Launchmatic: a Vercel alternative for AI-built apps
Vercel is the best frontend cloud in the business. If your app is Next.js and mostly static or edge-rendered, their DX, preview deployments, and CDN are genuinely hard to beat — and v0, their AI app builder, publishes to it in one click.
When to stay on Vercel
Stay on Vercel if your app is a frontend: a marketing site, a Next.js app with light API routes, or anything that fits comfortably in serverless functions. Vercel's edge network, image optimization, and framework-aware builds are the product of a decade of focus, and the Hobby tier is generous for personal frontends. Migrating a purely static site to a container platform buys you nothing.
When to switch to Launchmatic
- Your AI tool generated a real backend — a FastAPI server, an Express API with WebSockets, a background worker — and you're fighting serverless execution limits to make it fit.
- You need a database and don't want to assemble it from marketplace add-ons; Launchmatic provisions managed Postgres with one command.
- Your usage-based bill surprised you: function invocations, image transformations, and bandwidth are metered separately and spike with traffic.
- You want WebSockets or long-lived connections without an external service.
- Your stack isn't in Vercel's framework list — agents love handing you Hono + Bun or Django, which containers run natively.
Vercel vs Launchmatic
| Vercel | Launchmatic | |
|---|---|---|
| Compute model | Serverless functions with execution time limits | Long-running containers, no time limits |
| Backends & workers | Serverless-shaped only; background jobs need external services | Any server, worker, or cron — it's just a process |
| WebSockets | Not supported in serverless functions | Native — it's your server, keep the socket open |
| Database | Marketplace add-ons (Neon, Supabase, etc.), billed separately | Managed Postgres included, lm db create |
| Pricing model | Per-seat plus usage meters (invocations, bandwidth, images) | Flat per service; free tier forever |
| Framework support | First-class for Next.js and the frameworks they list | Nixpacks auto-detects 30+ runtimes; anything else via Dockerfile |
| Preview deploys | Excellent, automatic per PR | Per-branch previews on Pro |
| AI agent integration | v0 publishes to Vercel; no MCP server | Remote MCP server — agents deploy via tool calls |
Pricing, honestly
Vercel charges per seat plus separate usage meters — function invocations, edge requests, bandwidth, image optimizations — which is efficient at tiny scale and hard to predict past it. Launchmatic charges a flat rate per running service with a free tier that doesn't expire, so the bill moves only when you add services, not when your traffic does.
Migrating from Vercel
- 1Your code needs zero changes — Launchmatic runs the same repo as a container instead of splitting it into functions.
- 2Install the CLI:
npm i -g @launchmatic/cli, thenlm login. - 3From the repo root:
lm init— Next.js is auto-detected (standalone output is handled for you). - 4Recreate your env vars:
lm env set KEY=valuefor each (or paste them in the dashboard). - 5If you used Vercel Postgres/Neon, create a database with
lm db create app-db --service <serviceId>and run your migrations against the injectedDATABASE_URL. - 6Deploy with
lm deploy, verify the preview URL, then point your domain at Launchmatic — SSL issues automatically.
FAQ
Is Launchmatic a drop-in Vercel alternative for Next.js?+
For most Next.js apps, yes — Nixpacks detects Next.js and builds a standalone server automatically. Edge-middleware-heavy apps and ISR-at-the-edge setups are the exception; those lean on Vercel-specific infrastructure.
Do I lose preview deployments by leaving Vercel?+
No — Launchmatic Pro creates per-branch preview deploys through the GitHub integration, each with its own URL.
Can I keep my domain and SSL when I migrate?+
Yes. Add the domain to your Launchmatic service, update the DNS record it shows you, and a certificate is provisioned automatically via Let's Encrypt. Zero-downtime cutover: deploy first, verify on the preview URL, then flip DNS.
Try the migration
Free to start, no credit card — deploy next to your Vercel setup and compare before you switch anything over.