Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Fly.io vs Nomad

Fly.io logo

Fly.io

Cloud

Deploy web applications globally

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Nomad logo

Nomad

Cloud

Flexible workload orchestration

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Nomad has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Nomad nomad 1.7.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • They diverge on capability: Fly.io covers Global deployment, Nomad covers Container orchestration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fly.io and Nomad actually diverge.

Attributes where Fly.io and Nomad differ
AttributeFly.ioNomad
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Api, DockerLinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
Founded20202015

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

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
  • Health checks
  • Backups
  • Monitoring
  • GitHub

Only in Nomad

  • Container orchestration
  • Job scheduling
  • Multi-cloud support
  • Service discovery
  • Rolling deployments
  • Monitoring integration
  • High availability
  • Kubernetes

Both cover

  • Auto-scaling
  • Docker
  • Cloud deployment

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 Nomad
  • Running full stack apps and databases on managed machinesnot Nomad

Nomad

  • Container and workload orchestration across infrastructurenot Fly.io
  • Multi-region application deploymentnot Fly.io
  • Flexible scheduling for batch jobs and servicesnot 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

Nomad

  • Nomad 1.7.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Nomad to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions
  • Each version converts to MPL 2.0 only four years after that version is published
  • Resource quotas, Sentinel policies and audit logging sit in a Governance and Policy add-on module that is separate from the Enterprise base platform package
  • Multi-region deployments, multiple Vault namespaces and Nomad Autopilot advanced server management require Nomad Enterprise

Pricing, plan by plan

Fly.io

$29/month
  • Pay-as-You-Go$null/mo
    • Micro VMs and persistent storage charged by usage
    • FlyCTL CLI
    • Unlimited users and organizations
  • Serious Support$29/month
    • Access to dedicated engineering team
    • All Pay-as-You-Go features
  • Machine Reservation Blocks$null/mo
    • 40% discount on machine usage
    • Requires upfront payment for savings
  • Compliance Package$99/month
    • HIPAA compliance
    • BAAs
    • SOC2 documentation

Nomad

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Workload orchestration
    • Multi-cloud
    • Flexible scheduling

Which should you pick?

Choose Fly.io if

  • You need global deployment.
  • You work on Web, Api, Docker.
  • You also want docker support.
Fly.io review

Choose Nomad if

  • You need container orchestration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want job scheduling.
Nomad review

Questions people ask

Is Fly.io or Nomad better?
Neither clearly leads. Fly.io starts at $29/month and Nomad at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fly.io or Nomad?
Nomad has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Fly.io and Free for Nomad.
Does Fly.io or Nomad run on more platforms?
Fly.io runs on Web, Api, Docker. Nomad runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
Can I use Nomad for free?
Yes. Nomad has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Fly.io starts at $29/month.
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 Nomad is typically brought in for.
What can Fly.io do that Nomad cannot?
Fly.io covers Global deployment, Docker support, Postgres databases, Redis support. Nomad covers Container orchestration, Job scheduling, Multi-cloud support, Service discovery. Both handle Auto-scaling, Docker, Cloud deployment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fly.io: Is there a free tier for Fly.io?

Fly.io does not advertise a free tier. The base plan is pay-as-you-go with usage-based pricing for Micro VMs and persistent storage. All users get FlyCTL CLI, unlimited organizations, private networking, SSO, ACLs, and scoped tokens.

Source
Nomad: Is HashiCorp Nomad free?

HashiCorp Nomad is open source and free to use. Commercial enterprise support and hosting options may be available through HashiCorp, but the core product is free.

Source
Fly.io: How much does Fly.io Serious Support cost?

Serious Support costs 29 USD per month and provides access to a dedicated engineering team while maintaining all pay-as-you-go features for Micro VMs and storage.

Source
Nomad: Does HashiCorp Nomad have a pricing model?

Nomad is open source software with no published pricing tiers. HashiCorp offers commercial hosting and support for their products on a usage-based or custom pricing model, but Nomad itself is free to download and deploy.

Source
Fly.io: What does Fly.io Compliance Package include?

The Compliance Package is 99 USD per month and includes HIPAA compliance, BAAs, and SOC2 documentation for organizations requiring compliance certifications.

Source
Nomad: What is HashiCorp's pricing model for enterprise Nomad?

HashiCorp offers flexible pricing for enterprise Nomad support including pay-as-you-go (PAYG) billing with no long-term commitment, flex plans with preferred pricing, and enterprise self-managed plans. Contact HashiCorp sales for custom quotes.

Source
Fly.io: Does Fly.io offer discounts for upfront commitment?

Yes, Fly.io offers Machine Reservation Blocks with 40% discount on machine usage. This requires upfront payment but applies savings on infrastructure costs.

Source
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