Checked 26 October 2026
Short answer
Password Protection on Vercel costs $20 a month for each project, on top of the Pro plan, and isn’t available on Hobby. The free option, Vercel Authentication, works on every plan and covers production too since September 2026, but each visitor needs a Vercel account with access to the project. If the app is for coworkers, an internal app host that uses their work login, like TeamOnly from $19 a month, avoids both the shared password and the extra accounts.
01Side by side
| Method | Who gets in | Do visitors need a Vercel account? | Plans | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vercel Authentication | Logged-in Vercel users who are on your team or project, or were given access | Yes | Hobby, Pro, Enterprise | Free. Viewer seats are free on Pro. Hobby allows one outside user |
| Password Protection | Anyone who has the password | No | Pro, Enterprise | $20/mo per protected project on Pro, plus Pro itself. Included on Enterprise |
| Shareable Links | Anyone with the link | No | Hobby, Pro, Enterprise | Free. One link per account on Hobby |
| Trusted IPs | Visitors from IP addresses you list | No | Enterprise | Enterprise only |
| Passport | Anyone your identity provider signs in, such as Okta or Microsoft Entra ID | No | Enterprise | Enterprise only, custom pricing |
| TeamOnly (not on Vercel) | Anyone with your company email, or a named list | No. Work Google, work Microsoft or an emailed code | Builder, Team | Builder: $19/mo (3 apps). Team: $249/mo. App users free |
Checked 26 October 2026, US prices. Vercel: deployment protection pricing, Deployment Protection, Vercel Authentication, Password Protection, Shareable Links, Passport, Pro plan, changelog, 9 September 2026. Pro teams that bought the older Advanced Deployment Protection package keep paying $150 a month for the whole team, covering every project. Plans change often; check Vercel’s page before you pay.
02What it adds up to
A common case: one person builds three small tools for their team and wants each behind a password.
Vercel usage beyond the $20 credit in Pro is extra. The database is separate on Vercel (you connect one, such as Neon or Supabase); on TeamOnly each app comes with one.
03The catch
A password is fine for a demo or a client preview. For a tool your coworkers use every week, sign-in with their work account does the job a password can’t.
04The alternatives
Free on every plan, and since 9 September 2026 it can cover production as well as previews (the All Deployments setting). Visitors sign in with a Vercel account and need access to the team or project. Viewer seats are free on Pro, so coworkers don’t cost money, but each one needs a Vercel account. On Hobby only one outside person can get in, and Hobby is for personal, non-commercial use only.
Right pick when Everyone who opens the app already works in your Vercel team.
One password per project, checked by Vercel before the app loads. It costs $20 a month for each protected project on Pro and is included on Enterprise. It isn’t available on Hobby. Visitors don’t need an account, but everyone shares the same password.
Right pick when The app is a preview for a client or a short-lived demo.
Sign-in through your company’s identity provider, so visitors use their work account and your app gets their identity. Vercel’s guide names Okta, Microsoft Entra ID and Auth0. It is Enterprise only, with pricing from Vercel’s sales team.
Right pick when Your company is already on Vercel Enterprise.
A shared password is on the Pro plan ($20 a month). A private project that only Netlify team members and people you invite can open is also on Pro; on Free and Personal only the owner can see it. Sign-in with your company’s SSO is Enterprise.
Right pick when You already host on Netlify and a shared password is enough.
Free for up to 50 people, then $7 per person a month. You can allow everyone whose email ends in your company domain, through Google, Microsoft or another provider, or by emailing them a one-time code. You set up the identity provider and the rules, and the app has to run on Cloudflare or behind it.
Right pick when You are a developer who already runs apps on Cloudflare.
Hosting for internal apps built with Claude Code, Cursor or v0. Run npx teamonly deploy and the app is online behind your company login: coworkers sign in with their work Google or Microsoft account, or a code sent to their work email, and nobody else gets in. Each app gets a database, file storage and secrets, and knows who is signed in. Apps are React with a small JavaScript or TypeScript API, not Next.js, so a v0 app needs your AI tool to move it first. Internal apps only.
Right pick when The app is for coworkers, you want them to use their work account, and you don’t want to pay per project for a password.
No. Password Protection costs $20 a month per protected project on the Pro plan, and it isn’t available on Hobby. What is free on every plan is Vercel Authentication, where visitors sign in with a Vercel account that has access to the project.
Not with Password Protection. Hobby includes Vercel Authentication and one Shareable Link per account. Hobby is also for personal, non-commercial use only, so a tool for your company needs Pro or Enterprise anyway.
Both, if you choose. Standard Protection covers every deployment except production domains. All Deployments covers production too, and since 9 September 2026 it is free on every plan with Vercel Authentication.
$20 a month for each project, on top of Pro. Three projects cost $60 a month plus the $20 Pro plan. Pro teams that bought the older Advanced Deployment Protection package pay $150 a month for all their projects.
Not on Hobby or Pro. Sign-in through your own identity provider is Passport, which is Enterprise only. On TeamOnly, anyone with your company email signs in with their work Google or Microsoft account, from the Builder plan at $19 a month.
Yes, with work from your AI tool. TeamOnly runs React with a Vite front end and a small API, not Next.js. Run npx teamonly init in the project and ask Claude Code or Cursor to “Move this app to TeamOnly”. The move guide lists what comes over.
Only for internal apps. TeamOnly hosts apps for your coworkers, behind your company login, and nothing on it can be public. For a public website or a customer-facing app, stay on Vercel.
Early access
Builder is $19 a month for 3 apps, free for 14 days. Coworkers sign in with their work account and don’t pay.
Questions go to hello@teamonly.dev, and a person answers.