Cloud · head to head
Fly.io vs Okta
The short version
- Only Okta 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; Okta requires $1,500 annual minimum contract
- They diverge on capability: Fly.io covers Global deployment, Okta covers Single sign-on (SSO).
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Fly.io and Okta actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).
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 Okta
- Single sign-on (SSO)
- Multi-factor authentication
- Lifecycle management
- Universal directory
- API access management
- B2B integration
- Passwordless authentication
- Adaptive MFA
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 Okta
- Running full stack apps and databases on managed machinesnot Okta
Okta
- Employee SSOnot Fly.io
- Customer identitynot Fly.io
- B2B integrationnot Fly.io
- Zero Trust securitynot Fly.io
- Compliancenot 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
Okta
- Requires $1,500 annual minimum contract
- Admin-only MFA can be vulnerable to push notification fatigue attacks
- Implementation requires significant services and integration fees in year one
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
Okta
Free- Starter Suite$6/user/month
- SSO
- MFA
- Universal Directory
- Core Essentials Suite$14/user/month
- Adaptive MFA
- Privileged Access
- Lifecycle Management
- Essentials Suite$17/user/month
- Same as Core Essentials
- Most popular
- Professional Suite$undefined/custom
- Device Access
- Identity Security Posture
- Threat Protection
Which should you pick?
Choose Fly.io if
- You need global deployment.
- You work on Web, Api, Docker.
- You also want docker support.
Choose Okta if
- You need single sign-on (sso).
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, SaaS.
- You also want multi-factor authentication.
Questions people ask
- Is Fly.io or Okta better?
- Neither clearly leads. Fly.io starts at $29/month and Okta at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Fly.io or Okta?
- Okta has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Fly.io and Free for Okta.
- Does Fly.io or Okta run on more platforms?
- Fly.io runs on Web, Api, Docker. Okta runs on Web, SaaS.
- Can I use Okta for free?
- Yes. Okta 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 Okta is typically brought in for.
- What can Fly.io do that Okta cannot?
- Fly.io covers Global deployment, Docker support, Postgres databases, Redis support. Okta covers Single sign-on (SSO), Multi-factor authentication, Lifecycle management, Universal directory.
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.
SourceOkta: What is the minimum contract for Okta Workforce Identity?
Okta requires a $1,500 annual minimum contract for Workforce Identity plans. Pricing starts at $6 per user per month (Starter) and ranges to $17 per user per month (Essentials), billed annually.
SourceFly.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.
SourceOkta: Does Okta offer a free trial?
Yes, Okta provides a 30-day free trial so customers can explore all product capabilities before committing to a paid plan.
SourceFly.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.
SourceOkta: How many pre-built integrations does Okta support?
Okta offers over 7,000 pre-built integrations with popular enterprise applications including Salesforce, Slack, Workday, Box, Confluence, and Zendesk.
SourceFly.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.
SourceOkta: What security features does Okta provide for admins?
Okta provides multi-factor authentication, adaptive MFA, single logout, and identity threat detection and response. However, only 94% of Okta customers have MFA enabled for administrators.
SourceOkta: Can Okta integrate with on-premises directories?
Yes, Okta's Universal Directory and lifecycle management support cloud and on-premises identity sources, including Active Directory and LDAP.
SourceRelated pages
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- Okta vs Docker
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- Okta vs PostHog
- Okta vs Redis
- Okta vs Supabase
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