Fly.io vs Heroku
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Fly.io and Heroku.
Quick Verdict
4.2/5
Fly.io
191 reviews
4.3/5
Heroku
393 reviews
Heroku is rated higher (4.3 vs 4.2). 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. Heroku pioneered platform-as-a-service in 2007. Owned by Salesforce. Supports 10+ languages, huge addon marketplace (150+ addons). Removed free tier in 2022 but remains popular for ease of use. Eco plans restart.
Fly.io Deploy apps globally with sub-50ms latency | Heroku The original PaaS — still the easiest deploy | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.2 (191 reviews) | 4.3 (393 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | freemium | paid |
| Starting price | Free tier available✓ | From €5/mo |
| Best for | Latency-sensitive applications — APIs, real-time apps, and globally distributed backends | Developers who prioritize the largest addon ecosystem and a proven, mature PaaS with minimal configuration |
| 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 | managed optionus datacentereu datacenterapi access |
| Visit Fly.io → | Visit Heroku → | |
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- - Documentation occasionally outdated
Heroku
Pros
- + Most addon marketplace options — 150+
- + Dead-simple deployments with git push
- + Longest PaaS track record
Cons
- - Removed free tier in 2022
- - More expensive than competitors for equivalent resources
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