# Ship and deploy

> “Ship a fix and deploy to Vercel”. Ranked by expert consensus and what people use now; affiliate links never change the order.

A good deploy setup turns a pushed fix into a live site in minutes, with a preview link to check first. GitHub holds the code and pull requests, and Actions runs your tests. Vercel, run by the team behind Next.js, deploys each push with its own preview URL. Netlify works the same way and adds forms and image optimisation. Cloudflare sits in front with DNS, caching and protection, and its Workers and Pages can host the app too.

Last checked: 2026-10-02

## Ranking

1. **[Vercel](https://suiteintent.com/t/vercel?m=GB)**: Hosting that deploys web apps from Git. · Best for: Preview links on every push for your team · Free plan · 30000 ([Deals](https://suiteintent.com/deals/vercel))
2. **[GitHub](https://suiteintent.com/t/github?m=GB)**: Code hosting, issues and pull requests. · Best for: Teams reviewing code through pull requests · Free plan · 10000 ([Deals](https://suiteintent.com/deals/github))
3. **[Cloudflare](https://suiteintent.com/t/cloudflare?m=GB)**: DNS, CDN and security for your website. · Best for: Small sites on the free plan · Free plan · 350000 ([Deals](https://suiteintent.com/deals/cloudflare))
4. **[Netlify](https://suiteintent.com/t/netlify?m=GB)**: Hosting that deploys every Git push. · Best for: Front-end sites built from a Git repo · Free plan

## Side by side

| Tool | Price | Ease of use (1-5) | Team size |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Vercel | Pricing on request, Up to $30,000 for startups | 3 | solo, small team, growing team |
| GitHub | Free plan, $10,000 in GitHub credits for startups | 4 | solo, small team, growing team, large team |
| Cloudflare | Pricing on request, Up to $350K in startup credits | 3 | solo, small team, growing team |
| Netlify | Free plan | 4 | solo, small team, growing team |

## Why these picks

- Independent reviews: [Stack Overflow](https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2025/technology) (Last checked: 2026-10-02)
- Prices last checked: 2026-10-02
- Ranked by expert consensus and what people use now; affiliate links never change the order.

## Head to head

- [Vercel vs Netlify: deploy your web app from Git](https://suiteintent.com/compare/vercel-vs-netlify)

## MCP setups

- [Ship a fix and check the Vercel deploy](https://suiteintent.com/mcp/ship-fix-deploy-vercel)
- [Stop AI from using outdated APIs](https://suiteintent.com/mcp/cursor-current-docs)
- [Test your web app in a real browser](https://suiteintent.com/mcp/test-web-app-playwright)
- [Build Shopify apps and themes with AI](https://suiteintent.com/mcp/build-shopify-app)
- [Let Claude review your pull requests](https://suiteintent.com/mcp/claude-review-pull-requests)
- [Connect Claude to GitHub and Linear](https://suiteintent.com/mcp/claude-triage-github-into-linear)

## Questions

### Vercel or Netlify for a small web app?

Both deploy every Git push and give each change its own preview link. Vercel comes from the team behind Next.js, so it suits Next.js apps closely, with serverless functions on a global edge network. Netlify includes forms, image optimisation and functions, which helps on content sites. Deploy the same branch to both and compare build times and the dashboard you prefer.

### Can I host a business site on a free plan?

Vercel's free hobby plan covers personal projects, and it offers team plans for companies. Netlify's free plan suits side projects and small teams, and Cloudflare's free plan covers most small sites. GitHub keeps public and private repositories free. Read each provider's fair-use terms before a client launch, since commercial use and bandwidth are where free tiers draw the line.

### How do I ship a quick fix without breaking production?

Open a branch, push the fix and open a pull request on GitHub. Vercel or Netlify builds a preview link for that branch, so you click through the change before anyone else sees it. Let GitHub Actions run your tests on the pull request. Merge once both pass, and the main branch deploys to production.

### Do I need Cloudflare if my host already has a CDN?

Vercel and Netlify already serve your app from a global network, so you do not need Cloudflare for speed alone. Use Cloudflare for DNS, DDoS protection and SSL across all your domains. It also runs code and stores data at the edge with Workers and R2. Many small teams use it for DNS and leave hosting with Vercel or Netlify.

### Where should a European company host for GDPR?

GDPR allows hosting outside the EU with the right agreements, but you need a data processing agreement with each provider. Check where your functions and databases run, since static files on a CDN rarely hold personal data. Pick an EU region for servers that store customer records when your provider offers one. List every host in your privacy notice.