each service's official pages."
url: "/docs/compare/vercel-netlify/"
lang: en
index: "/llms.txt"
---
# Vercel and Netlify alternative for AI-made games and apps

This page is written by the KUMODeck team. It compares KUMODeck with Vercel and Netlify for putting a game or app made with an AI online, using facts from each service's official pages.

Vercel and Netlify are widely used hosting services for web projects, including AI-made apps. KUMODeck also hosts web apps and games, and adds a backend for them: sign-in, cloud saves, multiplayer rooms and your own server code. It is built to be run from an AI agent rather than from a Git repository.

All three can put an AI-made app online. This page lists the facts so you can choose by how you work. The other services' facts come from their official pages, checked on 2026-10-29; their own pages are authoritative.

## At a glance

| | KUMODeck | Vercel | Netlify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | none: at cost from the first request | Hobby, $0 a month, for personal, non-commercial use ([pricing](https://vercel.com/pricing)) | Free, $0, with a 300 credit limit ([pricing](https://www.netlify.com/pricing/)) |
| First paid step | usage at cost from a prepaid balance | Pro, $20 a month, with $20 of included credit; each developer seat is $20 a month | Personal, $9 a month, with 1,000 credits |
| How a deploy usually starts | you ask your AI; it sends the folder over MCP or the KUMODeck CLI | a push to a Git branch, a pull request, or the Vercel CLI ([environments](https://vercel.com/docs/deployments/environments)) | a push or pull request in a connected repository ([deploy previews](https://docs.netlify.com/deploy/deploy-types/deploy-previews/)) |
| Test before going live | a test version on a `--dev` address; going live waits for you to press **Publish** | a preview deployment per branch or pull request | a deploy preview per pull request |
| Server-rendered apps | Next.js, Astro, SvelteKit, Nuxt and others ([Server-rendered apps](/docs/guides/hosting/index.md#server-rendered-apps)) | yes, with Vercel Functions | yes, with Netlify Functions |
| Sign-in, saves, multiplayer rooms | built in ([Authentication](/docs/guides/auth/index.md), [Cloud saves](/docs/guides/saves/index.md), [Multiplayer rooms](/docs/guides/multiplayer/index.md)) | from other services you connect | from other services you connect |

Sources for Vercel and Netlify, checked on 2026-10-29: [Vercel pricing](https://vercel.com/pricing) (Hobby, Pro, seats, included credit), [Vercel environments](https://vercel.com/docs/deployments/environments) (preview deployments, the CLI, custom environments), [Netlify pricing](https://www.netlify.com/pricing/) (Free, Personal, credits), [Netlify deploy previews](https://docs.netlify.com/deploy/deploy-types/deploy-previews/). Prices and limits can change; their pages are authoritative.

## Where KUMODeck is different

**No repository needed.** Vercel and Netlify are built around a Git repository: each push or pull request becomes a deployment. An AI-made app may not have one: it may live in a conversation with Claude or ChatGPT, or in a folder an agent wrote. With KUMODeck, your AI sends that folder or those files as they are, and gives you the test link. From ChatGPT or Claude in a browser, you do not need files on your computer at all ([Publish a game you made with ChatGPT](/docs/use-cases/chatgpt-game/index.md)).

**Your AI connects by signing in, not with a token.** You connect your AI once by signing in in your browser and choosing what it may do. There is no access token to create and paste ([Deploy a game from Claude Code without API keys](/docs/use-cases/claude-code-no-api-keys/index.md)). Publishing to everyone waits for your press on a KUMODeck page, and a deploy whose files contain a secret key is stopped before it goes up ([Secrets in deployed files](/docs/guides/hosting/index.md#secrets-in-deployed-files)).

**The backend comes with it.** When an app needs users to sign in, keep data across devices or play together, your AI turns those parts on in the same project, with no second service to sign up for: [A backend for your vibe-coded game or app](/docs/use-cases/vibe-coding-backend/index.md).

**Paid from the first request, prepaid.** There is no free plan and no seat price. What you use is taken from a prepaid balance at cost, so a busy month cannot produce a surprise bill; you get a low-balance email first ([Pricing](/docs/pricing/index.md)).

## When Vercel fits better

- **You work from a Git repository** and want a preview deployment for every branch and pull request, with links in your pull requests.
- **You use Next.js heavily** and want hosting from the company that makes it ([Next.js](https://nextjs.org/)).
- **You want a free plan for a personal project** that is not commercial.
- **You work in a team** with developer seats and staging environments; custom environments such as `staging` are on Pro and Enterprise ([environments](https://vercel.com/docs/deployments/environments)).

## When Netlify fits better

- **You work from a Git repository** and want deploy previews on every pull request from GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps or Cursor Origin.
- **You want a free plan** to start, or a low fixed monthly price with a set amount of credits.
- **Your site is mostly content** and you do not need sign-in, saves or rooms from the same place.

## You can use them together

KUMODeck hosting is optional. An app hosted on Vercel or Netlify can still use KUMODeck's sign-in, cloud saves and multiplayer rooms; list its address in `web.allowedOrigins` so other sites cannot use your publishable key ([Hosting & deploy](/docs/guides/hosting/index.md)).

## Try it

Anyone can [sign up](https://dashboard.kumodeck.com/signup) (an invite code is optional: it adds credit to your balance). [Start here](/docs/start/index.md) connects your AI in a few minutes. Common questions about cost and keys are in the [questions and answers](/docs/faq/index.md).
