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Software · head to head

Proxmox VE vs Fly.io

Proxmox VE logo

Proxmox VE

Software

Open-source hypervisor combining KVM and LXC virtualisation

From
€120/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fly.io logo

Fly.io

Software

Deploy web applications globally

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Fly.io has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Proxmox VE per-socket licensing model: cost scales with CPU socket count, not vCore count, resulting in high costs for multi-socket servers; 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

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Proxmox VE and Fly.io actually diverge.

Attributes where Proxmox VE and Fly.io differ
AttributeProxmox VEFly.io
Starting price€120/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsLinux, Web, API, Self-hostedWeb, Api, Docker
FoundedUnknown2020

Identical on both: 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 Proxmox VE

Nothing recorded that Fly.io does not also cover.

Only in Fly.io

  • Global deployment
  • Docker support
  • Postgres databases
  • Redis support
  • Auto-scaling
  • Health checks
  • Backups
  • Monitoring

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Proxmox VE

  • Open-source datacenter virtualisation for hosting providers and cloud platformsnot Fly.io
  • Cost-sensitive enterprise virtualisation replacing commercial hypervisorsnot Fly.io
  • High-availability clustering for disaster recovery and business continuitynot Fly.io
  • Container deployments using LXC as lighter-weight alternative to Dockernot Fly.io
  • Hybrid VM and container workloads in a single management interfacenot Fly.io
  • Backup and archival infrastructure alongside primary virtualisationnot Fly.io

Fly.io

  • Deploying containerised applications close to users across regionsnot Proxmox VE
  • Running full stack apps and databases on managed machinesnot Proxmox VE

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Proxmox VE

  • Per-socket licensing model: cost scales with CPU socket count, not vCore count, resulting in high costs for multi-socket servers
  • Linux-based host only; Windows hypervisors not supported, limiting adoption in Windows-focused organisations
  • Clustering and high-availability setup requires operational expertise and careful network configuration
  • Commercial support tiers limit advanced features (just-in-time access, network flow logs) to paid subscriptions
  • Smaller ecosystem of third-party plugins and integrations compared to VMware vSphere

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

Pricing, plan by plan

Proxmox VE

€120/year
  • Community$120/year
    • Enterprise Repository access
    • Community forum support only
    • Per-socket subscription model
  • Basic$370/year
    • 3 support tickets per year
    • 1 business day response time
    • Stable updates and Enterprise Repository
  • Standard$550/year
    • 10 support tickets per year
    • 4-hour response time for critical issues
    • Remote SSH support and offline updates
  • Premium$1100/year
    • Unlimited support tickets
    • 2-hour response time for critical issues
    • Remote SSH support and offline updates

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Proxmox VE if

  • You work on Linux, Web, API, Self-hosted.
Proxmox VE review

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

Questions people ask

Is Proxmox VE or Fly.io better?
Neither clearly leads. Proxmox VE starts at €120/year and Fly.io at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Proxmox VE or Fly.io?
Fly.io has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €120/year for Proxmox VE and Free for Fly.io.
Does Proxmox VE or Fly.io run on more platforms?
Proxmox VE runs on Linux, Web, API, Self-hosted. Fly.io runs on Web, Api, Docker.
Can I use Fly.io for free?
Yes. Fly.io has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Proxmox VE starts at €120/year.
What is Proxmox VE best used for?
Proxmox VE is most often used for open-source datacenter virtualisation for hosting providers and cloud platforms, cost-sensitive enterprise virtualisation replacing commercial hypervisors, high-availability clustering for disaster recovery and business continuity, container deployments using lxc as lighter-weight alternative to docker. Of those, open-source datacenter virtualisation for hosting providers and cloud platforms and cost-sensitive enterprise virtualisation replacing commercial hypervisors are not what Fly.io is typically brought in for.
What can Proxmox VE do that Fly.io cannot?
Fly.io covers Global deployment, Docker support, Postgres databases, Redis support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Proxmox VE: What is the licensing model for Proxmox VE?

Proxmox VE is open-source and free to deploy. Optional subscription tiers provide technical support, priority response times, and access to the Enterprise Repository for stable update channels. All tiers include identical virtualisation features.

Source
Proxmox VE: Can I run Proxmox VE without a support subscription?

Yes. Community Edition (€120/year per socket) provides Enterprise Repository access with community-based support through forums. The core Proxmox VE platform is fully functional without any subscription.

Source
Proxmox VE: What hypervisors does Proxmox VE support?

Proxmox VE includes both KVM for full virtualisation and LXC for Linux containers. It does not support Xen or Hyper-V. Workloads on those platforms must be migrated or reimplemented.

Source
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Related pages

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