Fly.io vs Render (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Render grades higher than Fly.io: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Render grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Fly.io
Virtual machines and databases in 18 regions, billed per second
Render
Cloud hosting for web services, databases and workers
Which one is for you
Pick Fly.io if
- Fits if you want machines near users in several regions and are fine on the command line
- Works for apps that stop when idle and pay by the second
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as the trial is $1 for 7 days
- Not for you if you don't like a command line
- Pricey if you add a database: Managed Postgres starts at $38 a month
- Watch out: the prices quoted are for Ashburn and Secaucus, the cheapest regions, and a dedicated IPv4 is $2 a month
- Watch out: data out costs $0.02 per GB in North America and Europe and $0.12 in Africa and India
Pick Render if
- Fits if you want web services and Postgres together
- Works for backends that need cron jobs and background workers
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: free instances have limits and 5 GB of bandwidth
- Pricey if you add it up: workspace plus each service's instance
- Watch out: full-stack previews and autoscaling need Pro
- Watch out: HIPAA workspaces, SAML SSO and SCIM start at $499 on Scale
- Watch out: no bandwidth overage price is named
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAFly.ioFair | 2.4GPARenderFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$2.19 a month buys a 256MB machine, but the vendor's own example of a small app with Managed Postgres is about $44 a month, and Postgres starts at $38. | CPro is $25 a month plus compute, above the dearer quarter's $19 as a floor, but Hobby is $0. A $7 instance buys 512 MB RAM and Postgres starts at $6. |
| Free plan and trial | CNew accounts get $1 of credit for 7 days with no card. That's a taste, not a plan. | CHobby is $0 with up to 25 services, but free instance types come with limitations and bandwidth is 5 GB. |
| Features | BMachines in 18 regions, launch from a repo, Managed Postgres, volumes, snapshots and free shared IPv4. The listing names no gap in the core job. | BWeb services, workers, cron, Postgres, Key Value, previews, autoscaling, API and infrastructure as code. The listing names no core gap. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. The flow is built around its command line and a Dockerfile. | CNo store rating on record. You define services, instance types and databases. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with GitHub, Slack, Tigris and Upstash and a CLI. | BWeb only, with Docker, a CLI, a REST API and an MCP server. |
| Best for | small servers in many regions, billed by the second | web services and Postgres in one place |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Fly.io and Render. How we grade
Price against what you get
Fly.io starts at $2.19 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Render starts at $25 a month and scores 2.7.
Render scores higher, and starts $22.81 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 1 scores higher than Fly.io for less, and none scores higher than Render for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Fly.io also covers AI agents.
- Render also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Fly.io | Render | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $2.19 per month for the smallest Machine, pay as you go | $25 per month plus compute (Pro workspace) |
| Free plan | None | Hobby workspace: $0 a month, up to 25 services, 5 GB of bandwidth, and free instance types for web services, Postgres and Key Value (limitations apply). |
| Free trial | New accounts get $1 of credit for 7 days, no card required. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Fly.io | Render |
| Price read from | fly.io | render.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Fly.io
- There is no free plan; the trial is a $1 credit that lasts 7 days or until it is used up.
- Machine prices quoted are for Ashburn and Secaucus, the lowest-priced regions, and vary by region.
- Outbound data costs $0.02 per GB in North America and Europe and $0.12 per GB in Africa and India.
- A dedicated IPv4 address is $2 a month, and a small web app with Managed Postgres is about $44 a month by the vendor's own example.
Render
- The workspace fee is only part of the bill: every service pays for its instance, for example $7 a month for 512 MB RAM or $25 for 2 GB.
- Free instance types carry limitations, and Postgres on a paid plan starts at $6 a month for 256 MB RAM.
- HIPAA-compliant workspaces, SAML SSO and SCIM start on the $499 Scale plan.
- Bandwidth is included per workspace plan (5 GB, 25 GB, 1 TB), with the page naming no overage price.
Key features
Fly.io
- Fly Machines
- Fast-booting VMs for production apps, run in 18 regions, billed by the second while running and at a lower rate when stopped.
- Launch from GitHub or the CLI
- fly launch deploys an app from a repo or folder and generates a Dockerfile for many popular frameworks when none exists.
- Managed Postgres
- A managed database service, or you can run your own datastore on Machines with attached volumes.
- Sprites
- Hardware-isolated sandboxes that start quickly, stay on and scale to zero when idle, aimed at agents and untrusted code.
- Volumes and snapshots
- Persistent volumes cost $0.15 per GB a month and snapshots $0.08 per GB, with the first 10GB of snapshots free.
- Free shared IPv4 and certificates
- Apps get a shared IPv4 address and IPv6 addresses free, and the first 10 single-hostname SSL certificates are free.
Render
- Services and workers
- Web services, private services, background workers and cron jobs run Node, Python, Go, Rust, Ruby, Elixir or custom Docker containers.
- Managed Postgres and Key Value
- Fully managed PostgreSQL with point-in-time recovery and connection pooling, plus a Redis-compatible Key Value store.
- Preview environments
- Pull requests can get their own preview, single-service on Hobby and full-stack on Pro and above.
- Autoscaling and zero-downtime deploys
- Horizontal autoscaling is a Pro feature, and deploys are listed as zero downtime in the product menu.
- Infrastructure as code and API
- Services can be defined as code, managed with the Render CLI and REST API, or driven from an MCP server.
- Persistent disks
- SSD disks can be attached to services at $0.25 per GB per month.
Plans
Fly.io
Pay As You Go$2.19
per month for a 256MB Machine, billed by the second
No platform fee. 512MB is $3.69, 1GB is $6.70 and 2GB is $13.39 a month in Ashburn and Secaucus; other regions cost more.
Managed Postgres$38
per month for the Basic cluster, plus $0.28/GB storage
Managed database clusters run from $38 a month (Basic) to $1,922 a month (Performance).
Standard support$29
per month
Optional paid support. Premium is $199 a month and Enterprise starts at $2,500 a month; community support is free.
Render
Hobby$0
per month, plus compute
Up to 25 services, 5 GB of bandwidth, single-service previews, custom domains, database PITR and chat support.
Pro$25
per month, plus compute
Unlimited seats and services, 25 GB of bandwidth, full-stack previews, horizontal autoscaling and isolated environments.
Scale$499
per month, plus compute
Multiple workspaces, 1 TB of bandwidth, HIPAA-compliant workspaces, SAML SSO and SCIM, and advanced RBAC roles.
EnterpriseCustom
Contractual uptime SLAs, a dedicated technical account team, a support Slack channel and support response SLAs.
Ways to pay less
Fly.io
No public discounts listed.
Render
- Startups
Up to $100K in credits for VC-funded startups
The pricing page links to Render for Startups, which offers up to $100K in credits to VC-funded startups.
- Other savings
Up to $10K in migration credits
Teams moving to Render can get up to $10K in credits through the migration program linked from the pricing page.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Fly.io or Render?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Fly.io is cheaper to start with: $2.19 a month, against $25 a month for Render. Fly.io starts at $2.19 per month for the smallest Machine, pay as you go, and Render starts at $25 per month plus compute (Pro workspace).
Which has a free plan, Fly.io or Render?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Render has a free plan. Fly.io does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.