You are definitely getting much much more with a free VPS than with netlify. Netlify's value is in being easy, not cheap. If your argument is for being cheap then you will lose that argument all day, every day.
You really need to explain this. Honestly. Actual numbers.
Netlify’s free plan is awesome. You might get more bandwidth with a VPS. But you won’t get a CDN and you won’t get atomic deployments without a bunch of work. You’ll use half your VPS storage on the operating system. You’ll need to keep updating your software and maintaining backups. You’ll spend hours or weeks a year maintaining this thing, versus zero for Netlify.
It’s not just about the cost of bandwidth or storage. You gotta compare like with like.
You can't compare like with like. How will netlify compare with the below?
1. Full server control (install any package)
2. Host any kind of server - Django, Rails, etc. etc.
3. Run database servers: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, etc.
4. Background processes (cron or systemd)
5. Run VPNs and proxy servers for personal use at the same time.
6. Host email servers
7. Multi-purpose usage (Use for remote dev environments, cloud storage, AI/ML platforms, etc.)
Netlify’s free plan is awesome. You might get more bandwidth with a VPS. But you won’t get a CDN and you won’t get atomic deployments without a bunch of work. You’ll use half your VPS storage on the operating system. You’ll need to keep updating your software and maintaining backups. You’ll spend hours or weeks a year maintaining this thing, versus zero for Netlify.
It’s not just about the cost of bandwidth or storage. You gotta compare like with like.