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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

AWS (Amazon Web Services) vs Fly.io

AWS (Amazon Web Services) logo

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Cloud & Infrastructure

The leading cloud computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fly.io logo

Fly.io

Cloud & Infrastructure

Deploy web applications globally

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AWS (Amazon Web Services) data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills; Fly.io egress is priced by destination region, from $0.02 per GB in North America and Europe to $0.12 per GB for Africa and India, so the same traffic costs six times more depending on where users are
  • They diverge on capability: AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, Fly.io covers Global deployment.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Fly.io actually diverge.

Attributes where AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Fly.io differ
AttributeAWS (Amazon Web Services)Fly.io
PlatformsWeb, Api, Cli, MobileWeb, Api, Docker
Founded20062020

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud & Infrastructure).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • EC2 - Virtual Servers
  • S3 - Object Storage
  • RDS - Managed Database
  • Lambda - Serverless Computing
  • CloudFront - CDN
  • VPC - Virtual Network
  • IAM - Access Management
  • CloudWatch - Monitoring

Only in Fly.io

  • Global deployment
  • Docker support
  • Postgres databases
  • Redis support
  • Auto-scaling
  • Health checks
  • Backups
  • Monitoring

Both cover

  • Docker

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Web hostingnot Fly.io
  • Data storagenot Fly.io
  • Machine learningnot Fly.io
  • Big data analyticsnot Fly.io
  • Application developmentnot Fly.io

Fly.io

  • Deploying containerised applications close to users across regionsnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Running full stack apps and databases on managed machinesnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills
  • Discounts require one or three year Savings Plan commitments rather than being automatic
  • Every service is priced separately, so a working architecture has no single published cost
  • The free tier is a promotional allowance rather than an ongoing free plan

Fly.io

  • Egress is priced by destination region, from $0.02 per GB in North America and Europe to $0.12 per GB for Africa and India, so the same traffic costs six times more depending on where users are
  • Stopped machines still bill at $0.15 per GB of root filesystem a month, so a paused service is not a free one
  • Volumes are billed on provisioned capacity rather than usage, at $0.15 per GB a month
  • Reservation discounts of 40% require paying a year up front, from $36 to $1,440
  • Fly Kubernetes is a separate $75 a month per cluster
  • Dedicated IPv4 addresses are $2 a month each

Pricing, plan by plan

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Free
  • AWS Free TierFree
    • EC2 750 hours/month
    • 5GB S3 storage
    • 20GB data transfer
  • Pay-As-You-GoFree
    • No upfront payment
    • No long-term commitments
    • Pay only for what you use

Fly.io

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 3 shared-cpu-1x VMs
    • 3GB persistence storage
    • 160GB outbound data/month
  • Pay-as-you-goFree
    • Unlimited applications
    • Dedicated machines
    • Global deployment

Which should you pick?

Choose AWS (Amazon Web Services) if

  • You need ec2 - virtual servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile.
  • You also want s3 - object storage.
AWS (Amazon Web Services) review

Choose Fly.io if

  • You need global deployment.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Docker.
  • You also want docker support.
Fly.io review

Questions people ask

Is AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Fly.io better?
Neither clearly leads. AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and Fly.io at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Fly.io?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and Fly.io at Free.
Does AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Fly.io run on more platforms?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) runs on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile. Fly.io runs on Web, Api, Docker.
Can I use AWS (Amazon Web Services) for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is AWS (Amazon Web Services) best used for?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) is most often used for web hosting, data storage, machine learning, big data analytics. Of those, web hosting and data storage are not what Fly.io is typically brought in for.
What can AWS (Amazon Web Services) do that Fly.io cannot?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, S3 - Object Storage, RDS - Managed Database, Lambda - Serverless Computing. Fly.io covers Global deployment, Docker support, Postgres databases, Redis support. Both handle Docker.
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