Fly.io

ALMOST

A weekend of work, and real gaps remain.

Runs containers close to your users: deploy an image and it starts machines in several regions, with private networking and volumes attached.

Promptfree, for everyone, and the only version there is

Run the same thing on a plain server.

STACK
- One VPS, Docker Compose, Caddy for TLS

DEPLOYING
- Build the image in CI, push to a registry, pull and restart over SSH
- Health check before the old container stops, so a bad build never takes the site down

WHAT YOU GIVE UP
- Multiple regions. One server means one latency, and for most products that is fine
- Say out loud where your users are before deciding this matters

STAYING UP
- systemd or Compose restart policies, plus a monitor hosted somewhere else
- Nightly database backup off the machine, restored once as a test

Include the compose file, the deploy script and the health check.

What you lose

Deployment to a dozen regions from one command, with routing to the nearest one handled
Private networking between your own machines across regions
Machines that suspend when idle and wake on a request, which is what keeps the bill small

If you would rather not build

A VPS with Docker Compose
Hetzner or DigitalOcean, at a fraction of the price

The escape hatch

open source · no votes, no paid placement

Coolify

Self-hosted deployment platform: push to git, it builds and runs the container.

coollabsio/coolifyfree · open source

Dokku

A tiny platform-as-a-service on one server, driven by git push.

dokku/dokkufree · open source

Why this verdict

our own opinion · changed only by a person

50/100

Verdict kinda at 50. One server replaces most of it; multi-region routing and suspend-on-idle are the parts you cannot rebuild cheaply.

History

tracked since 10 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten

Interest · last 30 days

Nothing recorded yet. This chart fills in once the page has visitors, votes or prompt copies — it will not draw a flat line to look busy.

Questions about Fly.io

answered from the record above

Is Fly.io free?

No — the plan we track is $5 a month. Pay as you go from around $5/month for a small always-on machine; billing is per second of compute.

Can you replace Fly.io by building your own?

ALMOST. A weekend of work, and real gaps remain. Replacement score 50 out of 100, build time a weekend. Read what you lose before you decide.

How much does Fly.io cost?

$5 a month on Pay as you go — $60 a year. Recorded 10 Aug 2026.

What do you lose by replacing Fly.io?

Deployment to a dozen regions from one command, with routing to the nearest one handled; Private networking between your own machines across regions; Machines that suspend when idle and wake on a request, which is what keeps the bill small. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to Fly.io?

Yes: Coolify, Dokku. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.

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