Fly.io vs Dokku
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Fly.io and Dokku.
Fly.io Deploy apps globally with sub-50ms latency | Dokku Self-hosted mini Heroku on your own VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.2 (191 reviews) | 4.7 (251 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | freemium | free |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free |
| Best for | Latency-sensitive applications — APIs, real-time apps, and globally distributed backends | Developers who want Heroku-style deployments at VPS pricing on infrastructure they own and control |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | 1 vCPU | — |
| RAM | 0.3 GB | — |
| Storage | 0 GB | — |
| Bandwidth | 0 TB/mo | — |
| SLA uptime | 99.9% | — |
| Data-center count | 35 | — |
| €/vCPU/mo | €0.00 | — |
| €/GB RAM/mo | €0.00 | — |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ✓ | |
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ✓ | |
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | United StatesUnited KingdomGermanyFranceNetherlandsSingapore+5 | — |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tiermanaged optionipv6eu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenterapi accessprivate networking | free tieropen sourceself hostable |
| Visit Fly.io → | Visit Dokku → | |
Fly.io
Pros
- + 35+ global cities — widest edge deployment network
- + Bare metal performance in a PaaS wrapper
- + Persistent volumes and managed PostgreSQL included
Cons
- - CLI-heavy — less visual than Render
- - Learning curve for networking concepts
- - Documentation occasionally outdated
Dokku
Pros
- + Free and open source — just need a VPS
- + Heroku buildpack compatible
- + Full control over your data and costs
Cons
- - Self-managed — you handle updates and maintenance
- - Requires Linux server knowledge
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