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AWS Lambda vs Zeit Now: What are the differences?
Key Differences between AWS Lambda and Zeit Now
AWS Lambda and Zeit Now are two popular serverless computing platforms that provide developers with the ability to deploy and run applications without the need to manage underlying infrastructure. While both platforms offer similar functionality, there are key differences that set them apart.
Pricing Model: One major difference between AWS Lambda and Zeit Now is their pricing model. AWS Lambda bills users based on the number of requests and the duration of computing time, whereas Zeit Now offers different pricing plans based on the number of projects, users, and deployment sizes. This difference in pricing models allows developers to choose the option that best suits their specific usage patterns and requirements.
Ecosystem and Integrations: AWS Lambda is part of the larger Amazon Web Services (AWS) ecosystem, which means it integrates seamlessly with other AWS services such as Amazon S3, DynamoDB, and SNS. On the other hand, Zeit Now has its own ecosystem and integrations, with features like automatic SSL provisioning and continuous deployment from Git repositories. The choice between AWS Lambda and Zeit Now may depend on the specific services and integrations a developer requires for their application.
Programming Languages: AWS Lambda supports a wide range of programming languages, including Node.js, Python, Java, and C#. In contrast, Zeit Now primarily focuses on supporting modern JavaScript frameworks like Next.js and Node.js. Developers with a preference for a specific programming language may choose AWS Lambda if their desired language is not fully supported by Zeit Now.
Scalability and Performance: Both AWS Lambda and Zeit Now offer high scalability and performance, allowing applications to automatically scale up or down based on demand. However, AWS Lambda provides more granular control over performance by allowing developers to configure memory allocation and execution time limits for individual functions. This level of control may be beneficial for applications requiring fine-tuned performance optimization.
Managed Infrastructure: One of the key advantages of serverless platforms like AWS Lambda and Zeit Now is the elimination of infrastructure management. AWS Lambda takes care of provisioning, scaling, and managing the servers on which the functions run, while Zeit Now handles the deployment and scaling of applications. The choice between the two may come down to the level of control and granularity a developer needs in managing the underlying infrastructure.
Vendor Lock-in: When comparing AWS Lambda and Zeit Now, it's important to consider vendor lock-in. AWS Lambda is a part of the larger AWS ecosystem, which means developers may become more tightly tied to the AWS platform when using Lambda. On the other hand, Zeit Now is designed to be more agnostic and can be used with various other cloud providers. This flexibility can be advantageous for developers who want to avoid vendor lock-in and have the freedom to switch cloud providers in the future.
In summary, AWS Lambda and Zeit Now differ in their pricing models, ecosystem and integrations, supported programming languages, scalability and performance options, level of managed infrastructure, and vendor lock-in considerations. The choice between the two depends on the specific requirements and preferences of the developer or organization.
When adding a new feature to Checkly rearchitecting some older piece, I tend to pick Heroku for rolling it out. But not always, because sometimes I pick AWS Lambda . The short story:
- Developer Experience trumps everything.
- AWS Lambda is cheap. Up to a limit though. This impact not only your wallet.
- If you need geographic spread, AWS is lonely at the top.
Recently, I was doing a brainstorm at a startup here in Berlin on the future of their infrastructure. They were ready to move on from their initial, almost 100% Ec2 + Chef based setup. Everything was on the table. But we crossed out a lot quite quickly:
- Pure, uncut, self hosted Kubernetes — way too much complexity
- Managed Kubernetes in various flavors — still too much complexity
- Zeit — Maybe, but no Docker support
- Elastic Beanstalk — Maybe, bit old but does the job
- Heroku
- Lambda
It became clear a mix of PaaS and FaaS was the way to go. What a surprise! That is exactly what I use for Checkly! But when do you pick which model?
I chopped that question up into the following categories:
- Developer Experience / DX 🤓
- Ops Experience / OX 🐂 (?)
- Cost 💵
- Lock in 🔐
Read the full post linked below for all details
Pros of AWS Lambda
- No infrastructure129
- Cheap83
- Quick70
- Stateless59
- No deploy, no server, great sleep47
- AWS Lambda went down taking many sites with it12
- Event Driven Governance6
- Extensive API6
- Auto scale and cost effective6
- Easy to deploy6
- VPC Support5
- Integrated with various AWS services3
Pros of Vercel
- Simple deployment23
- Free tier17
- Free SSL13
- Simple setup12
- Easy custom domain setup8
- Build and deploy via git push4
- One tap build4
- SSR3
- Student1
- SSG1
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Cons of AWS Lambda
- Cant execute ruby or go7
- Compute time limited3
- Can't execute PHP w/o significant effort1
Cons of Vercel
- Pricing Unclear1
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