I think that if you plan on making websites that aren't just SPAs, NextJS is perfect. I started using Next just over a year ago and the improvements they have been since have been amazing.
About Vercel;
Although they make it easy, you don't actually need to use Vercel if you don't want to. Their pricing is extremely generous for smaller projects, even if you need to upgrade to their Pro plan. It is only when you start exceeding the limits imposed on the Pro plan does it start to make sense to look else where for hosting. If you are familiar with AWS and aren't afraid to setup everything yourself, you can pretty much get the same features of Vercel for a much cheaper price (Only when you start exceeding the Pro limits does it become cheaper!)
I think that if you plan on making websites that aren't just SPAs, NextJS is perfect. I started using Next just over a year ago and the improvements they have been since have been amazing.
About Vercel;
Although they make it easy, you don't actually need to use Vercel if you don't want to. Their pricing is extremely generous for smaller projects, even if you need to upgrade to their Pro plan. It is only when you start exceeding the limits imposed on the Pro plan does it start to make sense to look else where for hosting. If you are familiar with AWS and aren't afraid to setup everything yourself, you can pretty much get the same features of Vercel for a much cheaper price (Only when you start exceeding the Pro limits does it become cheaper!)