VPS is slightly lower level which gives you a lot more control: integrate with your existing Node.js backend (use any backend framework you want), deploy anywhere, use any React alternative (Solid, Preact, ...) and any data fetching tool (e.g. Relay can't really be used with Next.js).
The flip side is that you've to write a little bit more glue code. Although this will be alleviated by a lot with projects such as Bati[0], Stem[1], and vike-react (see Vike Rebranding[2]).
VPS also cares a ton about details, such as hooks for full control over i18n (use any i18n strategy you want), better Base URL support (VPS supports setting a different base for your server and your CDN), automatic deploy synchronisation, domain-driven file structure, polished and helpful error messages (especially the next upcoming release), ...
Detailed comparison with Next.js: [3].
If you run into any blocker then it's quickly fixed (or at least a workaround is proposed).
It supports not only SSR and pre-rendering, but also SPA in case you don't need SSR. It's going to support RSC but doesn't yet (RSC isn't ready for production).
Because it's lower level and because it's decoupled from React everything is designed in an agnostic way and with meticulous care. In other words: vite-plugin-ssr is becoming a robust foundation. There are breaking changes coming for the v1 release but beyond that chances are that there won't be any breaking changes for years in a row.
In a nutshell: vite-plugin-ssr takes care of the frontend and only the frontend. You keep control over your architecture. (Whereas frameworks tend to put themselves right in the middle of your architecture restricting you in fundamental ways.)
Last but not least: it's powered by Vite which means blazing fast HMR.
Interestingly, Vite itself is written in a slow interpreted language (JavaScript/TypeScript) while using compilers that are written in fast native languages such as ESBuild (written in Go).
It's a nice showcase of successfully applying the strategy of focusing on hotpath performance instead of blindly making every line of code "fast".
Also, Vite being written in JavaScript is much friendlier to the ecosystem. I myself made many PRs to Vite which I would have done much less if it involved a more complex language.
Shameless plug: I'm the author of https://vite-plugin-ssr.com which is a Next.js/Nuxt alternative but with a "do-one-thing-do-it-well architecture"[1].
- Choose any UI framework you want (React/Vue/Solid/...)
- A lot more flexible than Next.js (e.g. i18n and base assets configuration are fundamentally more flexible)
- Keep architectural control (vite-plugin-ssr is more like a library and doesn't put itself in the middle of your stack)
- Use your favorite tools. And manually integrate them with vite-plugin-ssr (for full control without surprises).
- Deploy anywhere (and easily integrate with your existing server/deploy strategy)
- Open roadmap
- Ecosystem friendly
The upcoming "V1 Design" has been meticulously designed to be simple yet powerful. Once nested layouts, single route files, and typesafe links are implemented vite-plugin-ssr will be pretty much feature complete.
Note that, with vite-plugin-ssr, you implement your own renderer, which may or may not be something you want/need/like to do. Built-in renderers are coming and you’ll then get a zero-config DX like Next.js (minus extras like image processing as we believe they should be separate libraries).
Web dev isn't a zero sum game - a vibrant and healthy ecosystem of competing tools can co-exist. (I'm close to be able to make a living with sponsors.)
Vision is to make a truly open and collaborative foundation for meta frameworks.
Next.js pseudo-alternatives are usually subpar, because they misunderstand Next.js approach and implement a very simplified vision of it (eg they can't even tell the difference between client-side rendered SPA and HTML export).
This one doesn't seem to fall in this trap, from the documentation it seems a very well thought library. Great work!
VPS is tailored for users who like/want/need control. If you care about control, Astro isn't a good fit. E.g. you won't be able to use Astro with React Server Components. And many other subtleties that, in the end, sum up to a fundamentally different tool.
I agree and that's why vite-plugin-ssr sponsorship https://github.com/sponsors/brillout plays a central role here: eventually, there will be enough sponsors to make vite-plugin-ssr a self-sustainable project a la Vue. It's a virtuous cycle and you can expect the number of sponsors to increase.
A more conservative answer is that vite-plugin-ssr is actually already fairly stable: only minor adaptations are required upon new Vite major releases. Do-one-thing-do-it-well tools stabilize quickly, that's one fundamental architectural advantage. Now the DX status quo is continuously evolving/improving and vite-plugin-ssr has to keep up (when not leading the way e.g. with Route Functions :-)). But, in the worst case scenario, you'll be stuck with non-modern DX while you'll be able to upgrade React/Vue/... independently of vite-plugin-ssr until you migrate away.
A more personal answer is that I love doing it, so expect me around ;-).
