Overview
Vercel Workflows is Vercel's managed durable execution service, built on the open-source Workflow SDK for JavaScript and TypeScript and on workflow support in the vercel Python SDK. You write async functions marked with 'use workflow', and the functions they call marked with 'use step'; each step's result is recorded, failed steps retry, and runs can sleep or wait on hooks for minutes to months and resume after crashes or deployments through deterministic replay.
Pricing counts events, data written and data retained. Each state transition is an event, so a plain step is three events, and Hobby includes 50,000 events and 1 GB written per month. On Pro, events cost $0.02 per thousand plus storage; compute for the functions and the Vercel Queues that dispatch steps are billed separately.
Runs are pinned to the Vercel Function region where they start (or one you choose), with limits such as 10,000 steps and 25,000 events per run, 50 MB payloads and no maximum run or sleep duration. Run state is kept 1 day after completion on Hobby, 7 days on Pro and 30 on Enterprise.
Pricing and plans
Free tier · no card
Vercel Hobby: 50,000 workflow events and 1 GB of data written a month; run state kept 1 day after completion
At the limit Not stated The vendor does not say what happens at the limit, or we have not found it yet.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby included | $0 | 50,000 events/month, 1 GB data written, 1-day retention |
| Pro on demand | $0.02 per 1K events | Data written $0.50/GB, data retained $0.50/GB-month, 7-day retention |
| Enterprise | Custom | 30-day retention |
What it does
- Directive-based workflows
- 'use workflow' and 'use step' turn ordinary async functions into durable workflows and steps.
- Sleep and hooks
- Pause for minutes to months or wait for external events, with no maximum run duration.
- Streams
- Stream data in and out of workflows with managed persistence.
- Multi-region
- Runs are pinned to the starting region or an explicit region to avoid cross-region round trips.
- Observability
- Runs, traces and step timing in the Vercel dashboard.
- Skew protection
- Workflows are protected from version skew across deployments.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- No separate service for apps already on Vercel
- Free allowance on the Hobby plan
- Unlimited run and sleep duration
- Python as well as TypeScript support
Limitations
- Each step costs at least three events, and retries add more
- Compute and Vercel Queues usage are billed on top of events
- Completed run state kept only 1 day on Hobby and 7 days on Pro
- Managed service runs only on Vercel
Who it suits
Good for
- Next.js apps on Vercel needing background jobs and AI agent runs
- Human-in-the-loop flows with long waits
Look elsewhere if
- Apps hosted outside Vercel
- Teams needing long retention of run history
Alternatives to Vercel Workflows
| Tool | From | Free option | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graphile Worker PostgreSQL job queue for Node.js | — | ||
| Celery Distributed task queue for Python | — | ||
| River Postgres-backed job queue for Go | $125/mo | ||
| Trigger.dev Durable background tasks platform (TypeScript) | $10/mo | Free tier | |
| Inngest Durable execution and event-driven workflow platform | $99/mo | Free tier | |
| Solid Queue Database-backed Active Job backend for Rails | — |
Questions
Is Vercel Workflows free?
Vercel Hobby includes 50,000 workflow events and 1 GB of data written a month.
How is Vercel Workflows priced?
$0.02 per 1,000 events, $0.50 per GB written and $0.50 per GB-month retained, plus normal Functions compute and Queues usage.
How many events does a step use?
A normal step produces three events (created, started, completed), plus one per retry.
Can I use the Workflow SDK outside Vercel?
The Workflow SDK is open source; the managed Vercel Workflows service runs on Vercel.
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