Compare
x402-hosting vs traditional web hosting.
Traditional web hosting means a shared server, a control panel like cPanel, FTP uploads, and a monthly plan. x402-hosting is hosting from a later era: one command publishes a Next.js app as a Cloudflare Worker, hosting time is prepaid in USDC at $0.20 per project-day, and the paying wallet — not an account — owns the project. They overlap in purpose and diverge in almost everything else.
At a glance
- Traditional: shared server and control panel; x402-hosting: global edge network, no panel
- Traditional: monthly plan with auto-renewal; x402-hosting: prepaid project-days, nothing renews
- Traditional: built for PHP-era sites; x402-hosting: purpose-built for Next.js
- Traditional: account and password; x402-hosting: owner wallet and payment signature
- x402-hosting: operable by a software agent end to end
Different workloads
Shared hosting was designed for PHP applications and static files served from one machine. A Next.js app with server components, route handlers, and server actions does not fit that shape: it wants an edge runtime close to the reader. x402-hosting exists for exactly that shape — the CLI builds the app locally with OpenNext and publishes it as a Cloudflare Worker, with 100,000 dynamic requests and 15 million CPU milliseconds included per active project. If your site is WordPress or plain PHP, traditional hosting remains the sensible home; x402-hosting supports Next.js only.
Monthly plans versus prepaid days
The traditional model bills monthly and renews automatically, which is how forgotten experiments become permanent line items. x402-hosting is prepaid: thirty days costs $6.01, quoted exactly by an HTTP 402 payment challenge before your wallet signs. When the period ends, hosting ends — there is nothing to cancel, and a 30-day grace window lets you renew and republish at the same URL if you change your mind.
Control panels versus commands
A control panel is a human interface: clicks, forms, and settings screens. x402-hosting replaces it with a command surface that a person or an agent can use identically:
$ npx x402-hosting@latest deploy --days 30
The deploy writes x402-hosting.json into the project — URL, project id, owner wallet, expiry — so the state of your hosting lives next to your code instead of inside a panel. Status and deployment history are free to read, and every paid mutation must settle from the owner wallet, which keeps ownership cryptographic rather than administrative.
Who should choose which
Choose traditional hosting for PHP applications, WordPress sites, and mailboxes bundled with a server. Choose x402-hosting when the thing you are shipping is a Next.js app and you want it on a production URL for a prepaid price, without an account, a panel, or a renewal to remember. The pricing page lists every operation and its exact cost.