Head-to-head
Vercel vs Netlify
In short
Vercel verifies bots by IP, reverse DNS and Web Bot Auth; Netlify's AI bot control is a User Agent Blocker extension that matches strings only and can be active on one project at a time. On verifies agents the rubric grades Vercel yes and Netlify not published, and on per-purpose policy the rubric grades Vercel yes and Netlify partial.
The sourced difference
Vercel verifies bots by IP, reverse DNS and Web Bot Auth; Netlify's AI bot control is a User Agent Blocker extension that matches strings only and can be active on one project at a time. Source, read 2026-11-04.
Side by side
| Question | Vercel | Netlify |
|---|---|---|
| Tells a verified agent from a spoof | Yes IP, reverse DNS and Web Bot Auth; directory at bots.fyi |
Not published support (checked 2026-11-04): blocking matches user-agent strings only |
| Per-purpose policy (train, search, answer, act) | Yes AI crawlers and AI assistants handled separately since 2026-10-29 |
Partial choose AI crawlers versus SEO or search crawlers from a preset list |
| Charging for access | Not published support (checked 2026-11-04) |
Not published support (checked 2026-11-04) |
| Lets signed commerce agents through | Not published Visa TAP or Mastercard Agent Pay support (checked 2026-11-04) |
Not published support (checked 2026-11-04) |
| Cost | published: Basic free; Deep Analysis USD 1 per 1,000 checks on Pro | published: platform plans from USD 0; extension price not stated |
| Reporting | Yes Firewall tab BotID filter and Observability Plus metrics |
Not published no AI bot reporting found (checked 2026-11-04) |
| Where it runs | both: managed rulesets at Vercel's edge firewall; BotID verdict read in server code via checkBotId() | edge: Netlify Edge Function and edge firewall rules |
| Points, rank | 6 of 10, rank 6 (tied) | 1 of 10, rank 15 |
| Price read 2026-11-04 | BotID Basic free on all plans; Deep Analysis USD 1 per 1,000 checkBotId() calls on Pro, custom on Enterprise; AI Bots managed ruleset on all plans. | Free USD 0 (300 credits), Personal USD 9/month (1,000 credits), Pro USD 20/month (3,000 credits), Enterprise custom; Firewall Traffic Rules and basic rate limiting listed from Free; User Agent Blocker price not stated. |
Verdicts by reader
- Platform engineer
- Netlify needs an Edge Function or extension; Vercel has a managed ruleset.
- Security engineer
- Netlify cannot tell a spoofed GPTBot from a real one; Vercel can.
- Publisher operations
- Both are free to start; Vercel separates crawlers from assistants.
What each does not do
Vercel
- No charging or pay-per-crawl for AI crawlers (BotID and firewall docs read 2026-11-04).
- BotID Deep Analysis is not on the Hobby plan; it is listed for Pro and Enterprise only (BotID pricing table).
- BotID does not inspect passive page views; it only runs where the app calls checkBotId() (BotID docs).
Netlify
- No verified-bot list, reverse DNS or Web Bot Auth checks; user agents can be spoofed (block AI crawlers docs).
- Preset list is incomplete by Netlify's own statement (block AI crawlers docs, 2026-09-18).
- No AI crawler monetization (docs read 2026-11-04).
More: alternatives to Vercel, alternatives to Netlify.
Sources
Last reviewed 2026-11-04