Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head
Fly.io vs Alibaba Cloud
Alibaba Cloud
Cloud & Infrastructure
Asia's leading cloud computing provider
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: 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; Alibaba Cloud technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
- They diverge on capability: Fly.io covers Global deployment, Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Fly.io and Alibaba Cloud actually diverge.
| Attribute | Fly.io | Alibaba Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, Api, Docker | Linux, Windows, Api, Cli |
| Founded | 2020 | 2009 |
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 Fly.io
- Global deployment
- Docker support
- Postgres databases
- Redis support
- Auto-scaling
- Health checks
- Backups
- Monitoring
Only in Alibaba Cloud
- Elastic Compute Service
- Object Storage Service
- RDS Database
- MaxCompute
- Function Compute
- CDN
- Load Balancer
- API Gateway
Both cover
- Docker
- Cloud deployment
- Api support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Fly.io
- Deploying containerised applications close to users across regionsnot Alibaba Cloud
- Running full stack apps and databases on managed machinesnot Alibaba Cloud
Alibaba Cloud
- Cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in China and Asia Pacificnot Fly.io
- Pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitmentnot Fly.io
- Committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloadsnot Fly.io
- CDN and data transfer packages for content deliverynot Fly.io
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Alibaba Cloud
- Technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
- Service prices are not shown as a rate card and route through a calculator or sales
- Committed discounts require savings plans, reserved instances or capacity packages rather than being automatic
Pricing, plan by plan
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
Alibaba Cloud
Free- Free TrialFree
- Free tier credits
- ECS instances
- Cloud storage
- Pay-as-You-GoFree
- Flexible billing
- No commitments
- Global reach
Which should you pick?
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.
Choose Alibaba Cloud if
- You need elastic compute service.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
- You also want object storage service.
Questions people ask
- Is Fly.io or Alibaba Cloud better?
- Neither clearly leads. Fly.io starts at Free and Alibaba Cloud at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Fly.io or Alibaba Cloud?
- Fly.io starts at Free and Alibaba Cloud at Free.
- Does Fly.io or Alibaba Cloud run on more platforms?
- Fly.io runs on Web, Api, Docker. Alibaba Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
- Can I use Fly.io for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Fly.io best used for?
- Fly.io is most often used for deploying containerised applications close to users across regions, running full stack apps and databases on managed machines. Of those, deploying containerised applications close to users across regions and running full stack apps and databases on managed machines are not what Alibaba Cloud is typically brought in for.
- What can Fly.io do that Alibaba Cloud cannot?
- Fly.io covers Global deployment, Docker support, Postgres databases, Redis support. Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Object Storage Service, RDS Database, MaxCompute. Both handle Docker, Cloud deployment, Api support.