---

name: cost-vercel description: Estimate Vercel costs for any project using live pricing data. Use when user asks about Vercel pricing, Next.js hosting costs, or edge deployment costs.

Vercel Cost Evaluator

Estimate costs for Vercel-based projects using current pricing data.

Before Answering Vercel Cost Questions

IMPORTANT: Always verify tool availability before providing cost estimates.

Step 1: Check Available Tools

Check if the following tools are available:

Vercel CLI (preferred):

• vercel CLI for project information
• vercel ls - List deployments
• vercel project ls - List projects

Vercel API:

• REST API for project and usage info

Step 2: If Tools Are Unavailable

If Vercel CLI is not accessible, help the user set them up:

Option A: Vercel CLI

Copy# Install Vercel CLI
npm install -g vercel

# Login
vercel login

# List projects
vercel project ls

# Get project info
vercel inspect <deployment-url>

Option B: Vercel API

Copy# Get access token from dashboard
# https://vercel.com/account/tokens

# List projects
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v9/projects"

# Get project usage
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v1/usage"

# Get team usage
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v1/teams/TEAM_ID/usage"

Ask the user which option fits their environment before proceeding.

Step 3: Fallback to Web Search

If no tools are available and user cannot install them, use web search to fetch current pricing from:

• https://vercel.com/pricing
• https://vercel.com/docs/limits/overview

How to Get Live Pricing

Using Vercel CLI

Copy# List all projects
vercel project ls

# Get deployment details
vercel ls
vercel inspect DEPLOYMENT_URL

# Check current usage (requires dashboard)
vercel open  # Opens dashboard

Using Vercel API

Copy# Get account/team usage
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v1/usage"

# Response includes:
# - bandwidth (bytes)
# - serverlessFunctionExecution (gb-hours)
# - edgeFunctionInvocations
# - imageOptimization
# - builds

# Get specific project usage
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v9/projects/PROJECT_ID"

# List team members (for seat count)
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v2/teams/TEAM_ID/members"

Using Vercel Dashboard API

Copy# Get billing information
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v1/billing"

# Get invoices
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v1/billing/invoices"

Standalone Usage

Can be invoked directly for cost estimation:

• "How much does Vercel Pro cost for 5 developers?"
• "Estimate Vercel costs for a Next.js app"
• "What's included in Vercel free tier?"

Cost Estimation Process

1. Identify tier needed (Hobby/Pro/Enterprise)
2. Count team members for seat pricing
3. Query current pricing using available tools
4. Estimate usage (bandwidth, functions, etc.)
5. Calculate overages above included limits
6. Factor in add-ons (Postgres, KV, Blob)

Pricing Structure (Query for Current Values)

Tier Information

Usage Metrics (Query via API)

Get Current Usage

Copy# Get overall usage
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v1/usage"

# Get usage by project
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v1/usage?projectId=PROJECT_ID"

# Get usage for time period
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v1/usage?from=2024-01-01&to=2024-01-31"

Output Contract

Copyvercel_cost_estimate:
  description: "<what's being estimated>"
  pricing_source: "<cli|api|web>"
  pricing_date: "<when pricing was fetched>"

  recommended_tier: "<hobby|pro|enterprise>"
  team_size: <N>

  tier_details:
    name: "<tier name>"
    seat_price: "<$X/user/mo>"
    included:
      bandwidth_gb: <N>
      function_gb_hours: <N>
      edge_invocations: <N>
      image_optimizations: <N>

  usage_estimate:
    bandwidth_gb: <N>
    function_gb_hours: <N>
    edge_invocations: <N>

  baseline_monthly:
    seats: "<$X>"
    bandwidth_overage: "<$X>"
    functions_overage: "<$X>"
    edge_functions: "<$X>"
    storage_services: "<$X>"
    total: "<$X>"

  at_10x_scale:
    seats: "<$X>"
    overages: "<$X>"
    total: "<$X>"

  included_features:
    - "Global edge network (CDN)"
    - "Automatic HTTPS"
    - "Preview deployments"
    - "Serverless functions"
    - "Edge functions"
    - "Git integration"
    - "Instant rollbacks"

  warnings:
    - "<warning if applicable>"

  optimization_tips:
    - "<tip 1>"
    - "<tip 2>"

Cost Optimization Strategies

Monitor Usage via API

Copy# Set up usage monitoring
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v1/usage"

# Check usage trends
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v1/usage?from=$(date -d '30 days ago' +%Y-%m-%d)"

# Get per-project breakdown
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v9/projects" | jq '.projects[].name'

Optimize Bandwidth

Copy# Check bandwidth by deployment
vercel ls --all

# Review large deployments
vercel inspect DEPLOYMENT_URL

Copy// In next.config.js - optimize images
module.exports = {
  images: {
    formats: ['image/avif', 'image/webp'],
    minimumCacheTTL: 60,
  },
}

Optimize Functions

Copy// Use Edge Runtime for simple functions (cheaper)
export const config = {
  runtime: 'edge',
}

// Use ISR to reduce function calls
export async function getStaticProps() {
  return {
    props: { data },
    revalidate: 60, // Regenerate every 60 seconds
  }
}

Use Static Generation

Copy// Prefer static pages (no function cost)
export async function generateStaticParams() {
  // Pre-render pages at build time
  return posts.map((post) => ({
    slug: post.slug,
  }))
}

Vercel Add-on Services

Query pricing for add-ons:

Copy# Vercel Postgres
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v1/storage/postgres"

# Vercel KV
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v1/storage/kv"

# Vercel Blob
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.vercel.com/v1/storage/blob"

Vercel Considerations

Strengths:

• Zero-config deployment for Next.js
• Global edge network
• Preview deployments for every PR
• Excellent DX

Watch out for:

• Per-seat pricing adds up for larger teams
• Bandwidth overages can be expensive
• Function execution time affects cost
• Hobby tier is non-commercial only

Vercel vs Alternatives

When comparing costs:

• vs AWS (CloudFront + Lambda): Use cost-aws - often cheaper at scale but more complex
• vs GCP (Cloud Run): Use cost-gcp - good middle ground
• vs Netlify: Similar model, compare specific features
• Consider total cost including team seats for large teams