The Cost Structure of Using Nextjs Image
Using Vercel's image optimization can lead to faster load times, improved user experience, and support for modern image formats like WebP. These benefits can be crucial for maintaining a high-performance application.
Using Nextjs image isn't completely free. This post will break down the pricing and help you manage your budget effectively.
Image Optimization Cost
Vercel's image optimization automatically serves optimized images tailored to your visitors' needs. This can significantly enhance your site's performance by reducing load times and supporting modern image formats.
Here's a breakdown of how Vercel charges for image optimization based on different plans:
Hobby Plan
- Cost: Free
- Limit: 1,000 image optimizations per month
- Overage: Exceeding this limit results in runtime errors for new images, but no additional charges.
Pro Plan
- Cost: $20/month (base plan cost)
- Limit: 5,000 image optimizations per month
- Overage: $5 per additional 1,000 optimizations
Fast Data Transfer Cost
Requesting images from your website that are hosted on Vercel to add additional usage to your bandwidth or Fast Data Transfer (FDT).
When a user visits your site, the data transfer between Vercel's Edge Network and them gets measured as Fast Data Transfer (FDT). The data transferred gets measured based on data volume transferred, and can include assets such as your homepage, images, and other static files.
The first 1 TB of data transfer is free. Beyond that, it costs $0.15 per GB.
Caching Benefits: Optimized images are cached on Vercel's Edge Network, reducing costs for frequently accessed images.
Edge Requests Cost
When visiting your site, requests are made to an Edge Network region. Traffic is routed to the nearest region to the visitor. Static assets and functions all incur Edge Requests. Requests to Edge Network regions are not only for Functions using the edge runtime. Edge Requests are for all requests made to your site, including static assets like images and functions.
Example Scenario
Let's say you're on the Pro plan and your application optimizes 6,000 images in a month. Here's how your costs would break down:
Free plan
Image optimization: 5000
FDT -> up to 1TB
Edge Requests: up to 1M
Total Cost: 0$
Pro plan
Base cost: 20$
Image optimization: 5001 -> +5$
FDT -> 10TB + 7GB -> +1.5$
Edge Requests: 10M requests + 1 request -> +2$
Total costs: 28.4$
Final Thoughts
Understanding the cost structure of Vercel's image optimization helps you make informed decisions and optimize your budget. By leveraging Vercel's caching and efficient data transfer, you can maximize the benefits of image optimization while keeping costs under control.
Whether you're on the Hobby, Pro, or Enterprise plan, knowing these details will help you plan effectively and ensure your Next.js application runs smoothly and efficiently.