Fly.io vs Fly Machines

At a Glance

Fly.io

Fly Machines

Fly.io

Pros

Run any Docker container globally close to users with Anycast routing — true multi-region with just a fly.toml config file+163
Persistent volumes and long-running processes make it suitable for stateful apps that serverless platforms can't handle+148
Machines API lets you spin up ephemeral containers programmatically — great for running user-submitted code safely+127
The free allowance is enough to run two small apps indefinitely, which is great for hobby projects and side businesses+112

Cons

The CLI-first experience has a steep learning curve compared to Vercel or Railway — the mental model of machines and apps takes time to internalize

Hosting

Render vs Fly.io

Hosting

Railway vs Fly.io

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