⚡ Vercel Edge Functions: APIs with Sub-50ms Latency

Modern web apps live or die by performance—and Vercel Edge Functions are built for speed. Instead of routing every request to a centralized server, your API logic executes at the edge of the network, geographically close to the user.

🔑 Key Concepts

Ultra-low latency: Sub-50ms responses possible
CDN for code: Dynamic execution at the edge (not just static caching)
Edge-first deployment: Code runs near the request origin

✅ Benefits

Lower latency → faster UX
Reduced cold starts (functions kept warm at edge)
Auto-scalable across Vercel’s infra

⚠️ Limitations

Limited runtime (no heavy native modules)
Short execution time (~10s)

🎯 Best Use Cases

Lightweight APIs
Auth & routing
Real-time transformations
Caching logic / personalization

📌 Final Takeaway

Vercel Edge Functions are ideal for fast, frequently-used endpoints where user experience depends on instant feedback. If performance is your priority, building APIs at the edge is a game-changer.

💡 Curious how they compare to Cloudflare Workers or AWS Lambda@Edge? That’ll be my next deep dive 👀