Managing and optimising costs is one of the most important things for any business to be competitive, sustainable, and profitable. The same is true for any and all kinds of businesses, including hosting a website. When you are hosting a Next.js application, you need to be very careful about which plan to choose.
Knowing the different hosting options and comparing Next.js hosting platforms is crucial for choosing the right one and saving costs. In this blog, we will explain hosting options for Next.js apps and how to optimise Next.js hosting costs. But first, let us understand the problem with hosting an app built on Next.js.
A] Understanding The Problems with Hosting Next.js Apps
Hosting Next.js apps on any platform other than Vercel can easily go off the rails, especially when your site starts getting high traffic. Vercel is considered one of the best Next.js hosting providers. When you host Next.js on Vercel, you do not have to worry about configuration. Additionally, Vercel’s serverless functions and automatic scaling also help to optimise Next.js hosting, making it a go-to choice for Next.js apps.
When your Next.js site starts to get high traffic, it requires more CPU, memory, and storage. This significantly increases the cost when hosting independently. Without optimisation, the cost grows exponentially as it needs more resources. Even when hosting on Vercel, you may need to shift to more expensive models for handling higher traffic.
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B] Hosting Options for Next.js Apps
1. Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)
Choosing PaaS allows you to host Next.js apps without worrying about building the infrastructure from scratch. Platforms like Vercel, Netlify, and Heroku offer all the infrastructure required for deployment for a monthly subscription. These infrastructures include built-in CI/CD pipelines, global edge networks, analytics tools, and auto-scaling. If you are prioritising convenience over cost, platform-as-a-service is the best way to host a Next.js app. Nonetheless, it is also one of the most costly options as your traffic rises, due to function executions, data transfer, and edge requests.
2. Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting for Next.js refers to deploying and running your application on a cloud-based platform. With a cloud hosting platform, you have complete control over your Next.js hosting infrastructure due to containerisation. It also offers serverless functions for cost-saving. With such hosting platforms, you do not have to worry about scaling, as they expand resources based on your application’s traffic. Some cloud hosting providers may also facilitate serverless functions.
3. Self-Hosting
If your team has technical expertise and experience in server management, you can host your application by yourself. You can choose either a VPS hosting for Next.js (virtual private server) or a dedicated server for hosting. You can customise and optimise the infrastructure as you see fit to reduce the Next.js deployment cost. At the same time, you also need to tend to its maintenance, updates, and security. Because there is no vendor involved, it is a cost-effective Next.js hosting option; however, it is also the least convenient.
Also Read: Next.js Web App Development: Frequently Asked Questions
C] Best Practices to Reduce Hosting Costs
1. Offloading Dynamic Workloads to Edge Functions
Next.js applications use API routes for handling requests and triggering serverless function executions. This is very expensive due to the resources needed for processing each request. Offloading these requests closer to the user, i.e., the edge, improves speed while also reducing execution costs. These functions include authentication, redirections, and personalisation logic. Edge functions run on globally distributed infrastructure, using middleware at the edge to personalise content.
2. Centralised Performance Monitoring
Centralised performance monitoring is great for tracking which API routes and SSR functions create the most bottlenecks and use the most resources. Knowing the main sources of resource consumption is crucial for efficient optimisation. Tools like Datadog, New Relic, AWS CloudWatch, or Prometheus are widely used for performance monitoring. Unoptimised serverless function execution not only increases the cost but also the load time, affecting performance.
Also Read: Next.js vs React
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3. Migrating Non-Essential Workloads to Cost-Effective Cloud Solutions
If you are using a Platform-as-a-Service like Vercel and Netlify, it can be expensive to handle all workloads on the platform. It is best to migrate non-essential tasks like background data processing, image and asset storage, and periodic backups to cost-effective platforms. Evaluating and offloading non-critical workloads from your primary Next.js deployment allows you to optimise Next.js server costs.
4. Efficient Asset Management
Static assets such as images, fonts, and JavaScript bundles can take up a lot of storage space, driving costs. Efficient asset management can help you reduce data transfer costs. This includes modern compression techniques, built-in image optimisation tools, and CDNs like Cloudflare or Vercel’s Edge Network. Techniques like lazy loading and caching headers also improve user experience and significantly lower outbound bandwidth usage.
5. Static Site Generation (SSG) and Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR)
The Static Site Generation (SSG) approach converts the webpages into static HTML during Next.js development services. Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR), on the other hand, updates the static content on a per-page basis. This reduces the server-side functionality and load, leading to faster loading times for users and improved performance.
6. Streamlining CI/CD Pipelines
CI/CD pipeline optimisation improves resource utilisation, minimises deployment failures, and accelerates the development lifecycle. The cost benefits from all these add up in the long run, saving a significant amount. You can achieve this through caching dependencies, parallelising jobs, and triggering builds selectively using filters or branch-based rules.
7. Minimising Serverless Function Execution
Serverless function execution uses a pay-per-use model, which significantly increases the cost for higher-traffic applications. The cost is also influenced by the function’s execution time and the amount of memory allocated to it. To minimise this, you can cache the API responses to reduce repeated executions of the same logic, limit middleware execution, and only invoke dynamic functions when necessary.
B] Conclusion
Hosting a Next.js app can be significantly costly if you are not vigilant about it. While there are multiple options available for hosting, namely PaaS, cloud hosting, and self-hosting, the decision is up to you to choose the right method for your business. Apart from the hosting platform you choose, you need to periodically optimise your app to reduce computing power and cost.
Partnering with a software development company in India, such as Siddhatech, can help you navigate cost optimisation. We have years of experience in this field and have helped numerous businesses optimise their hosting costs. Contact us today, and let us discuss your business needs.