Fly.io pricing: How it works and cost-saving tips

Fly.io offers a unique approach to cloud hosting, helping developers deploy applications globally with ease. 

By using a distributed network, Fly.io provides low latency and efficient scaling. These features make it a compelling choice for businesses that need their applications to perform well for users around the world.  

But why do developers choose Fly.io, and how does its pricing model work? What strategies can you use to optimize costs? Those are the questions we’re here to answer.

Read on to learn:

• Why developers choose Fly.io for their deployments.  
• A breakdown of Fly.io's pricing structure and its components.  
• Ways to compare Fly.io to other cloud solutions.  
• Actionable tips for reducing your Fly.io hosting costs.  
• The pros and cons of Fly.io's pricing model.

Let’s get started by explaining what Fly.io is. 

What is Fly.io? 

Fly.io is a platform that allows developers to deploy and run applications globally, close to their users, by using a distributed network of servers. It provides a unique approach to fly hosting by emphasizing low latency and global reach.

Why developers choose Fly.io

Developers opt for Fly.io for several key reasons:

• Global low latency: A core feature is its ability to run applications close to end-users, reducing latency. This is achieved by deploying applications across a network of global data centers.
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• Simplified deployment: Fly.io aims to make deployment straightforward. Developers can deploy containerized applications with relative ease, focusing on their code rather than infrastructure management.
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• Automatic scaling: The platform handles scaling automatically, adapting to traffic demands. This ensures applications remain responsive even during peak usage.
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• Focus on edge computing: Fly.io leans heavily into edge computing, placing applications closer to users. This strategy enhances application performance and responsiveness.

Who is Fly.io for?

Fly.io caters to a range of developers and businesses:

• SaaS applications: Companies building software-as-a-service (SaaS) products benefit from the platform's global reach and low latency, improving the user experience.
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• Real-time applications: Applications requiring real-time data processing and low latency, such as gaming or communication platforms, find Fly.io suitable.
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• Globally distributed applications: Any application that needs to serve users across the globe can make use of Fly.io's distributed network.

How Fly.io pricing works

The Fly.io pricing model operates primarily on a pay-as-you-go basis. Costs are metered for compute resources, persistent storage, and outbound data transfer. Fly.io also provides free allowances that might be enough to run smaller applications without incurring costs.  

The 3 main components of Fly.io pricing

Fly.io pricing is structured around three main components: compute, storage, and networking. Let’s zoom in on each component.

Compute pricing

Fly.io's compute pricing involves several factors:

• Firecracker MicroVM pricing: Fly.io uses Firecracker micro-VMs, and pricing depends on CPU resources (shared or dedicated) and RAM. You're billed per second for running micro-VMs.  
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• Shared vs. dedicated CPU instances: Fly.io offers shared CPU instances, which are more economical, and dedicated CPU instances for applications needing consistent CPU power. Dedicated CPUs cost more than shared CPUs with similar RAM.  
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• RAM-based pricing: Within each CPU preset, the amount of RAM also affects the cost. More RAM means higher costs.  

Storage pricing

Fly.io provides persistent block storage through Fly Volumes, priced per GB per month. You pay for the total storage provisioned. Fly.io automatically takes daily snapshots of your volumes. 

Fly.io vs. Supabase storage pricing 

Supabase, a backend-as-a-service (BaaS), has different storage pricing. Supabase includes limited storage in its free plan. Paid plans have more storage, and overage is charged per GB per month. 

Supabase storage pricing for overage can be more cost-effective than Fly.io's base rate.  Fly.io includes daily snapshots, while Supabase includes daily backups in its paid plans.  

Expanding storage on Fly.io means increasing the provisioned volume size, which costs more. Supabase charges per GB for database storage overage, and it can be cheaper than Fly.io for storage-intensive applications.  

Network pricing

Fly.io charges for outbound data transfer (egress). Costs vary by region. For example, outbound data transfer to the public internet can range from as low as $0.02 per GB to as high as $0.12 per GB, depending on the origin region. Inter-region data transfers also incur costs, ranging from $0.006 per GB to $0.050 per GB.  

Egress fees apply to data leaving the Fly.io network. Hidden costs can arise from high outbound traffic, inefficient inter-region communication, and a lack of understanding of data transfer rates. Integrating with managed extensions may also add to these costs. 

Note: Learn more about competitive pricing, dynamic pricing, and AI pricing models in our respective blog posts. 

How does Fly.io compare to other cloud hosting?

It's helpful to see how Fly.io stacks up against other platforms. Each has its own strengths, and Fly.io pricing reflects its focus on global application hosting. Let's compare Fly.io with Supabase, Glide, AWS, and Google Cloud.

Cost optimization: How to reduce Fly.io hosting costs

Fly.io provides tools to monitor your application's resource use. To make the most of Fly.io pricing and keep costs low, consider these tips:

• Select the right instance size: Start with the smallest Fly Machine size that meets your needs. Use Fly.io's tools to monitor resource use. Increase the instance size only when necessary.
  
  If your application has changing demands, use shared CPU instances during low activity periods. They cost less than dedicated performance instances.

• Reduce egress costs: Outbound data transfer can increase costs. Deploy your application in regions close to your users to reduce data travel distance and costs. Also, reduce the amount of data transferred. 
  
  You can use data compression techniques like gzip or Brotli to compress responses. If services in your application communicate with each other, use Fly.io's private network, as same-region traffic is often free or cheaper.

• Choose affordable storage options: Assess your application's storage needs. If you need persistent block storage, use Fly Volumes. 
  
  To avoid overspending, do not allocate more storage than you need. For large amounts of static data, consider object storage. It may be cheaper for large, infrequently accessed data.

• Leverage automatic scaling strategies: If your application's traffic varies, use Fly.io's scale-to-zero feature. This can lower compute costs by not paying for idle virtual machines. 
  
  If available, use Fly.io's auto-scaling to change the number of running instances based on demand.

• Implement data compression: Use data compression in your application to reduce the size of data sent to users. This can lower bandwidth use and egress costs. Common methods include gzip and Brotli for text-based assets.
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• Strategic region selection: Deploying to multiple regions can improve latency but increase costs, especially for inter-region data transfer. Deploy to a few, well-chosen regions that cover most of your users.

Pros and cons of the Fly.io pricing model

The Fly.io pricing model has strong points and drawbacks. It's designed for flexibility, but like any system, it's not perfect for everyone. Let’s start with the pros.

Fly.io pricing model pros

Here are some of the advantages of Fly.io's pricing:

• It is flexible. The pay-as-you-go system lets you adjust your resources as needed, so you only pay for what you use.  
• It can be cost-effective. If your application has changing traffic or periods of inactivity, you can save money by scaling down.  
• Billing is very detailed. You're billed per second for computing and per hour for storage, giving you a clear view of costs.  
• There are no long-term contracts. The pay-as-you-go approach means you can start and stop services without being tied down.  
• Fly.io offers free allowances. You can run small to medium-sized apps at no cost if you stay within the limits.  

Fly.io pricing model cons

Here are some of the disadvantages of Fly.io's pricing:

• Costs can add up. If your application has consistently high traffic, the pay-as-you-go model might end up costing more than other pricing structures.  
• Predicting costs can be hard. It's not always easy to know your monthly expenses, especially if your application's traffic varies.  
• Regional pricing adds complexity. Because pricing varies by region, you have to consider where you deploy your application.  
• There's no completely free tier. New users don't get a totally free option to try out the platform.  
• Egress costs might be high. Outbound data transfer can be expensive, especially if you have many users or send a lot of data.  

How Fly.io works with Orb 

Orb is a done-for-you billing platform that complements cloud hosting providers like Fly.io, AWS, or Supabase, by helping SaaS and digital businesses automate billing and optimize usage-based pricing. 

Fly.io gives you the infrastructure to deploy globally with ease, and Orb gives you the tools to effectively monetize that usage. Orb helps you unlock your usage data, enabling flexible pricing, seamless billing, and faster growth without the constraints of rigid billing systems.

Here's how Orb helps you:

• Agility in pricing: Experiment with pricing, adapt to change, and fine-tune your monetization strategies without limitations. Orb decouples usage data from pricing metrics using Orb RevGraph and allows teams to query usage freely via the Orb SQL Editor. 
  
  Business teams can launch new pricing without engineering, simulate pricing changes using historical data, and support all modern pricing models (usage, tiered, hybrid, and more).

• Accuracy in billing: Deliver precise, error-free billing by ingesting and processing all raw event data into Orb RevGraph. 
  
  It doesn’t drop event data, provides a complete audit trail for every calculation, and tracks usage in real time. It also future-proofs your billing, as any pricing model can be built on raw event data.

• Extensibility for growth: Harness high-scale data ingestion with the Orb API, query it seamlessly with the Orb SQL Editor, and leverage functions like Billing, Invoicing, and Reporting — all built on top of your usage data. 
  
  Orb's modular platform grows with your needs, providing direct financial stack integration, built-in revenue analytics, and customer usage dashboards that match invoice data. It also delivers enterprise-grade reliability and compliance.

• Partnership for success: Orb acts as a trusted guide for SaaS companies navigating usage-based pricing. 
  
  You’ll get dedicated implementation support, industry expertise and benchmarking, regular business reviews, proven migration pathways, and ongoing optimization support.
  

Ready to transform your billing process into a strategic asset? Explore Orb’s flexible pricing options designed to support your business at every stage.