Quick Comparison
| Feature | Vercel Cron | CronSynth | |---------|-------------|-----------| | Minimum Interval | 1 day (Hobby) / 1 min (Pro) | 1 minute | | Platform | Vercel only | Any HTTPS endpoint | | Configuration | vercel.json | API call | | Webhook Signing | ❌ | ✅ HMAC-SHA256 | | Automatic Retries | ❌ | ✅ (3 retries, exponential backoff) | | On-Chain Attestation | ❌ | ✅ (Base L2) | | Authentication | Vercel account | Wallet (x402) | | Pricing | Included in plan | Free tier + $0.001/trigger | | External Visibility | ❌ | ✅ (API, on-chain) | ---What is Vercel Cron?
Vercel Cron Jobs let you run serverless functions on a schedule. You configure them in your vercel.json file:
{
"crons": [
{
"path": "/api/daily-task",
"schedule": "0 0 * * *"
}
]
}
Vercel's infrastructure calls your function at the specified times.
Pros:- Built into Vercel, no external service needed
- Free on all plans (with limitations)
- Simple configuration
- Hobby plan limited to daily minimum interval
- No webhook signature verification
- No retry logic
- Vercel-only (can't use with other platforms)
- No API for managing schedules programmatically
- No external proof of execution
What is CronSynth?
CronSynth is an external scheduling service. You register webhooks via API:
curl -X POST https://cronsynth.xyz/api/schedule \
-H "X-402-Session: your-session" \
-d '{"webhookUrl": "https://your-app.com/api/task", "cron": "*/5 * * * *"}'CronSynth calls your endpoint on schedule with cryptographic verification.
Pros:- Works with any platform (Vercel, Lambda, Workers, etc.)
- HMAC-signed webhooks
- Automatic retries
- On-chain attestation
- API-first management
- Wallet-based authentication
- External dependency
- Costs money at scale ($0.001/trigger)
When to Use Vercel Cron
Use Vercel Cron when:1. You're all-in on Vercel and don't plan to change platforms
2. Tasks are simple and non-critical (cache clearing, log rotation)
3. You don't need verification of who triggered the function
4. Daily is fine (Hobby plan) or you have Pro for minute-level
5. You manage schedules manually (edit vercel.json, redeploy)
Example use case:A marketing site that regenerates static pages daily.
{
"crons": [{
"path": "/api/regenerate-pages",
"schedule": "0 3 * * *"
}]
}
When to Use CronSynth
Use CronSynth when:1. Building autonomous agents that need reliable, verifiable triggers
2. Security matters — you need to verify triggers are legitimate
3. Reliability matters — you need automatic retries
4. Platform flexibility matters — you might move off Vercel
5. Reputation matters — you want on-chain proof of execution
6. Programmatic management — agents create their own schedules
7. You're on Vercel Hobby and need sub-daily intervals
Example use case:A trading bot that checks prices every 5 minutes.
// Register schedule programmatically
await fetch('https://cronsynth.xyz/api/schedule', {
method: 'POST',
headers: { 'X-402-Session': session },
body: JSON.stringify({
webhookUrl: 'https://my-bot.vercel.app/api/check-prices',
cron: '*/5 * * * *'
})
});
Security Comparison
Vercel Cron:- Anyone who knows your endpoint URL can trigger it
- No built-in verification mechanism
- You must implement your own security (IP allowlisting, secret headers, etc.)
- Every request includes HMAC-SHA256 signature
- Your webhook verifies the signature before processing
- Prevents unauthorized triggers
// CronSynth webhook verification
function verifySignature(payload, signature, secret) {
const expected = crypto
.createHmac('sha256', secret)
.update(payload)
.digest('hex');
return crypto.timingSafeEqual(
Buffer.from(expected),
Buffer.from(signature)
);
}
Reliability Comparison
Vercel Cron:- If your function fails, it fails
- No automatic retries
- No visibility into execution history
- Missed triggers are silently lost
- Automatic retries with exponential backoff (1s, 4s, 16s)
- Execution tracking (
runCount,consecutiveFailures) - Auto-pause after 10 consecutive failures (prevents runaway costs)
- Full execution history via API
Cost Comparison
Vercel Cron (Hobby):- Free
- Limited to daily minimum interval
- 1 cron job
- $20/month minimum for Pro plan
- 1-minute minimum interval
- 10 cron jobs (more with Enterprise)
- Free tier: 1 schedule, unlimited triggers
- Paid: $0.001 per trigger
At $0.001/trigger:
- 1 trigger/day = $0.03/month
- 1 trigger/hour = $0.72/month
- 1 trigger/minute = $43.20/month
For most use cases, CronSynth costs less than a Vercel Pro subscription while providing more features.
---Using Both Together
You can use Vercel Cron and CronSynth together:
Vercel Cron for:- Non-critical internal tasks
- Simple maintenance jobs
- Tasks that don't need verification
- Agent-facing schedules
- Tasks requiring verification
- Cross-platform consistency
- On-chain attestation
Migration Path
Moving from Vercel Cron to CronSynth:1. Create an x402 payment session
2. Register your existing endpoints with CronSynth
3. Add signature verification to your handlers
4. Remove cron configuration from vercel.json
5. Deploy
Your existing Vercel functions don't change — only the trigger source changes.
---Recommendation
Use Vercel Cron if:- You're building a simple web app
- Scheduled tasks are auxiliary features
- You don't need verification or retries
- You're comfortable with platform lock-in
- You're building autonomous agents
- Scheduled tasks are core functionality
- Security and reliability matter
- You want platform independence
- You need on-chain attestation
For most agent use cases, CronSynth is the better choice. The security, reliability, and flexibility features justify the minimal cost.
---Get Started with CronSynth
1. Create an x402 payment session. Free tier available.
2. [Read the User Guide](/docs/guide)
3. [Register your first schedule](/docs/api)
Free tier available. No credit card required.