Honest comparison — trade-offs included

Looking for a Netlify alternative?

Netlify charges per team member plus usage — bandwidth and build minutes included until they aren’t. G7Cloud deploys the same git workflow into a dedicated container at a fixed £/mo, with the database included.

Free plan forever · no card · 30-day money-back on paid plans

First, credit where it's due

Who Netlify are

Netlify popularised the modern git-based deployment workflow and the term "Jamstack": push to a branch, get an atomic deploy on a global CDN, with deploy previews, serverless functions, forms and identity built in. Its free tier launched a generation of static sites, and paid plans are priced per team member with usage allowances for bandwidth and build minutes. It remains a benchmark for frontend deployment ergonomics.

So this page is not a hatchet job. It's a straight look at where the Netlify model costs you money or ownership, where G7Cloud's fixed-price, own-your-code model works better — and, further down, where Netlify is still the better fit.

The case for switching

Why people leave Netlify for G7Cloud

Model differences, not marketing differences. Every claim below is about how the two platforms actually work and bill.

Seats and usage make bills unpredictable

Netlify’s paid plans charge per team member, with allowances for bandwidth and build minutes that carry overage charges when exceeded. G7Cloud plans are flat GBP — no seats, no metered bandwidth, no build-minute maths. Your invoice is the plan price, every month.

Your app gets a real backend

Netlify’s model is static assets plus functions. G7Cloud runs your app as a persistent Node (18/20/22) or framework server in a dedicated container — WebSockets, background work, cron jobs and an in-browser terminal all behave like a normal server, and managed PostgreSQL and Redis are included from Business.

The git workflow you already use

Push-to-deploy from GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket, live build logs, rollback via redeploy, deploy webhooks, environment variables — and PR preview environments on Pro. The deployment ergonomics that made Netlify popular are the baseline here, not the premium.

One platform for the whole business

The marketing site, the app, the client’s WordPress site, the mailboxes and the DNS can all live on one G7Cloud plan. Netlify does frontends; everything else is another provider and another bill.

Static sites too — without the meter

Astro, Vite, plain static builds: all supported as first-class app types. A static site on G7Cloud sits behind ScaleShield with free SSL and no bandwidth metering.

The honest bit

Where Netlify is still the better fit

No platform wins everything. If the points below describe you, Netlify may genuinely serve you better — and we'd rather tell you now than after a migration.

The global CDN

Netlify serves static assets from edge nodes worldwide; G7Cloud serves from UK infrastructure. For UK/European audiences the difference is modest; for a globally spread audience, Netlify’s CDN will be faster far from the UK. That trade-off is real and you should weigh it.

Serverless functions and the Jamstack toolbelt

Netlify Functions, Edge Functions, Forms, Identity and the integrations ecosystem do not have one-for-one equivalents here — your app runs as a server, which solves many of the same problems differently. If your architecture is deeply function-based, porting takes thought.

A very generous free tier

Netlify’s free tier is famously good for personal projects. G7Cloud’s Free plan is builder-only; hosting a git-deployed app starts at £9/mo. For a hobby site with tiny traffic, Netlify free may simply be the right answer.

G7Cloud vs Netlify, side by side

Model-level comparison — how each platform is built and billed.

Feature
G7Cloud
Netlify
Pricing model
Flat £/mo — no seats, no metered bandwidth
Per team member + usage allowances with overages
Runtime
Persistent container — full server runtime
Static CDN + serverless functions
Global CDN
No — UK infrastructure, ScaleShield edge
Yes
PR / deploy previews
PR preview environments on Pro
Deploy previews included
Database & Redis
Managed Postgres 15 + Redis 7 included (Business+)
Not included — external providers
WebSockets / cron
Native in your container, cron jobs included
Constrained by function model
Also hosts
WordPress, PHP, Ghost, email, DNS — one platform
Frontends only
Bill after a viral day
Unchanged
Bandwidth overage charges

Netlify’s paid plans are priced per team member with usage allowances for bandwidth and build minutes (overage charged), as of July 2026. G7Cloud plans are flat GBP with no usage billing.

Real prices, one ladder

What switching actually costs

Fixed GBP prices. No usage billing, no per-seat fees, no renewal increases. Every plan includes the AI Website Builder, free SSL and ScaleShield protection.

Recommended for ex-Netlify users

Pro

For freelancers and power users — 10 sites, highest AI allowance.

£39/moor £31.17/mo billed annually — save 20%
  • 10 hosted sites
  • Dedicated MySQL database per site (included)
  • AI Website Builder — 20 projects, publish 10
  • 500K AI tokens per day
  • Git deploys with PR preview environments
  • WireGuard private networking
  • Priority support
  • Everything in Business included

Moving from Netlify

We move you. Free. You approve every step.

Connect your repo, pick your framework preset (Next.js, Astro, Vite, SvelteKit and 10 more), and your site builds with live logs and previews on yourapp.apps.g7cloud.com. Our team helps you move environment variables, forms handling and DNS, free — your Netlify site stays live until you cut over.

  • Assisted by our team — we do it with you, not to you
  • Preview everything on a temporary URL before anything switches
  • Your old site stays live until you approve the cutover
  • 30-day money-back guarantee if it does not work out

Netlify alternative — questions answered

Free plan forever — no credit card

Start free — no card

Build a real, database-backed site with the AI Website Builder on the Free plan, or host your existing site on managed UK infrastructure from £9/mo. Fixed prices, and you own the code.

No card needed on the Free plan
30-day money-back on paid plans
Fixed GBP pricing — no usage bills