Vercel and Hetzner sell different layers. Vercel provides a managed application platform optimized around framework deployment. Hetzner Cloud provides virtual machines and infrastructure controls. The decision is whether your team should buy the operating layer or own it.
Use the same reliability target
A low-cost Hetzner server can be a strong fit for a stable Next.js workload, especially where included transfer and European locations align with requirements. One server is not equivalent to Vercel’s managed scaling and deployment system. Add standby capacity, load balancing, shared cache, backups, observability, and tested recovery when the service objective requires them.
Price the work that moves to your team
On Hetzner, someone must patch the operating system and Node.js, secure SSH, maintain the reverse proxy, renew TLS, monitor resources, validate releases, and respond to failures. Automation can reduce that work, but it must still be built, reviewed, and recovered.
Vercel remains stronger when deployment speed and managed elasticity dominate. Hetzner becomes stronger when infrastructure control, location, fixed resources, and operator competence are deliberate advantages.