DocsStorefrontCatalystDeployment

Choosing a hosting platform

This page compares the two hosting platforms BigCommerce documents and tests for Catalyst: Native Hosting, BigCommerce’s own hosting service built on Cloudflare, and Vercel, a third-party Next.js hosting platform. Both run the same Catalyst project built with the same tooling. The difference is where your storefront runs, how you operate it, and how you’re billed.

The Catalyst CLI is generally available, but Native Hosting is currently in closed beta. There may be breaking changes to the Native Hosting APIs as we finalize them. To express interest in gaining access, fill out the Native Hosting Closed Beta Interest Form.

Platform and integration

CapabilityNative HostingVercel
Built and operated by BigCommerce✅ First-party, single platform❌ Third-party vendor
Global edge infrastructure✅ Cloudflare network✅ Vercel network
Managed key-value and object storage❌ Not available✅ Vercel Blob and Marketplace storage integrations
Same Catalyst project and tooling✅ Identical create @bigcommerce/catalyst setup✅ Identical create @bigcommerce/catalyst setup

Deployment and workflow

CapabilityNative HostingVercel
One-command CLI deploy✅ catalyst deploy✅ Supported
Push-to-deploy Git automation⚠️ Through GitHub Actions and the Catalyst CLI✅ Connects to GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket
Per-branch preview URLs⚠️ One preview deployment per project✅ Supported
Local development and production preview✅ Supported✅ Supported
Guided scaffolding and framework upgrades✅ Catalyst CLI✅ Catalyst CLI
CI/CD deploys✅ Supported✅ Supported

Custom domains and SSL

CapabilityNative HostingVercel
Auto-generated hostname on first deploy✅ Supported✅ Supported
Custom domains✅ Supported✅ Supported
Automatic SSL/TLS✅ Supported✅ Supported
Domain ownership verification✅ Supported✅ Supported
Move a domain between projects✅ Supported✅ Supported
Cloudflare Orange-to-Orange (O2O) domains✅ Supported✅ Supported

Performance and caching

CapabilityNative HostingVercel
Global edge delivery✅ Cloudflare network✅ Vercel network
Incremental static regeneration (ISR) and on-demand revalidation✅ Supported✅ Supported
Full-route and tag-based caching✅ Supported✅ Supported
Route caching✅ Dedicated Workers KV namespace for each project✅ Vercel Runtime Cache
Image optimization✅ BigCommerce CDN✅ Built-in image optimizer
Cache Components✅ Supported✅ Supported

Product catalog images are served and optimized through the BigCommerce CDN on both platforms. That comes from Catalyst itself, not the hosting provider.

For details on these Next.js features, see Incremental Static Regeneration, Caching, and use cache in the Next.js documentation.

Monitoring and troubleshooting

CapabilityNative HostingVercel
Live log streaming✅ catalyst logs tail✅ Supported
Historical log search✅ Rolling 7-day window✅ Supported
Performance and usage analytics❌ Not available✅ Analytics and Speed Insights
Monitoring and troubleshooting UI❌ Not available✅ Supported

Configuration

CapabilityNative HostingVercel
Environment variables through the CLI✅ catalyst env add✅ Supported
Dashboard-managed, team-shared environment variables❌ Stored in local project files✅ Managed in the dashboard

Reliability and operations

CapabilityNative HostingVercel
One-click rollback⚠️ Redeploy a previous version from source✅ Supported
Deployment history and activity feed❌ Not available✅ Supported
WAF and DDoS protection✅ Cloudflare✅ Vercel Firewall

Commercial

CapabilityNative HostingVercel
BillingSingle BigCommerce invoiceSeparate Vercel subscription
Vendor relationshipOne vendor (BigCommerce)Additional third-party vendor
SupportBigCommerce supportVercel support tiers
Total cost of ownershipLowerHigher

Recommendations

Choose Native Hosting if you want:

  • A single-vendor stack integrated with BigCommerce, with no separate hosting account, invoice, or vendor relationship.
  • Bundled cost and a lower total cost of ownership.
  • A deployment path built for Catalyst and driven entirely by the Catalyst CLI, with native channel, domain, and storefront management.
  • BigCommerce support across your storefront and hosting.

Native Hosting is the recommended path for new Catalyst storefronts.

Choose Vercel if you need:

  • A hosting option while you wait for Native Hosting closed beta access.
  • A general-purpose hosting platform, or you already host other projects on Vercel.
  • Push-to-deploy Git automation and a preview URL for every branch.
  • Dashboard-managed, team-shared environment variables.
  • One-click rollback and a visual deployment history.
  • Built-in performance and usage analytics.

This comparison reflects current availability. To deploy with Native Hosting, see Native Hosting: Getting Started. To deploy with Vercel, see Deploy to Vercel.