when your serverless computing bill goes parabolic...

Summary

In 2024, a human artist's website, Cara, becomes a beacon of hope against AI, attracting over 500,000 users. However, the dream turns into a nightmare with a shocking serverless functions bill from Vercel, costing $96,000 and rising. The video explores the reality of serverless costs, Vercel's business model, and the importance of understanding pricing scales. It also suggests tools like SST and Coolify for managing infrastructure and offers advice on avoiding serverless surprises, highlighting the developer's dilemma of monetization or potential homelessness.

Takeaways

• 💸 The video discusses a scenario where a website's serverless hosting bill reaches a staggering $96,000, highlighting the potential cost explosion with serverless architecture if not managed carefully.
• 🎨 The story revolves around a human artist who creates a free website and social network to combat AI diffusion models, emphasizing the human aspect of creativity in the face of AI advancements.
• 🚀 The app mentioned becomes a 'Beacon of Hope' for over 500,000 users, illustrating the rapid growth that can be achieved with a successful app, but also the potential financial pitfalls.
• 📈 The video explains that serverless functions scale automatically, which can lead to unexpected costs if not monitored, as seen with the Versell bill example.
• 🤔 It raises the question of fairness in serverless pricing, suggesting that the costs can be confusing and potentially exploitative, especially for unsuspecting users.
• 🛠️ The video provides insight into Versell's business model, which acts as a proxy for AWS and Cloudflare, optimized for the Next.js framework, and how it charges more than what AWS charges them.
• 💡 The script mentions the importance of setting budget limits to avoid unexpected costs when using serverless platforms, a critical lesson for developers.
• 📊 The video discusses the 'free hobby tier' as a marketing strategy, which can lead to significant costs if a project unexpectedly goes viral, a common practice in cloud services.
• 📈 It mentions the case of Netfi, another serverless provider, where a user received a massive bill due to a DDOS attack, and how the company eventually waived the bill after public outcry.
• 📚 The developer's background as a photographer and ongoing lawsuit against AI companies for copyright infringement adds a personal dimension to the story, showing the real-world implications of AI on creative industries.
• 🛑 The video suggests having a self-hosted backup plan and the importance of understanding the scaling and pricing of serverless platforms to avoid financial disaster.
• 🔧 It recommends tools like SST and Coolify as alternatives or aids for managing serverless infrastructure more effectively, providing practical solutions for developers.

Q & A

What is the main issue faced by the developer of Cara in the script?

The main issue faced by the developer of Cara is an unexpectedly high serverless functions bill from Vercel, which is growing rapidly and causing financial strain.

What does the script suggest about the nature of serverless computing?

The script suggests that serverless computing is not truly 'serverless' but rather a server that scales automatically, and it can lead to surprising costs if not managed properly.

What is Vercel's business model according to the script?

Vercel's business model involves selling a developer experience by acting as a proxy for AWS and Cloudflare, optimized for the Next.js framework, and charging customers more than what AWS charges them.

How does the script describe Vercel's pricing strategy?

The script describes Vercel's pricing strategy as confusing to customers, following 'The Art of War' to keep customers from understanding their real intent, which includes a free hobby tier to attract users.

What is the script's view on the free tier offered by developer products?

The script views the free tier as a way to attract customers, but it also warns that it can be expensive and confusing, potentially leading to customers falling into a trap of high costs when their apps go viral.

What incident is mentioned in the script regarding Netfi's serverless billing?

The script mentions an incident where a user received a $100,000 bill from Netfi due to a DDOS attack. The company initially offered to split the bill but eventually waived it after the incident went viral.

What advice does the script give to developers working with serverless platforms?

The script advises developers to set budget limits to prevent unexpected costs, to have a self-hosted backup plan, and to understand how their pricing scales to avoid financial nightmares.

Who is the developer of Cara mentioned in the script?

The developer of Cara is Jingna Zhang, a well-established photographer from Singapore who is also involved in a lawsuit against AI companies for copyright infringement.

What is the script's opinion on Vercel's product offering?

The script suggests that Vercel offers a great product, potentially the best in its category west of the Mississippi, but emphasizes the importance of developers being aware of their pricing scales.

What tools are mentioned in the script that can help developers manage serverless costs?

The script mentions SST as a tool that can help developers skip low-level details and go straight to higher-level infrastructure management, and Coolify, an open-source tool for hosting a private Vercel.

What is the personal confession of the script's narrator regarding serverless computing?

The narrator confesses to being addicted to serverless computing, having transitioned from casual use to full dependency on serverless infrastructure for their entire setup.