I've been using platforms like Vercel and Netlify for the past two years mainly because they offer a great developer experience. However, I've recently encountered issues with cold starts on my Next.js API routes, which have increased response times to 2-3 seconds. This has really impacted the user experience.
To address this, I decided to compare the performance by deploying the same Docker container on a standard Linux VPS instead. I opted for a VPS from lumadock due to its appealing NVMe specs and avoidance of issues related to shared hosting. Setting it up with Coolify, which mimics Vercel's functionality, took only about 15 minutes. The result was astonishing: API response times dropped to under 200ms consistently, with no cold starts or timeouts for background jobs.
This experience made me ponder whether we're over-engineering simple applications with Serverless. We often pay extra for the convenience of not handling server management, but managing a VPS has become quite manageable with modern tools.
Has anyone else made the switch back to a VPS? Or do you think the maintenance side of Linux is still daunting for many frontend developers?
4 Answers
I switched back to self-hosting on a VPS too! I wasn't just after faster response times, but I also can't stand per-usage billing. I'd rather have a stable monthly cost than risk an unexpected bill when traffic spikes.
Yep, moved back to a VPS about 6 months ago, and I haven't looked back since. The cold starts on Vercel were really frustrating. I found Coolify quite solid, but I've been using servercompass lately – it offers a smoother experience for git pushes with less setup. Managing servers does feel scary to some, but with the right tools, most of the heavy lifting, like SSL and reverse proxy management, is handled. The main hassle is remembering backups, but it's not as tough as it used to be.
I've never left VPS! It always made more sense to me. I have around 20 dedicated machines and VPS setups. Serverless just means you lose control of the server, and sometimes that's not the best option.
It's interesting to see how Serverless can lead devs to underestimate the speed of a VPS. Many forget that a simple VPS setup can be incredibly fast without those frustrating cold starts. We're optimized for these Serverless scenarios that sometimes complicate things.
Totally! We got so used to optimizing for cold starts that it almost feels like we forgot a persistent server could just solve all our problems instantly.
Absolutely! That infinite scale can quickly lead to an infinite bill. Knowing what I'll pay each month is such a relief.