Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Fly.io
| Feature | Amazon Web Services (AWS) | Fly.io |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $0/mo | Free / from $0/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | enterprises, startups, large-scale-applications, machine-learning-teams | full-stack-developers, global-apps, edge-computing, hobby-projects |
| Founded | 2006 | 2017 |
| Compute Ec2 | ✓ | ✗ |
| Storage S3 | ✓ | ✗ |
| Serverless Lambda | ✓ | ✗ |
| Databases Rds | ✓ | ✗ |
| Machine Learning | ✓ | ✗ |
| Containers Ecs | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cdn Cloudfront | ✓ | ✗ |
| Global Deployment | ✗ | ✓ |
| Firecracker Vms | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fly Postgres | ✗ | ✓ |
| Auto Scaling | ✗ | ✓ |
| Volumes | ✗ | ✓ |
| Private Networking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Gpu Support | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Amazon Web Services (AWS) Pros
- Most extensive service catalog of any cloud provider
- Global infrastructure with 30+ regions worldwide
- 12-month free tier covering many services
- Mature enterprise tooling and compliance certifications
✗ Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cons
- Complex pricing that is hard to predict
- Steep learning curve with overwhelming service count
- Console UI feels dated compared to competitors
✓ Fly.io Pros
- Deploy apps globally to 30+ regions easily
- Built-in Postgres and Redis for data at the edge
- Generous free tier for hobby projects
- Firecracker VMs start in milliseconds
✗ Fly.io Cons
- Operational complexity for simple apps
- Documentation can be hard to navigate
- Billing surprises if auto-scaling triggers unexpectedly
The Verdict
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is built for enterprises and startups, with a focus on compute-ec2 and storage-s3. Fly.io targets full stack developers and global apps and leads with global-deployment and firecracker-vms.
Both tools come in at similar price points ($0/mo for Amazon Web Services (AWS), $0/mo for Fly.io), so pricing won't make the decision for you.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Bottom line: Amazon Web Services (AWS) has a slight overall edge — but if deploy apps globally to 30+ regions easily matters most to you, Fly.io may still be the right call.