Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Fly.io vs Porter

Fly.io logo

Fly.io

Cloud

Deploy web applications globally

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Porter logo

Porter

Cloud

Effortless app infrastructure, your own cloud

From
$6/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Porter pricing based on vCPU and memory can be expensive for small projects
  • They diverge on capability: Fly.io covers Global deployment, Porter covers Rapid deployment.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Fly.io and Porter differ
AttributeFly.ioPorter
Starting price$29/month$6/month
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Api, DockerAWS, GCP, Azure
Founded2020Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Porter

  • Rapid deployment
  • Multi-cloud support
  • Framework agnostic
  • DevOps automation
  • Enterprise compliance
  • Cost optimization

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

Porter

  • Deploying Next.js applications with serverless backendsnot Fly.io
  • Scaling microservices across multiple cloud providersnot Fly.io
  • Running applications without dedicated DevOps staffnot 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

Porter

  • Pricing based on vCPU and memory can be expensive for small projects
  • Vendor lock-in to Porter platform despite multi-cloud support
  • Limited customization for complex infrastructure requirements

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

Porter

$6/month
  • Standard$undefined/usage
    • RAM: $6 per month per GB
    • vCPU: $13 per month per vCPU
    • Unlimited applications
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Volume discounts available
    • All Standard features
    • Premium support

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 Porter if

  • You need rapid deployment.
  • You work on AWS, GCP, Azure.
  • You also want multi-cloud support.
Porter review

Questions people ask

Is Fly.io or Porter better?
Neither clearly leads. Fly.io starts at $29/month and Porter at $6/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fly.io or Porter?
Fly.io starts at $29/month and Porter at $6/month.
Does Fly.io or Porter run on more platforms?
Fly.io runs on Web, Api, Docker. Porter runs on AWS, GCP, Azure.
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 Porter is typically brought in for.
What can Fly.io do that Porter cannot?
Fly.io covers Global deployment, Docker support, Postgres databases, Redis support. Porter covers Rapid deployment, Multi-cloud support, Framework agnostic, DevOps automation.

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
Porter: How is Porter priced?

Porter uses pay-as-you-go pricing: $6 per month per GB of RAM and $13 per month per vCPU. You only pay for the resources your applications use, not cloud instance capacity.

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
Porter: Does Porter include cloud provider costs?

Porter pricing excludes underlying cloud provider costs (AWS, Azure, GCP), though cloud credits can offset those expenses.

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
Porter: Do startups get special pricing?

Yes, nonprofits receive 50% off standard rates, and startups may qualify for special pricing programs.

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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