Build Apps vs Deploy Apps
| Feature | Fabricate | Vercel | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
AI App Generation Fabricate builds complete apps from descriptions | v0 (separate) | Fabricate | |
Deployment Vercel has world-class deployment infrastructure | Vercel | ||
Database Included Fabricate includes database, Vercel is add-on | Add-on | Fabricate | |
Authentication Built-in auth vs third-party integration | Add-on | Fabricate | |
Edge Functions Vercel has excellent edge function support | Vercel | ||
Preview Deployments Both offer preview deployments | Tie | ||
Custom Domains Both support custom domains | Tie | ||
Learning Curve Fabricate needs no coding knowledge | None | Requires coding | Fabricate |
Vercel has become synonymous with modern frontend deployment. As the creators of Next.js, they have built a deployment platform that makes shipping web applications nearly frictionless -- for developers who have code to deploy. Git push, preview URL, production deployment. Their developer experience is unmatched for teams that write their own code and need reliable, fast hosting with edge computing capabilities.
Fabricate addresses the step that comes before deployment: actually building the application. For someone who has an idea but no codebase, Vercel offers nothing -- you cannot deploy code that does not exist. Fabricate generates the complete application from a natural language description, deploys it to Cloudflare's edge network, and gives you a live URL. The entire journey from idea to deployed application happens within a single platform.
The tooling overlap is small but worth noting. Vercel offers v0, their AI component generator, as a separate product. v0 generates individual React components using shadcn/ui and Tailwind CSS, which developers then integrate into their Next.js projects and deploy on Vercel. Fabricate generates the complete application -- frontend, backend, database, authentication -- and deploys it automatically. The scope difference is significant: components versus complete software.
For technical teams that write code, Vercel's deployment features are difficult to beat. Automatic preview deployments for every pull request, serverless and edge functions, image optimization, analytics, and seamless integration with Git workflows create a development experience that mature engineering teams rely on daily. These features assume you have a development team producing code that needs deployment infrastructure.
The economic comparison depends entirely on the starting point. A developer deploying an existing Next.js application will find Vercel's $20/month Pro plan excellent value for world-class hosting. A non-developer who needs a complete application will find Fabricate's pricing a fraction of what it would cost to hire a developer, build the application, and then pay for Vercel hosting. The tools solve different problems at different points in the software lifecycle.
Which tool is best for your specific use case?
Fabricate is the only option. Vercel requires existing code to deploy -- it cannot help someone who does not have an application built. Fabricate generates the complete application from a description, including database, authentication, and hosting. The founder gets a live product URL without writing any code or managing any infrastructure.
Vercel is the clear winner for teams with existing Next.js codebases. Its deployment pipeline, preview URLs, edge functions, and Next.js-specific optimizations provide the best hosting experience for this specific framework. Fabricate is not designed to host externally built Next.js applications.
Fabricate is significantly faster for MVPs because it handles both building and deployment. Describe the product, iterate through conversation, and deploy -- all within minutes. Using Vercel, someone would first need to build the application (using Cursor, Copilot, or manual coding), then configure deployment. Fabricate compresses the entire pipeline into a single step.
Vercel excels for enterprise deployments with established development workflows. Git-based deployments, branch previews, rollback capabilities, and team collaboration features integrate with engineering team processes. Fabricate is designed for generating new applications, not for managing enterprise deployment pipelines.
This is a tie that depends on the agency. A technical agency with developers who build custom sites will prefer Vercel's deployment tooling. A non-technical agency or one that wants to deliver sites faster could use Fabricate to generate complete applications and deliver to clients in hours instead of weeks. Both approaches have strong business cases.
| Metric | Fabricate | Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Time from Idea to Deploy | Under 10 minutes | Requires existing code |
| Coding Required | None | Full application codebase |
| Database Included | Built-in (D1) | Add-on (Vercel Postgres/KV) |
| Auth System | Built-in (Clerk) | Third-party integration |
| Edge Performance | Cloudflare global network | Vercel Edge Network |
| Preview Deployments | Built-in previews | Automatic per-branch previews |
Vercel is a deployment platform with usage-based pricing. Fabricate includes both building and hosting. If you need to build an app from scratch, Fabricate is more cost-effective.
Fabricate generates and deploys the complete knowledge base: React frontend with rich text editor, document organization, and search interface, plus a D1 database for articles, departments, and version history, Clerk authentication with department-based roles, and automatic deployment to Cloudflare. With Vercel, a development team would first need to build this entire application -- likely taking weeks -- and then deploy it to Vercel's platform. Vercel handles the deployment excellently, but the application must already exist.
Build a team knowledge base where employees can create, organize, and search documentation with rich text editing. Include department-based access control, version history for articles, and a search system that finds relevant documentation quickly.
“I love Vercel for deploying my team's code, but when a non-technical colleague needed a customer portal, Fabricate built and deployed it before I could have set up the project boilerplate.”
Ryan M.
Lead Frontend Engineer
They serve different purposes. Fabricate builds and hosts applications. Vercel is purely a hosting/deployment platform for existing code. Use Fabricate to build apps, Vercel to deploy code you've written.
Yes. Fabricate generates standard code that can be exported and deployed to Vercel if desired.
No. Fabricate has its own deployment infrastructure built on Cloudflare, which offers excellent global performance.
Vercel created Next.js and offers the best Next.js hosting. Fabricate generates React apps and handles deployment automatically.
No. Fabricate is all-in-one: it builds, hosts, and deploys your applications. You only need Vercel if you want to host code you wrote yourself.
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