Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. This helps support our work in maintaining this directory.
Cloudflare vs Fly.io
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Cloudflare and Fly.io.
| Feature | Cloudflare | Fly.io |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Free Tier | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly Cost (Solo) | $0 | $0 |
| Target Audience | solopreneurs, startups, developers | developers |
| Verified | Yes | No |
| Solo-Friendly | Yes | Yes |
| Open Source | No | No |
| Editorial Rating | 4.7/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Categories | Security, Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Key Features | CDN & caching, DDoS protection, DNS management, SSL/TLS certificates, Workers (edge computing) | Global edge deployment (30+ regions), Dockerfile-based deployment, Built-in Postgres and Redis, Volume storage, Private networking |
| Free Tier Quality | excellent | good |
Pricing Breakdown
Cloudflare
Free: CDN, DDoS protection, SSL, DNS. Pro: $20/month (WAF, image optimization). Business: $200/month (custom WAF). Enterprise: custom. Workers: 100K requests/day free.
Fly.io
Free: 3 shared VMs (256MB each), 3GB storage, 160GB transfer. Shared VM: ~$1.94/month. Dedicated VM: ~$29/month. Postgres: from $1.94/month.
Integration Overlap
Shared Integrations (1)
Only in Cloudflare (9)
Only in Fly.io (6)
Use Case Fit
Cloudflare
- * CDN and website acceleration
- * DDoS protection and security
- * DNS hosting and management
- * Serverless computing (Workers)
- * Static site hosting (Pages)
Fly.io
- * Global edge application hosting
- * Full-stack app deployment
- * Real-time application hosting
- * Multi-region database deployment
- * Docker container hosting
Cloudflare
Pros
- + Incredibly generous free tier
- + Fastest DNS in the world
- + Workers platform for edge computing
- + R2 with zero egress fees
Cons
- - Advanced features require Business/Enterprise
- - Complex Workers pricing at scale
Fly.io
Pros
- + Deploy anywhere globally with one command
- + Generous free tier (3 shared VMs)
- + Run any Docker container
- + Built-in managed databases
Cons
- - Steeper learning curve than Vercel/Railway
- - CLI-centric (less visual dashboard)
- - Pricing can be unpredictable
- - Documentation could be better
Editorial Verdict
Cloudflare takes the lead for solo founders — it offers better value and is explicitly solo-friendly. Fly.io may still be the right pick if you need deep Developer Tools features or plan to scale to a larger team.
Sarah Chen
Editor-in-Chief