Fly.io vs Vast.ai Comparison
Detailed comparison of features, pricing, and capabilities
Last updated May 1, 2026
Overview
Compare key metrics and features at a glance
Fly.io
https://fly.io
Fly.io is a platform that allows developers to deploy applications closer to their users by running them in micro-VMs on a global network of servers. It transforms Docker containers into micro-VMs that can run anywhere in the world, providing better performance through edge computing and simplified deployment processes. The platform specializes in running full-stack applications globally with minimal latency.
Vast.ai
https://vast.ai
Vast.ai is a decentralized cloud GPU marketplace that connects individuals and businesses who need GPU compute resources with hosts who have idle GPU hardware available for rent. The platform allows users to rent GPU instances at significantly lower prices than traditional cloud providers by aggregating consumer and data center GPUs from around the world. Vast.ai supports a wide range of use cases including machine learning training, inference, rendering, and other compute-intensive workloads.
Quick Comparison
| Detail | Fly.io | Vast.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Platform as a Service (PaaS) | AI Cloud Infrastructure |
| Starting Price | Free | Contact Sales |
| Plans Available | 5 | 3 |
| Features Tracked | 16 | 16 |
| Founded | 2017 | 2017 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, USA | San Francisco, USA |
Features
Detailed feature-by-feature comparison
Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| api | ||
| CLI & SDK | ||
| Fly Machines API | ||
| REST API | ||
| core | ||
| Auto-Scaling | ||
| Clusters for Training | ||
| Diverse GPU Support | ||
| Docker Container Deployment | ||
| Firecracker MicroVMs | ||
| Fly Launch | ||
| GPU Marketplace | ||
| Global Anycast Networking | ||
| Instance Filtering | ||
| Interruptible Instances | ||
| Managed Postgres | ||
| Managed Redis | ||
| Multi-Region Deployment | ||
| Multiple Language Support | ||
| On-Demand Instances | ||
| Per-Second Billing | ||
| Persistent Volumes | ||
| Pre-Built Templates | ||
| Private Network | ||
| Real-Time Pricing | ||
| Reserved Instances | ||
| Serverless Inference | ||
| integration | ||
| CI/CD Integration | ||
| security | ||
| Direct Payload Delivery | ||
| SOC2 Certification | ||
| Secrets Management | ||
| support | ||
| 24/7 Expert Support | ||
| Prometheus Metrics | ||
| flyctl CLI | ||
Pricing
Compare pricing plans and value for money
Fly.io
From $0/mo
Price Components
- Compute (shared-cpu-1x 256MB): $0.0028/hour
- Persistent Volumes: $0.15/GB
- Volume Snapshots: $0.08/GB (10 included)
- Data Egress (NA/Europe): $0.02/GB
- Dedicated IPv4: $2/address
Best For
Developers and startups building latency-sensitive, full-stack or stateful apps like global APIs and databases that need edge deployment without vendor lock-in.
Vast.ai
Contact Sales
Price Components
- GPU Usage: $0/second
- GPU Usage: $0/second
- Reserved Capacity: $0/term
Best For
Cost-sensitive ML practitioners and researchers running batch training, inference, or rendering on flexible, preemptible GPU workloads.
Integrations
See which third-party services are supported
Supported Integrations
Coming Soon
Integration comparison data for Fly.io, Vast.ai is being collected and will be available soon.
Strengths & Limitations
Key strengths and limitations of each service
Fly.io
Developers and startups building latency-sensitive, full-stack or stateful apps like global APIs and databases that need edge deployment without vendor lock-in.
- Deploys Docker containers as micro-VMs across global edge locations with Anycast networking for sub-100ms latency, outperforming centralized PaaS like Heroku.
- Supports stateful apps via Fly Volumes for persistent NVMe storage and managed Postgres with automated scaling, unlike ephemeral serverless competitors.
- Generous free Hobby tier covers compute, storage, and Anycast IPs with pure pay-as-you-go pricing, avoiding minimum fees of Render or DigitalOcean.
- 7th most popular deployment platform with 2.5% market share and 3M+ apps launched, backed by Series C funding and $11.2M 2024 revenue.
- Managed Postgres requires more hands-on management than fully managed DBaaS from AWS or DigitalOcean, lacking complete 'hands-off' automation.
- Enterprise support starts at $2500/month, pricier than Render's $29/user organization plans for similar scale.
- Smaller team of 51-200 employees may limit rapid feature development versus hyperscalers like AWS.
Vast.ai
Cost-sensitive ML practitioners and researchers running batch training, inference, or rendering on flexible, preemptible GPU workloads.
- Decentralized marketplace aggregates 20,000+ GPUs worldwide, offering 3-6x savings via dynamic real-time pricing over hyperscalers.
- Per-second billing with on-demand, interruptible (50%+ cheaper), and reserved options for flexible cost control.
- Supports diverse high-end GPUs like RTX 4090, A100, H200 with pre-built AI templates and multi-GPU configs.
- Instant deployment via web, CLI, SDK, API, and native Docker for rapid ML training and inference.
- Interruptible instances risk preemption, unsuitable for production needing guaranteed uptime.
- Decentralized peer-to-peer model may yield inconsistent reliability versus managed hyperscaler infrastructure.
- Small team (11-50 employees) limits enterprise-grade support and scale compared to giants like AWS.
Company Info
Company details and background
Fly.io
Vast.ai
Comparison FAQ
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