Netlify's Hidden Costs: Why Developers Are Switching to Temps

Netlify's free tier looks generous on paper: 100GB bandwidth, 300 build minutes, unlimited sites. But as your project grows, hidden costs emerge that can rival or exceed more expensive platforms.

This post exposes the real cost of Netlify at scale and explains why developers are switching to alternatives like Temps.

Netlify's Free Tier: What You Actually Get

Resource	Free Limit	Reality Check
Bandwidth	100GB/month	~30K page views for average site
Build minutes	300/month	~60 deploys for typical project
Sites	Unlimited	But each shares your bandwidth pool
Team members	1	Solo only
Form submissions	100/month	Quick to exceed
Serverless functions	125K/month	Reasonable for small apps

For a solo developer with a personal blog, this works. For anything beyond that, limits hit fast.

Hidden Cost #1: Bandwidth Overages

Netlify charges $55 per 100GB after you exceed the free tier.

How 100GB Disappears

A typical Next.js marketing site with images:

Average page weight: 2.5MB
100GB = ~40,000 page views

Hit the front page of Hacker News? Get featured on a popular newsletter? That's your monthly bandwidth in a day.

Real Scenario

A developer's open source project documentation site:

50,000 monthly visitors
3MB average page weight
Monthly bandwidth: 150GB
Overage charge: $27.50

For a documentation site.

Hidden Cost #2: Per-Seat Team Pricing

Netlify Pro requires $19/member/month. This adds up quickly:

Team Size	Annual Cost
2 developers	$456
5 developers	$1,140
10 developers	$2,280
20 developers	$4,560

Every new hire increases your hosting bill. Interns, contractors, and part-time contributors all need seats.

Compared to Temps

Temps has zero per-seat charges. Add unlimited team members without affecting your bill.

Team Size	Netlify Pro	Temps
5 developers	$95/month	$25/month
10 developers	$190/month	$25/month
20 developers	$380/month	$35/month

Hidden Cost #3: Build Minute Constraints

Netlify's free tier includes 300 build minutes. Pro includes 25,000 minutes but with caveats:

How Build Minutes Burn

Average Next.js build: 3-5 minutes
300 minutes = 60-100 deploys
With preview deploys on every PR: ~20 PRs/month max

When You Exceed Limits

Overages on Pro: $7 per 500 minutes

A team with:

10 PRs/week
2 builds per PR (push + merge)
4 minutes per build

Monthly usage: 320 minutes — fine on Pro, but already exceeding free tier.

Hidden Cost #4: Serverless Function Limits

Netlify Functions (serverless) have aggressive limits:

Tier	Invocations	Runtime
Free	125K/month	10 sec max
Pro	2M/month	10 sec max
Business	6M/month	26 sec max

The 10-Second Timeout Problem

Many backend operations exceed 10 seconds:

PDF generation
Image processing
External API calls
Database migrations

Hit the timeout? Your function fails silently.

Compared to Temps

Temps runs containers, not serverless functions:

No timeout limits
Persistent connections
Full Node.js/Python runtime
Predictable performance

Hidden Cost #5: Analytics as an Add-on

Netlify Analytics costs $9/month and:

Only shows last 30 days
Limited breakdown options
No real-time data

What You're Missing Without Analytics

Which pages drive traffic
User geographic distribution
Referral sources
Performance metrics

Temps Includes Analytics

Built-in, privacy-friendly analytics at no extra charge:

Real-time visitor data
Full historical access
Geographic breakdown
Device and browser stats
GDPR compliant by default

Hidden Cost #6: No Error Tracking

Netlify doesn't include error tracking. You need:

Sentry: $26+/month
Bugsnag: $59+/month
LogRocket: $99+/month

Even basic error visibility requires a separate subscription.

Temps Includes Error Tracking

Automatic exception capture
Stack traces with context
Error grouping and trends
Browser and server errors
No additional subscription

The Real Cost Comparison

Scenario: Growing Startup

5 developers, 100K monthly visitors, active development

Item	Netlify Cost	Temps Cost
Platform	$95 (5 Pro seats)	$0
Bandwidth overage	$30	$0
Analytics	$9	$0 (included)
Error tracking	$26 (Sentry)	$0 (included)
Infrastructure	-	$25 (VPS)
Total	$160/month	$25/month
Annual	$1,920	$300

Annual savings: $1,620

Scenario: Medium Company

15 developers, 500K monthly visitors, heavy deployment

Item	Netlify Cost	Temps Cost
Platform	$285 (15 Pro seats)	$0
Bandwidth overage	$165	$0
Build minute overage	$28	$0
Analytics	$9	$0 (included)
Error tracking	$79 (Sentry Team)	$0 (included)
Infrastructure	-	$50 (VPS)
Total	$566/month	$50/month
Annual	$6,792	$600

Annual savings: $6,192

What Developers Are Saying

Common feedback from developers who switched:

"I was paying $200/month for Netlify + Sentry + analytics. Temps covers everything for $30."

"The per-seat pricing killed us. Adding 3 contractors meant $57/month extra."

"Hit 150GB bandwidth during a product launch. $55 surprise overage."

"Build queue times on Netlify got frustrating. Temps builds start instantly."

When Netlify Still Works

To be fair, Netlify isn't wrong for everyone:

Static sites under 100GB: Free tier genuinely works
Solo developers: No per-seat concerns
Netlify Forms heavy users: Built-in forms are convenient
Existing enterprise contracts: Sunk cost consideration

Why Temps Is Different

Feature	Netlify	Temps
Team seats	$19/seat	Unlimited (free)
Bandwidth	$55/100GB	Unlimited
Build minutes	Limited	Unlimited
Analytics	$9/month	Included
Error tracking	Not included	Included
Session replay	Not included	Included
Function timeouts	10-26 seconds	Unlimited
Data ownership	Netlify	You

Migration Takes 30 Minutes

Switching from Netlify to Temps doesn't require code changes:

# 1. Install Temps CLI
curl -fsSL https://temps.sh/deploy.sh | bash

# 2. Login and create project
bunx @temps-sdk/cli login
bunx @temps-sdk/cli projects create -n "My Site" -d "Migrated from Netlify"
bunx @temps-sdk/cli projects git -p my-site --owner myorg --repo my-site --branch main --preset nextjs -y

# 3. Import environment variables
bunx @temps-sdk/cli environments vars import -e production -f .env.production

# 4. Deploy
bunx @temps-sdk/cli deploy my-site -b main -e production -y

# 5. Update DNS when ready
# Point your domain to Temps instead of Netlify

Your site continues running on Netlify during migration. Zero downtime.

What You Get with Temps

Everything Netlify charges extra for, included:

Git Push Deployments

Same workflow you're used to. Push to deploy.

Preview Environments

Every PR gets a preview URL automatically.

Automatic HTTPS

SSL certificates provisioned and renewed automatically.

Built-in Analytics

Privacy-friendly, GDPR-compliant, no setup required.

Error Tracking

Capture exceptions with full context. No Sentry needed.

Unlimited Team Members

Add your whole organization without per-seat charges.

Unlimited Bandwidth

Your traffic is your success, not a cost center.

Start Saving Today

Calculate your potential savings:

Check your current Netlify bill
Count team seats × $19
Add analytics/error tracking subscriptions
Compare to Temps' infrastructure-only cost

Most teams see 70-85% cost reduction.

# Get started in 2 minutes
curl -fsSL https://temps.sh/deploy.sh | bash
bunx @temps-sdk/cli login
bunx @temps-sdk/cli deploy my-app -e production -y

Or connect your repository at temps.sh.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my Netlify site work on Temps?

Yes. Standard static sites and Next.js applications work without code changes. Netlify-specific features (Forms, Identity) need alternatives.

What about Netlify Forms?

Temps doesn't have built-in forms, but integrating Formspree, Basin, or a simple API endpoint takes minutes.

Can I try Temps before migrating?

Absolutely. Deploy a staging environment on Temps while production stays on Netlify. Compare before switching.

What if I need help?

Temps includes migration support. The team has experience migrating hundreds of sites from Netlify.

Pricing comparison based on February 2026 rates. Verify current pricing on platform websites.