Updated 10/19/2026 · next update 11/01/2026

Deployment platform market, September 2026

Miles FosterOwner and tester, RankDude

The market▲ Growingbut visits are down 14% since August 2026

Visits, year on year, without Vercel: +27%
Visits vs August 2026: -14%
Name searches, year on year: +93%

Every month I measure Google visits to the 43 deployment platform sites I track, and how often people search for them by name. In September 2026 they got about 2.7 million visits, 9% fewer than a year ago and 14% fewer than in August 2026.

Below: who grew fastest (one site is up 214% in a year), where the visitors live and what comes next.

Data from DataForSEO, Tranco, Chrome UX Report, Ahrefs and SerpApi · not a ranking

Deployment platform market: the key numbers for September 2026

Four numbers for September 2026. Visits mean visits from Google search to the tracked sites. Tap one for the detail below.

Visits from Google2.7Mvisits-9% vs a year ago
Name searches, US533Ksearches+93% vs a year ago
Top five sites86.9%of visitsVercel is the most visited
Expected in October2.8Mvisitslikely 2.5M to 3.1M

The tracked sites got 2,671,923 visits from Google in September 2026, 9% fewer than a year ago and 14% fewer than in August 2026. Vercel lost more visits on its own than the whole market lost in a year. Without it, visits would be up 27.1% on a year ago instead of down 8.6%. Vercel made most of the move in September 2026: it lost 301,227 of the market's 438,124 visits; without it, visits to the other sites fell 6.7% on August 2026.
“deployment platforms” gets about 70 US searches a month. People searched the site names 533,120 times in the US in September 2026, 93% more often than a year ago.
No tracked site ranks on Google for “deployment platforms”. Vercel is the most-visited site.
10.6% of visits came from the US (10.5% a year ago), then India, Brazil and United Kingdom. The five most-visited sites took 86.9% of all visits.

1How many visits

In plain words: These sites got fewer visits from Google than a year ago (-9%), and September 2026 was a weaker month than August 2026 (-14%). Vercel lost more visits on its own than the whole market lost in a year. Without it, visits would be up 27.1% on a year ago instead of down 8.6%. Vercel made most of the move in September 2026: it lost 301,227 of the market's 438,124 visits; without it, visits to the other sites fell 6.7% on August 2026.

Visits, September 2026: 2,671,923 (-8.6% on a year ago, -14.1% on August 2026)
US visits: 282,964 (-7.6% on a year ago)
24-month peak: 3,110,047 in August 2026

WorldVisits a month to deployment platform sites, worldwide

Low 1.5MHigh 3.1MAverage 2.5M

Hover, tap, or use the arrow keys to inspect a month

Source: DataForSEO, Google search visits, all tracked sites.

Miles explains

Judge this line on the year, not the last dot: visits are 9% below a year ago, and 14% below the August 2026 high. One site winning or losing a ranking can swing a single month a lot.

2How many people went looking

People typed a site’s name into Google 93% more often than a year ago (+93%). That is the loyalty number, because nobody types a name by accident.

Searches for "deployment platforms": 70 a month in the US, 390 worldwide (12-month average)
Name searches, September 2026: 533,120 in the US (+92.9% on a year ago), 5,877,290 worldwide

USSearches a month for "deployment platforms", United States

Low 30High 140Average 63

Hover, tap, or use the arrow keys to inspect a month

Source: Google Ads via DataForSEO.

USSearches a month for the site names, United States

Low 261KHigh 603KAverage 434K

Hover, tap, or use the arrow keys to inspect a month

Source: Google Ads via DataForSEO, to September 2026.

Most searched brand names, US, ordered by searches a month
Most searched by name, US	Searches a month
Netlify	246,000
Vercel	246,000
Heroku	12,100
Coolify	6,600
Modal	3,600
Fly.io	2,900
Railway	1,900
Dokploy	1,600

Most searched by name, US

Netlify
Searches a month
246,000
Vercel
Searches a month
246,000
Heroku
Searches a month
12,100
Coolify
Searches a month
6,600
Modal
Searches a month
3,600
Fly.io
Searches a month
2,900
Railway
Searches a month
1,900
Dokploy
Searches a month
1,600

Ordered by US searches for the brand name in September 2026. A measured order, not a ranking.

Rising next to the term on Google Trends: “render”, “railway” and “vercel”.

Miles explains

Name searches are the number I trust most. They are up 93%, and nobody types a site’s name by accident, so this shows more people coming back on purpose.

3Who is on Google's first page

No tracked site is on Google’s first page for “deployment platforms”. Being on that page is the biggest single thing that decides how many visits a site gets.

Ordered by US Google position for “deployment platforms”, then Tranco rank. A measured order, not a ranking.

Google US positions for deployment platforms, the first 15 of 43 tracked sites
Site	Google US	Tranco	Move in 12 days	Search visits
Vercel	–	3,014	▲ 141	770,488
Netlify	–	3,622	▲ 560	652,080
Heroku	–	4,100	▲ 1,310	82,129
Render	–	16,952	▲ 191	403,459
Railway	–	17,072	▲ 983	369,546
Fly.io	–	27,001	▲ 1,286	17,946
Surge	–	30,764	▲ 1,439	19,849
CapRover	–	34,249	▼ 144	1,015
Modal	–	34,384	▲ 938	51,007
Northflank	–	58,831	▲ 2,516	29,302
Upsun	–	91,274	▼ 5,181	8,560
Coolify	–	107,724	▲ 7,426	23,480
Back4app	–	123,468	▲ 280	126,171
Ploi	–	140,074	▲ 8,543	2,915
Val Town	–	173,816	▲ 9,022	820

Site

Vercel
Google US
–
Tranco
3,014
Move in 12 days
▲ 141
Search visits
770,488
Netlify
Google US
–
Tranco
3,622
Move in 12 days
▲ 560
Search visits
652,080
Heroku
Google US
–
Tranco
4,100
Move in 12 days
▲ 1,310
Search visits
82,129
Render
Google US
–
Tranco
16,952
Move in 12 days
▲ 191
Search visits
403,459
Railway
Google US
–
Tranco
17,072
Move in 12 days
▲ 983
Search visits
369,546
Fly.io
Google US
–
Tranco
27,001
Move in 12 days
▲ 1,286
Search visits
17,946
Surge
Google US
–
Tranco
30,764
Move in 12 days
▲ 1,439
Search visits
19,849
CapRover
Google US
–
Tranco
34,249
Move in 12 days
▼ 144
Search visits
1,015
Modal
Google US
–
Tranco
34,384
Move in 12 days
▲ 938
Search visits
51,007
Northflank
Google US
–
Tranco
58,831
Move in 12 days
▲ 2,516
Search visits
29,302
Upsun
Google US
–
Tranco
91,274
Move in 12 days
▼ 5,181
Search visits
8,560
Coolify
Google US
–
Tranco
107,724
Move in 12 days
▲ 7,426
Search visits
23,480
Back4app
Google US
–
Tranco
123,468
Move in 12 days
▲ 280
Search visits
126,171
Ploi
Google US
–
Tranco
140,074
Move in 12 days
▲ 8,543
Search visits
2,915
Val Town
Google US
–
Tranco
173,816
Move in 12 days
▲ 9,022
Search visits
820

Source: DataForSEO (US Google positions) and Tranco, September 2026. First 15 of 43 sites shown.

Miles explains

No tracked site sits high on Google for “deployment platforms”, so most visits here come from people who already know the names.

4Who grew, who faded

Biggest gain in September 2026: Clever Cloud (+43%); biggest loss: Vercel (-28%). Year-on-year growers are on the demand page.

Biggest moves in September 2026

Biggest monthly gains
Up this month	Aug 26	Sep 26	Change
Clever Cloud	9,611	13,728	+42.8%
Surge	16,079	19,849	+23.4%
Northflank	25,728	29,302	+13.9%
Render	362,670	403,459	+11.2%
Leapcell	12,691	13,923	+9.7%
Easypanel	9,054	9,378	+3.6%

Up this month

Clever Cloud
Aug 26
9,611
Sep 26
13,728
Change
+42.8%
Surge
Aug 26
16,079
Sep 26
19,849
Change
+23.4%
Northflank
Aug 26
25,728
Sep 26
29,302
Change
+13.9%
Render
Aug 26
362,670
Sep 26
403,459
Change
+11.2%
Leapcell
Aug 26
12,691
Sep 26
13,923
Change
+9.7%
Easypanel
Aug 26
9,054
Sep 26
9,378
Change
+3.6%

Biggest monthly losses
Down this month	Aug 26	Sep 26	Change
Vercel	1,071,715	770,488	-28.1%
Zeabur	12,160	9,783	-19.5%
Netlify	803,063	652,080	-18.8%
Upsun	10,527	8,560	-18.7%
Fly.io	21,453	17,946	-16.3%
Back4app	145,498	126,171	-13.3%

Down this month

Vercel
Aug 26
1,071,715
Sep 26
770,488
Change
-28.1%
Zeabur
Aug 26
12,160
Sep 26
9,783
Change
-19.5%
Netlify
Aug 26
803,063
Sep 26
652,080
Change
-18.8%
Upsun
Aug 26
10,527
Sep 26
8,560
Change
-18.7%
Fly.io
Aug 26
21,453
Sep 26
17,946
Change
-16.3%
Back4app
Aug 26
145,498
Sep 26
126,171
Change
-13.3%

Brand demand, year on year

Brand names searched more
Searched more	Sep 25	Sep 26	Change
Netlify	90,500	246,000	+171.8%
Vercel	135,000	246,000	+82.2%
Modal	2,400	3,600	+50.0%
Railway	1,300	1,900	+46.2%
Northflank	1,000	1,300	+30.0%
Coolify	5,400	6,600	+22.2%

Searched more

Netlify
Sep 25
90,500
Sep 26
246,000
Change
+171.8%
Vercel
Sep 25
135,000
Sep 26
246,000
Change
+82.2%
Modal
Sep 25
2,400
Sep 26
3,600
Change
+50.0%
Railway
Sep 25
1,300
Sep 26
1,900
Change
+46.2%
Northflank
Sep 25
1,000
Sep 26
1,300
Change
+30.0%
Coolify
Sep 25
5,400
Sep 26
6,600
Change
+22.2%

Brand names searched less
Searched less	Sep 25	Sep 26	Change
Heroku	22,200	12,100	-45.5%
Hatchbox	1,300	880	-32.3%
Dokploy	1,900	1,600	-15.8%
Render	1,000	880	-12.0%

Searched less

Heroku
Sep 25
22,200
Sep 26
12,100
Change
-45.5%
Hatchbox
Sep 25
1,300
Sep 26
880
Change
-32.3%
Dokploy
Sep 25
1,900
Sep 26
1,600
Change
-15.8%
Render
Sep 25
1,000
Sep 26
880
Change
-12.0%

Source: Google Ads via DataForSEO.

5Where the visitors live

About 11 of every 100 visits come from the United States.

US share of visits: 10.6% (10.5% a year ago)
Largest outside the US: India, Brazil and United Kingdom
US share of "deployment platforms" searches: 18%

USShare of visits that come from the US (%)

Low 9High 22.4Average 13

Hover, tap, or use the arrow keys to inspect a month

US share of worldwide search visits, month by month.

Visits by country, the ten largest outside the US
Country	Search visits a month	Share of the measured countries
India	895,686	73.7%
Brazil	85,559	7%
United Kingdom	78,987	6.5%
Canada	65,715	5.4%
France	36,944	3%
Germany	33,512	2.8%
Australia	18,100	1.5%

Country

India
Search visits a month
895,686
Share of the measured countries
73.7%
Brazil
Search visits a month
85,559
Share of the measured countries
7%
United Kingdom
Search visits a month
78,987
Share of the measured countries
6.5%
Canada
Search visits a month
65,715
Share of the measured countries
5.4%
France
Search visits a month
36,944
Share of the measured countries
3%
Germany
Search visits a month
33,512
Share of the measured countries
2.8%
Australia
Search visits a month
18,100
Share of the measured countries
1.5%

Source: DataForSEO, September 2026.

Miles explains

The US is the single biggest market, but only about 11 in every 100 visits. India alone is 73.7% of the countries I measure outside it.

6Links and ratings

The tracked sites had 261,615 referring domains between them in September 2026; this is the first reading, so there is no year-on-year figure yet. The average Domain Rating is 67. Vercel has the strongest link profile at DR 92.

Strongest link profiles by Domain Rating
By Domain Rating (Ahrefs)	DR
Vercel	92
Netlify	91
Heroku	88
Railway	87
Render	85
Fly.io	84
Surge	83
CapRover	81

By Domain Rating (Ahrefs)

Vercel
DR
92
Netlify
DR
91
Heroku
DR
88
Railway
DR
87
Render
DR
85
Fly.io
DR
84
Surge
DR
83
CapRover
DR
81

Most referring domains
By referring domains	Domains
Vercel	53,991
Netlify	40,458
Heroku	31,425
Render	11,193
Railway	10,299
Fly.io	10,068
Surge	8,799
Modal	7,639

By referring domains

Vercel
Domains
53,991
Netlify
Domains
40,458
Heroku
Domains
31,425
Render
Domains
11,193
Railway
Domains
10,299
Fly.io
Domains
10,068
Surge
Domains
8,799
Modal
Domains
7,639

Source: DataForSEO and Ahrefs, September 2026.