Vercel is excellent. This isn't a hit piece. But when your use case is "deploy this Claude Code app so only my @company.com coworkers can open it," Vercel and Workshop are priced and designed for completely different problems.
The core difference
Vercel is designed for public-facing web apps. Every deployment is public by default. It's optimized for DX, global CDN performance, and iterating fast on apps people browse from the internet.
Workshop is designed for internal company apps — the tools you build with Claude Code or Cursor that should only work for people with your company email. Private by default. Company-gating is the product, not a feature add-on.
Side-by-side
| Vercel | Workshop | |
|---|---|---|
| Default access | Public | Company-gated (your choice) |
| Company email gating | Enterprise plan, ~$320/month add-on | Included on Solo, $19/month |
| Runtimes | Next.js best-in-class | Next.js, Python, Node, static HTML |
| Scheduled jobs | Cron on Pro/Enterprise | Included on all plans |
| IC-friendly pricing | Enterprise for private apps | $19/month, personal card |
| CLI deploy | vercel | workshop deploy |
The SSO pricing reality
If you want to gate a Vercel deployment behind company SSO so only @yourcompany.com can access it:
- Vercel Pro: $20/user/month
- Vercel Advanced Security (includes SSO): $150/month add-on
- Vercel Enterprise: typically $400–800/month
That's the cost for one internal tool. Workshop Solo: $19/month, unlimited viewers from one company domain, all 5 apps.
When to use Vercel
Vercel is the right choice when you're building a public-facing website or app, you're a Next.js shop wanting the deepest framework integration, or you need custom domains and preview deployments for production traffic.
When to use Workshop
Workshop is the right choice when you built something with Claude Code or Cursor, you need @yourcompany.com-only access, you want the whole thing to take 30 seconds, or you need scheduled jobs without a separate cron server.
The honest summary
Vercel is the gold standard for public app deployment. For internal company tools, it's the wrong default — you're paying enterprise prices for a feature Workshop includes at $19/month.
Use Vercel for your public product. Use Workshop for the tools your team uses internally.