Netlify
Build, deploy and scale modern web projects on the Jamstack.
The verdict
Netlify pioneered the Jamstack movement and remains a top choice for deploying static sites and serverless web applications. It provides continuous deployment from Git, serverless functions, edge functions, built-in forms and identity management, all through an elegantly simple interface.
The full picture
Netlify coined the term Jamstack and built the platform that popularised it: connect a Git repository, let Netlify run the build, and have the result deployed to a global edge network as static assets with serverless functions handling anything dynamic. Founded in 2014, it made continuous deployment for front-end projects something you configure once and then forget about.
The platform is framework-agnostic in a way its closest competitor is not. React, Vue, Svelte, Astro, Hugo, Eleventy, Jekyll and Gatsby all work equally well, and Netlify has no framework of its own to favour. Around the deployments sit a set of genuinely useful services: Netlify Forms for form handling without a backend, Identity for authentication, Edge Functions built on Deno, split testing, and deploy previews on every pull request.
The trade-offs are the same as the category: usage-based billing on bandwidth and build minutes that can escalate, no database, no persistent server and no PHP. For a documentation site, marketing site, blog or front-end application, the free tier is generous and the workflow is excellent.
What you get
- Continuous Git deployment
- Serverless & Edge Functions
- Built-in forms & identity
- Split testing (A/B)
- Instant rollbacks
- Deploy previews per branch
Every hosting type it sells
| Product | From | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Free | Personal projects with 100GB bandwidth and 300 build minutes monthly. |
| Pro | $19/user | Teams with higher limits, password protection and analytics. |
| Enterprise | Custom | SLAs, SSO, dedicated support and compliance controls. |
| Add-on services | Usage | Forms, Identity, Large Media and Analytics billed separately. |
Plans & pricing
- 1 Seat
- 100 GB bandwidth
- 300 build minutes
- 3 Seats
- 400 GB bandwidth
- 1,000 build minutes
- Custom seats
- Priority support
- Custom SLA
What the price actually costs you
- The free Starter tier includes 100GB bandwidth and 300 build minutes per month.
- Pro is per-seat plus usage; bandwidth and build-minute overage is billed.
- Forms, Identity and Analytics are separately priced add-ons.
- Monitor usage on high-traffic sites — bandwidth overage is the usual cost surprise.
Technical specification
| Deployment | Git-push deploys from GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure DevOps |
|---|---|
| Deploy previews | Every pull request gets a unique preview URL with collaboration comments |
| Frameworks | Framework-agnostic — any static site generator or front-end framework |
| Edge network | Global CDN with instant cache invalidation on deploy |
| Functions | Serverless Functions on AWS Lambda plus Edge Functions on Deno |
| Forms | Built-in form handling with spam filtering, no backend required |
| Identity | Authentication service with social login providers |
| Split testing | Branch-based A/B testing at the edge |
| Rollbacks | Atomic deploys with instant rollback to any prior version |
| Support | Community on free, email on Pro, dedicated on Enterprise |
| Uptime SLA | 99.99% on Enterprise plans |
Performance in practice
Very fast for static content, which is most of what it hosts. Atomic deploys mean the whole site version switches at once with instant cache invalidation across the edge, so there is no partial-deploy inconsistency. Serverless function latency depends on cold starts; Edge Functions on Deno start faster and run closer to the user. For a documentation or marketing site, response times are excellent worldwide with no configuration.
Infrastructure & support
Support channels
- Community forum
- Email support (Pro+)
- Priority support (Enterprise)
- GitHub integration
Data centers
- Global CDN (Netlify Edge Network, 100+ PoPs)
Security & compliance
- Automatic HTTPS with managed certificates on all domains and previews
- DDoS mitigation at the edge network level
- Password protection and role-based access on preview deployments
- SAML single sign-on and audit logs on Enterprise plans
- SOC 2 Type 2 compliance and GDPR data processing agreements
- Environment variable encryption with per-context scoping
Moving a site in
Connect a Git repository and deploy. There is no migration service in the traditional sense. Moving a WordPress site here means converting it to a static or headless architecture first, which is a rebuild rather than a migration.
The trade-off
In its favour
- Pioneered Jamstack; huge community
- Excellent DX with instant deploy previews
- Built-in forms, identity and A/B testing
Worth knowing
- Build minutes deplete quickly on busy projects
- Bandwidth add-ons can get expensive
- Limited for traditional server-side applications
Who should look elsewhere
- WordPress, PHP or any server-rendered traditional application
- Applications needing a persistent server or long-running processes
- Sites with very high bandwidth where usage pricing becomes costly
- Teams wanting a bundled database
The company behind it
| Ownership | Privately held, venture backed |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Founded | 2014 by Mathias Biilmann and Chris Bach |
| Scale | Millions of developers and websites deployed |
| Notable | Coined and popularised the Jamstack architecture |
How it got here
- 2014 Founded as BitBalloon, later renamed Netlify.
- 2016 Coins the term Jamstack and defines the category.
- 2018 Launches Netlify Functions, bringing serverless to the platform.
- 2021 Introduces Edge Functions built on Deno.
- 2023 Acquires Gatsby, consolidating Jamstack tooling.
Common questions
What is Jamstack?
Jamstack is an architecture combining pre-built static markup with JavaScript and APIs for dynamic features, served directly from a CDN.
Does Netlify support PHP?
Netlify does not natively run PHP; it is designed for static sites and JavaScript serverless functions.
The bottom line
The most framework-neutral of the modern front-end platforms and an excellent home for documentation, marketing sites and Jamstack applications. Generous free tier, superb deploy workflow, and no framework agenda. Not a web host in the traditional sense at all.