Stacknaut vs Vercel & Render
This isn't a comparison of similar products — it's a comparison of deployment philosophies. Stacknaut deploys to your own server. Most other starter kits assume you'll use Vercel, Render, or similar managed platforms.
Here's why that choice matters more than you think.
The Approaches
| Stacknaut (Self-Hosted) | Vercel / Render (Managed) | |
|---|---|---|
| You manage | One server (provisioned with Terraform) | Nothing (platform handles it) |
| Deploy with | Kamal 2 (one command, zero-downtime) | Git push (auto-deploy) |
| Server cost | ~$14/month (Hetzner CCX13) | $0–$20/month hobby, $40–$100+ production |
| Scaling | Vertical (bigger server) or add servers | Automatic (with costs) |
| Bandwidth | 20TB included (Hetzner) | Limited (overage charges) |
| Cold starts | None (always running) | Possible (serverless; Vercel Pro mitigates) |
| Control | Full (SSH, logs, config) | Limited (Render offers SSH on paid plans) |
Cost Comparison
This is the most concrete difference. Here's an illustrative comparison for a typical indie SaaS (prices as of early 2026 — check provider sites for current rates):
| Resource | Hetzner (Stacknaut) | Vercel | Render |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compute | ~$14/month (CCX13) | $20/month (Pro, per seat) | $7–$25/month |
| Database | Included (PostgreSQL on same server) | $20+ (external, e.g. Neon, Supabase) | $6+ (managed Postgres) |
| Bandwidth | 20TB included | 1TB then $0.15/GB | Limited |
| SSL | Free (Caddy auto-manages) | Free | Free |
| Total (starting) | ~$14/month | ~$40–$60/month | ~$13–$31/month |
| Total (growing) | ~$14–27/month | $100–$300+/month | $50–$100+/month |
With Hetzner, a single ~$14/month server runs multiple SaaS products. With managed platforms, each service is a separate bill that grows with usage. Over a year, the difference can be hundreds or thousands of dollars — money you could spend on marketing or product development.
What You Give Up with Self-Hosting
Let's be honest about the trade-offs:
Initial setup. You need to provision a server, configure DNS, and set up deployment. With Stacknaut, this is handled by Terraform and Kamal 2 — but you still need to run the commands and understand the basics.
Maintenance. Your server needs occasional updates. Stacknaut uses Docker containers (so the host OS is mostly irrelevant), but you should still monitor disk space, apply security patches, and check logs.
No auto-scaling. If your SaaS goes viral overnight, you'll need to upgrade your server manually. In practice, a single Hetzner server handles far more traffic than most indie SaaS products will ever see.
What You Give Up with Managed Platforms
Cost control. Vercel's free tier is generous, but production usage adds up fast. Bandwidth overages, serverless function limits, and database costs can surprise you.
Vendor lock-in. Your deployment config, edge functions, and caching strategies are platform-specific. Moving from Vercel to another platform means rewriting infrastructure code.
Cold starts. Serverless functions can have startup latency. Vercel Pro offers cold-start mitigation, but it's an additional cost and doesn't eliminate the issue entirely. For a SaaS with real-time features or API endpoints that need consistent response times, an always-running server is simpler.
Multi-project economics. If you're an indie developer running multiple experiments to find product-market fit, each project on Vercel is a separate bill. On Hetzner, one server runs them all.
Full control. You can't SSH into Vercel (Render does offer SSH on paid plans). But even with SSH access, you're still working within platform constraints — you can't customize the reverse proxy, run multiple projects on one server, or tune the OS.
Stacknaut's Infrastructure Stack
Stacknaut doesn't just say "deploy to your server" and leave you to figure it out. It includes:
- Terraform — infrastructure as code for Hetzner (firewall, SSH, DNS)
- Kamal 2 — zero-downtime deployment (by 37signals, the makers of Basecamp)
- Docker — production-ready Dockerfiles for all services
- Caddy — reverse proxy with automatic SSL
- Health checks — built-in endpoint monitoring
One command to provision. One command to deploy. Zero-downtime rolling updates.
When Managed Platforms Make Sense
- You're validating an idea and want zero infrastructure overhead
- Your team doesn't want to touch servers and budget isn't a concern
- You need edge computing and global CDN features
- You're on a Next.js stack and want tight Vercel integration
When Self-Hosting Makes Sense
- Cost matters — you want to spend ~$14/month, not $50–$300
- You want full control — SSH access, custom configs, no platform limits
- You're running multiple projects — one server for all of them
- You want predictable pricing — no surprise bandwidth or compute bills
- You value independence — no vendor lock-in, move anywhere anytime
The Bottom Line
Managed platforms trade money for convenience. Self-hosting trades a small amount of setup time for long-term savings and control. With Stacknaut, the setup time is minimal — Terraform and Kamal 2 handle the hard parts. You get the economics and freedom of your own server without the pain of configuring everything from scratch.
For an indie developer watching every dollar, hosting at ~$14/month instead of $50+/month is the difference between running experiments profitably and bleeding money on infrastructure.