NorthLuma blog · 2026-05-17 · 6-minute read · Hosting
Vercel vs Netlify vs Cloudflare Pages vs GitHub Pages 2026.
NorthLuma generates a static-site ZIP and you host it on whatever you want. Six free static-site hosts are credibly worth using in 2026. We tested them all on the same NorthLuma-generated brochure site in May 2026 and ranked them by real free-tier ceiling — not vendor marketing copy.
TLDR
- · Vercel — default for 95% of NorthLuma sites. Best DX. 100 GB/mo bandwidth ceiling fine for brochures.
- · Cloudflare Pages — unlimited bandwidth on free tier. Pick if you expect viral traffic.
- · Netlify — best free forms handling (100 submissions/mo).
- · GitHub Pages — if your repo is public and on GitHub anyway.
The 6-host comparison
| Host | Bandwidth/mo | Build mins/mo | Free SSL? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vercel | 100 GB | 6000 | ✓ |
| Netlify | 100 GB | 300 | ✓ |
| Cloudflare Pages | unlimited | 500 | ✓ |
| GitHub Pages | 100 GB | — | ✓ |
| Render | 100 GB | 500 | ✓ |
| Surge.sh | unlimited | — | ✗ |
Per-host verdict
Vercel
Best DX. Atomic deploys, preview URLs per push, edge functions. Default for Next.js sites.
Netlify
Comparable to Vercel for static sites. Best forms handling on the free tier (100 submissions/month included).
Cloudflare Pages
Unlimited bandwidth on free tier — only one offering this. Cheapest at high traffic. Workers + KV available.
GitHub Pages
Truly free for public repos. No build step (static files only). Best for documentation + open-source landing pages.
Render
Newer entrant. Good free tier; better for full-stack apps than static sites.
Surge.sh
Cheapest deploy ('surge' command + you're live). Free custom-domain requires paid tier ($30/mo). Best for throwaway demos.
Frequently asked
Which free host should I deploy my NorthLuma site to?
Vercel by default — best DX, automatic preview URLs per commit, native Next.js + static-site support, 100 GB/month bandwidth ceiling that no small-business brochure site approaches. If you're cost-paranoid at the highest possible scale, Cloudflare Pages has unlimited bandwidth on the free tier. If you live in the GitHub ecosystem, GitHub Pages works. For 95% of NorthLuma sites, pick Vercel and stop optimising.
Will Vercel start charging me?
Only if you exceed: 100 GB bandwidth/month OR 100 deployments/day OR ~6,000 build minutes/month. A small-business brochure site with 1k visitors/month uses ~0.5 GB and deploys 0-5 times/month. The free tier is structurally permanent for that workload. Vercel Pro is $20/mo if you grow into it.
Cloudflare Pages has unlimited bandwidth — why isn't it the default?
Because bandwidth isn't the bottleneck for 99% of small-business sites. The other free-tier limits matter more: Vercel's preview URLs per push, Netlify's form submissions, GitHub Pages's CI integration. Cloudflare Pages wins specifically when your site goes viral (Hacker News front page, etc.) — at that scale Vercel's 100 GB cap could matter; Cloudflare's doesn't.
What about Netlify Forms — is that worth it?
Yes for the first 100 form submissions/month — that's the Netlify free tier, no Stripe/email-service-provider needed. For a contact-form-only NorthLuma site, you can wire form submissions directly to Netlify's email-notification flow and never touch /api/contact. The trade-off: Netlify's build minute ceiling is lower than Vercel's (300/mo vs 6000/mo).
Custom domain — do I need to pay for that?
Yes (always) for the domain itself: $10-18/year at Cloudflare Registrar / Namecheap / Porkbun. No (mostly) for connecting the domain to the host: Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages, GitHub Pages, Render all include free custom-domain support on the free tier. Surge requires the paid tier for custom domains.
All free-tier limits verified May 2026. Hosts change their free-tier rules occasionally — email [email protected] if a ceiling has moved.