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Cloud · head to head

Fly.io vs Thanos

Fly.io logo

Fly.io

Cloud

Deploy web applications globally

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thanos logo

Thanos

Cloud

Highly available Prometheus with long-term object storage

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Thanos 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; Thanos several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • They diverge on capability: Fly.io covers Global deployment, Thanos covers Global query.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Fly.io and Thanos differ
AttributeFly.ioThanos
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelusage-basedOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Api, DockerKubernetes, Linux, Docker
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 Thanos

  • Global query
  • Object storage retention
  • Deduplication
  • Downsampling

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

Thanos

  • Querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one placenot Fly.io
  • Retaining metrics for years without local disk growthnot Fly.io
  • Removing the gap that appears when a single Prometheus instance restartsnot 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

Thanos

  • Several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • The compactor is a common source of operational trouble and must not run twice against the same bucket
  • Query latency over object storage is meaningfully higher than local Prometheus
  • Object storage costs and API request charges become real at high volume

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

Thanos

Free
  • ThanosFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community 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 Thanos if

  • You need global query.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want object storage retention.
Thanos review

Questions people ask

Is Fly.io or Thanos better?
Neither clearly leads. Fly.io starts at $29/month and Thanos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fly.io or Thanos?
Thanos has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Fly.io and Free for Thanos.
Does Fly.io or Thanos run on more platforms?
Fly.io runs on Web, Api, Docker. Thanos runs on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
Can I use Thanos for free?
Yes. Thanos 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 Thanos is typically brought in for.
What can Fly.io do that Thanos cannot?
Fly.io covers Global deployment, Docker support, Postgres databases, Redis support. Thanos covers Global query, Object storage retention, Deduplication, Downsampling.

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
Thanos: Is Thanos free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-incubating. Costs are the object storage it uses.

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
Thanos: Does Thanos replace Prometheus?

No. It runs alongside existing Prometheus servers, adding global query, deduplication and long-term storage.

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
Thanos: Thanos or VictoriaMetrics?

Thanos layers onto Prometheus using object storage and is the more established multi-cluster answer. VictoriaMetrics is a separate store aiming at lower resource use and fewer moving parts.

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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