Softwr

Software · head to head

Fly.io vs Vagrant

Fly.io logo

Fly.io

Software

Deploy web applications globally

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vagrant logo

Vagrant

Software

Development environments made easy

From
Free
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; Vagrant vagrant 2.4.3 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, Vagrant covers Box management.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Fly.io and Vagrant differ
AttributeFly.ioVagrant
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsWeb, Api, DockerLinux, Windows, Mac
Founded20202010

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Vagrant

  • Box management
  • Provider support
  • Multi-machine setups
  • Provisioners
  • Networking
  • Synced folders
  • Snapshots
  • Plugins

Both cover

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

Vagrant

  • Reproducible local development environments defined in a Vagrantfilenot Fly.io
  • Provisioning identical VMs across VirtualBox, VMware and Hyper-V for a teamnot Fly.io
  • Sandboxing multi-machine setups on a developer laptopnot 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

Vagrant

  • Vagrant 2.4.3 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 Vagrant to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Vagrant
  • Each version converts to the MPL 2.0 Change License only four years after that version is first published
  • Uses that fall outside the Additional Use Grant require a separately negotiated licence from the licensor

Pricing, plan by plan

Fly.io

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 3 shared-cpu-1x VMs
    • 3GB persistence storage
    • 160GB outbound data/month
  • Pay-as-you-goFree
    • Unlimited applications
    • Dedicated machines
    • Global deployment

Vagrant

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Development environment provisioning
    • Multiple providers
    • Provisioner support

Which should you pick?

Choose Fly.io if

  • You need global deployment.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Docker.
  • You also want docker support.
Fly.io review

Choose Vagrant if

  • You need box management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac.
  • You also want provider support.
Vagrant review

Questions people ask

Is Fly.io or Vagrant better?
Neither clearly leads. Fly.io starts at Free and Vagrant at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fly.io or Vagrant?
Fly.io starts at Free and Vagrant at Free.
Does Fly.io or Vagrant run on more platforms?
Fly.io runs on Web, Api, Docker. Vagrant runs on Linux, Windows, Mac.
Can I use Fly.io for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Vagrant is typically brought in for.
What can Fly.io do that Vagrant cannot?
Fly.io covers Global deployment, Docker support, Postgres databases, Redis support. Vagrant covers Box management, Provider support, Multi-machine setups, Provisioners. Both handle Docker, Cloud deployment.
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