Fly.io vs Cloudways
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Fly.io and Cloudways.
Quick Verdict
4.0/5
Fly.io
0 reviews
3.9/5
Cloudways
0 reviews
Fly.io is rated higher (4.0 vs 3.9). Fly.io runs Docker containers on bare metal in 35+ cities globally. Machines run close to users — sub-50ms latency from most locations. Supports any language and framework. Managed hosting layer that sits on top of DigitalOcean, AWS, GCP, Vultr, or Linode. You get managed control with one-click staging, Breeze caching, and 24/7 support.
Fly.io Deploy apps globally with sub-50ms latency | Cloudways Managed cloud hosting on your choice of provider | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.0 (0 reviews)✓ | 3.9 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | usage-based | paid |
| Starting price | From $2.19/mo✓ | From $11/mo |
| Best for | Latency-sensitive applications — APIs, real-time apps and globally distributed backends — run by teams comfortable with a CLI-first platform and pay-as-you-go pricing | Agencies, freelancers and SMBs running WordPress/WooCommerce/Magento/Laravel who want managed cloud hosting with provider choice and no ops staff |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | 1 vCPU | 1 vCPU |
| RAM | 0 GB | 1 GB✓ |
| Storage | 0 GB | 25 GB✓ |
| Bandwidth | 0 TB/mo | 1 TB/mo✓ |
| SLA uptime | 99.9% | 99.99%✓ |
| Data-center count | 17 | — |
| €/vCPU/mo | €2.19✓ | €11.00 |
| €/GB RAM/mo | — | €11.00 |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ✓ | |
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ✓ | |
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | Netherlands, Sweden, France, Germany, UK, US, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, Japan, Singapore, Australia | United StatesUnited KingdomGermanyNetherlandsSingaporeAustralia+1 |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tiermanaged optionipv6eu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenterapi accessprivate networking | managed optionddos protectionbackups includedeu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenter |
| Visit Fly.io → | Visit Cloudways → | |
Fly.io
Pros
- + Fully published pricing for every billed resource, with worked example bills
- + Cheap always-on compute — $2.19/30 days for the smallest Machine in the cheapest regions
- + 17 regions on Fly's own hardware with Anycast routing and per-second billing
- + Strong ecosystem: Managed Postgres, Fly Kubernetes, Tigris S3-compatible object storage, Upstash extensions on one invoice
- + Concrete Enterprise SLA terms (99.9%, 15-minute urgent response) published openly
Cons
- - Free tier replaced by a tight trial (2 VM hours or 7 days)
- - Managed Postgres starts at $38/month — services are priced like a managed PaaS, not like the VMs
- - CLI-first workflow with real conceptual overhead (Machines, Apps, fly-replay, 6PN networking)
- - Uptime SLA only covers Enterprise plans; SLA downtime definition excludes hacking and virus attacks
- - Region count has shrunk from the widely quoted 35+ to 17, and prices vary by region
Cloudways
Pros
- + Choose the underlying cloud (DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, GCP) and region per server
- + Entry pricing from $11/month on DigitalOcean with hourly billing and no contract
- + Managed stack with free migration, staging/cloning, automated backups, caching and 24/7 human support
- + Unlimited sites and visits per server on Flexible plans
- + Autonomous line adds real autoscaling, Cloudflare Enterprise CDN and a no-credit-card 3-day trial
Cons
- - Management markup of roughly $5-$35/month over buying the same server direct
- - No formal uptime SLA on the Flexible line
- - AWS/GCP plans include only 1-2 GB transfer; overage at $0.12/GB (AWS) adds up fast
- - Root-level control is limited — no custom kernels, bare metal, GPUs or own object storage
- - Owned by DigitalOcean since 2022 while reselling competing clouds — a roadmap consideration
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