Vercel Will Bill Data Cache Use as It Moves to Runtime Cache
Your code stays the same, but the reads and writes behind Next.js fetch caching go onto a meter.
Vercel is moving Data Cache into Runtime Cache, and the cache reads and writes it didn’t bill before will now be billed. Running a Next.js site on Vercel? Hobby teams switch on November 29.
Vercel posted the change on October 30 in its changelog for the Data Cache move, with the reasoning in a longer engineering post on Runtime Cache.
Your code stays the same. Next.js fetch caching and unstable_cache move over on every version, so you don’t have to touch a line.
What changes on your bill
Until now, Data Cache reads and writes weren’t billed. Once your team migrates, you pay from $0.40 per million read units and $4.00 per million write units, and rates vary by region.
What you get depends on your plan:
- Hobby teams get 1 million read units and 200,000 write units free each month, shared across all your projects.
- Pro usage comes out of your $20 monthly infrastructure credit first, then regional rates apply.
- Enterprise asks its account team.
Storage grows, too. On Pro, each project and environment gets its own allocation with 8x the space of the old team-wide Data Cache pool. Enterprise projects get 10x.
When your team moves
Teams created on or after October 30 already use Runtime Cache. Hobby teams move on November 29, while Pro teams will get a notice with their own migration and billing dates.
Enterprise teams hear from their account team.
Want to go first? You can opt in early from your team’s CDN settings on Hobby or Pro. But Runtime Cache pricing starts the moment you opt in.
You can also switch off fetch and unstable_cache caching there. That sends more requests to your data sources, and it doesn’t stop the migration.
Why Vercel says it’s doing this
Two products were doing one job. Until now, the split looked like this:
- Data Cache: Next.js fetch caching and
unstable_cache. - Runtime Cache:
getCachefrom@vercel/functions, and theuse cache: remotedirective that Next.js uses on Vercel.
So the merge puts all four APIs under one set of storage budgets and usage tools, which means you and your coding agents only have one set of numbers to watch from now on.
Meanwhile, Vercel says the service handles over 440 million reads an hour.
After circuit breakers went in during August, p99 read latency in its largest region fell to about a fifth in the worst bursts.
Why it matters
I like the merge. Still, “previously unbilled” is the phrase that matters for your budget.
My guess: lots of small Hobby sites never opened their cache numbers, since there was no reason to look while reads and writes were free, and now you’ve got a month.
Check yours. Here’s where I’d start:
- Open Observability and compare your monthly Data Cache reads and writes with 1 million and 200,000.
- On Pro, work out how much of your $20 credit the cache would eat.
- Find pages that revalidate every few seconds.
- Try the “Optimize with Vercel Agent” button in the Runtime Cache dashboard, or Vercel’s optimization guide, as a first pass.
That last one won’t know your site, though. Of course, you know which pages really need fresh data, and you’re the one who’ll see the bill if a busy page refreshes too often.
It’s the second Vercel change I’d look at lately, after its separate Firewall controls for AI crawlers and assistants, and this one touches your bill. Is your site on Hobby?
Then November 29 is your date. Don’t let it surprise you.
Common Questions
When does Vercel move Hobby teams from Data Cache to Runtime Cache?
November 29, 2026. Teams created on or after October 30, 2026 already use Runtime Cache, and Hobby and Pro teams can opt in earlier from CDN settings, with Runtime Cache pricing starting at once.
Do I need to change my Next.js code for Vercel’s Runtime Cache migration?
No. Vercel says Next.js fetch caching and unstable_cache switch to Runtime Cache on every Next.js version without code changes.
How much does Vercel Runtime Cache cost after the Data Cache migration?
Rates start at $0.40 per million read units and $4.00 per million write units and vary by region. Hobby includes 1 million read units and 200,000 write units a month; Pro usage draws on the $20 monthly infrastructure credit first.
