Vercel Blob Just Works
I didn’t want to spin up S3 buckets. I just wanted to store files. Vercel Blob gave me exactly what I needed, without the mess.
There are days I just want to build something without wrestling with infrastructure. No spinning up S3 buckets, no IAM roles, no CORS headaches. I just want to let users upload files and move on.
Recently, I ran into this exact scenario—again. And this time, I gave Vercel Blob a shot.
Honestly? I didn’t expect much. But it’s quickly become one of those “why didn’t this exist earlier?” tools.
What Is Vercel Blob?
In short: it’s a way to store and access files—images, docs, uploads—directly inside your Vercel project. No backend. No bucket configs. Just files, served through signed URLs, with clean API access.
It’s still in beta as of now, but it already feels like one of the most developer-minded things Vercel has shipped recently.
Why I Like It
Here’s what stood out right away:
- Zero Setup: I didn’t touch AWS. I didn’t configure access keys. I just installed the SDK and started uploading.
- Secure by Default: Files are private unless I generate a signed URL. This is how file storage should be.
- Fits My Stack: Since I’m already using Vercel + Next.js, this felt like a natural extension, not another service duct taped to my stack.
- Perfect for Small Projects or MVPs: I wouldn’t build a video platform on it (yet), but for user avatars, docs, blog cover uploads? It’s perfect.
When to Use It
If you’re working on:
- A personal site with a blog CMS
- A small web app with upload forms
- Admin dashboards that need image or file support
Vercel Blob is fast, clean, and surprisingly robust. You don't need to overthink storage for these use cases.
That said, if you need lifecycle rules, regional replication, or public file hosting at scale, then yeah… you might still reach for S3 or Cloud Storage.
Quiet Power, Clean Flow
There’s something I love about tools that just work. No config files. No dashboards full of toggles I’ll never touch. Just an upload, a URL, done.
I didn’t need a storage platform. I needed a storage moment.
And Vercel Blob gave me that.