diff --git a/apps/web/src/shared/utils/api.ts b/apps/web/src/shared/utils/api.ts
index 22e3157..cc4632d 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/shared/utils/api.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/shared/utils/api.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 const API_BASE_URL =
-  import.meta.env.MODE === "production"
-    ? "/api/v1" // Relative URL - nginx will proxy to backend
-    : import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL || "http://localhost:3002/api/v1";
+  import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL || // Check env var first (for Vercel, etc)
+  (import.meta.env.MODE === "production"
+    ? "/api/v1" // Relative URL - nginx will proxy to backend (EC2)
+    : "http://localhost:3002/api/v1");
 
 export interface ApiError {
   error: string;