Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Fly.io vs Northflank

Fly.io logo

Fly.io

Cloud

Deploy web applications globally

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Northflank logo

Northflank

Cloud

The runtime platform for AI-native companies

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Northflank 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; Northflank pricing complexity with multiple rate dimensions
  • They diverge on capability: Fly.io covers Global deployment, Northflank covers Application deployments.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Fly.io and Northflank differ
AttributeFly.ioNorthflank
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Api, DockerAWS, GCP, Azure, On-premises
Founded2020Unknown

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
  • Auto-scaling
  • Health checks
  • Backups
  • Monitoring

Only in Northflank

  • Application deployments
  • GPU support
  • Preview environments
  • Database management
  • Multi-cloud support
  • GitOps integration

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

Northflank

  • Deploying AI inference models with GPU accelerationnot Fly.io
  • Running training workloads on distributed GPUsnot Fly.io
  • Building microservices with multi-cloud reliabilitynot 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

Northflank

  • Pricing complexity with multiple rate dimensions
  • GPU costs can be expensive for large-scale deployments
  • Learning curve for Kubernetes concepts

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

Northflank

Free
  • Sandbox (Free)Free
    • Always-on compute with no sleeping
    • 2 free services
    • 1 free database
  • Pay-as-you-go$undefined/usage
    • CPU: $0.01667 per vCPU per hour
    • Memory: $0.00833 per GB per hour
    • Network egress: $0.06 per GB
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Custom pricing with volume discounts
    • Invoice-based billing
    • Annual commitments

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 Northflank if

  • You need application deployments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS, GCP, Azure, On-premises.
  • You also want gpu support.
Northflank review

Questions people ask

Is Fly.io or Northflank better?
Neither clearly leads. Fly.io starts at $29/month and Northflank at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fly.io or Northflank?
Northflank has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Fly.io and Free for Northflank.
Does Fly.io or Northflank run on more platforms?
Fly.io runs on Web, Api, Docker. Northflank runs on AWS, GCP, Azure, On-premises.
Can I use Northflank for free?
Yes. Northflank 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 Northflank is typically brought in for.
What can Fly.io do that Northflank cannot?
Fly.io covers Global deployment, Docker support, Postgres databases, Redis support. Northflank covers Application deployments, GPU support, Preview environments, Database management.

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
Northflank: What is included in the free Sandbox tier?

The Sandbox includes always-on compute, 2 free services, 1 free database, 2 free cron jobs, and is perfect for testing applications.

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
Northflank: How much does CPU cost on Northflank?

CPU costs $0.01667 per vCPU per hour on pay-as-you-go pricing.

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
Northflank: What GPUs are available?

GPU options include NVIDIA L4 at $0.80/hr through H100 at $2.74/hr.

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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