# Brume vs Vercel

> Vercel runs Functions, and containers in beta, on a global network, but hosts no database. Brume, an alpha, runs apps and databases on one server you own.

Alpha 0.1 · in progress. This is https://brume.dev/vs/vercel in Markdown, for agents and terminals.

|  | Brume | Vercel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Where it runs | Your own server, one VPS in alpha 0.1 | [Vercel's network: 19 compute regions, 126 PoPs](https://vercel.com/docs/regions) |
| Who holds your data | You: your server and your S3 bucket | [Vercel, mostly on AWS; may go to the US](https://vercel.com/docs/security/compliance) |
| Price | Free. You pay for your VPS and your bucket | [$20/month per deploying seat, plus usage](https://vercel.com/docs/plans/pro-plan) |
| Lock-in | Plain containers, no config file in your repo, a documented bucket format | [vercel.json for builds, routes, crons, regions](https://vercel.com/docs/project-configuration) |
| Databases | PostgreSQL, MongoDB and Redis templates | [None of its own; Marketplace partners like Neon](https://vercel.com/docs/postgres) |
| AI agents | A CLI and a local MCP server. Irreversible actions wait for your approval | [Hosted MCP server with OAuth, on all plans](https://vercel.com/docs/agent-resources/vercel-mcp) |
| Scaling and regions | One server, no autoscaling | [Functions scale to 30,000 concurrency, and to zero](https://vercel.com/docs/functions/limitations) |
| Compliance | No certifications: it runs on infrastructure you pick | [SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA](https://vercel.com/docs/security/compliance) |
| License | Free and open source (FSL-1.1-ALv2, Apache 2.0 after two years) | [Closed platform; Next.js is MIT](https://github.com/vercel/next.js) |
| Maturity | Alpha 0.1, in progress | [Since 2016, first as ZEIT](https://vercel.com/blog/zeit-is-now-vercel) |

Facts checked on November 1, 2026 in each project's official docs. "If the panel is hacked" is our reading of them. Brume is shown in its recommended modes: Cloudflare Tunnel and Tailscale.

## Where Brume is different

- Containers run as plain containers, not as Functions with time limits.
- PostgreSQL, MongoDB and Redis run on your server; Vercel hosts no database.
- Your data and backups stay on your server and your S3 bucket.

## Where Vercel is better today

- 126 PoPs and 19 compute regions put your app near users.
- Functions scale up to 30,000 concurrency, and down to zero.
- Preview URL per pull request, plus ISR, image optimization, Skew Protection.

**Pick Vercel if…** You ship a Next.js or frontend app that needs a global CDN and scale-to-zero.

**Pick Brume if…** Your app needs a database or a long-running container, on a server you own.

## Install

```sh
curl -sSL https://brume.dev/install.sh | bash
```

Needs a fresh Debian or Ubuntu VPS and an S3-compatible bucket. Cloudflare and Tailscale recommended.

## Other comparisons

- [Brume vs Railway](https://brume.dev/vs/railway)
- [Brume vs Render](https://brume.dev/vs/render)
- [Brume vs Fly.io](https://brume.dev/vs/fly)
- [Brume vs Heroku](https://brume.dev/vs/heroku)

---

## More from brume.dev

Every page in Markdown. The whole site in one file: https://brume.dev/llms-full.txt. The index: https://brume.dev/llms.txt

- [Home](https://brume.dev/index.md)
- [Architecture](https://brume.dev/architecture/index.md)
- [Roadmap](https://brume.dev/roadmap/index.md)
- [Compare](https://brume.dev/vs/index.md)
- Brume vs [Coolify](https://brume.dev/vs/coolify/index.md), [Dokploy](https://brume.dev/vs/dokploy/index.md), [CapRover](https://brume.dev/vs/caprover/index.md), [Portainer](https://brume.dev/vs/portainer/index.md), [Kamal](https://brume.dev/vs/kamal/index.md), [Dokku](https://brume.dev/vs/dokku/index.md), [Easypanel](https://brume.dev/vs/easypanel/index.md), [Railway](https://brume.dev/vs/railway/index.md), [Render](https://brume.dev/vs/render/index.md), [Fly.io](https://brume.dev/vs/fly/index.md), [Vercel](https://brume.dev/vs/vercel/index.md), [Heroku](https://brume.dev/vs/heroku/index.md)