Fly.io vs Google Cloud Comparison
Compare Fly.io vs Google Cloud features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
Fly.io
5.9/10
Fly.io is a developer cloud that runs containerized apps as fast-booting Machines in regions worldwide, billed by usage, with managed Postgres and object storage.
Google Cloud
7.6/10
Google's public cloud platform providing pay-as-you-go virtual machines, Kubernetes, serverless, databases, storage, networking, data analytics and AI services for businesses of every size.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 5.9/10 | 7.6/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 9/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Integration | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Reliability | 4/10 | 9/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 10/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 9/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 5/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $2/mo Pay-as-you-go (Machines) | Contact for pricing |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $2/mo Pay-as-you-go (Machines) | Free Always Free |
| Features | ||
| Cloud Compute | ||
| Managed Databases | ||
| Multiple Regions | ||
| Object Storage | ||
| Uptime SLA | ||
| API and CLI | Not listed | |
| Automatic Backups | Not listed | |
| Content Delivery Network | Not listed | |
| DDoS Protection | Not listed | |
| Managed Kubernetes | Not listed | |
| Serverless Functions | Not listed | |
Fly.io vs Google Cloud cost by team size
Google Cloud costs less at every team size we checked.
| Team size | Fly.io | Google Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $2/moPay-as-you-go (Machines) | FreeAlways Free |
| 5 users | $2/moPay-as-you-go (Machines) | FreeAlways Free |
| 10 users | $2/moPay-as-you-go (Machines) | FreeAlways Free |
| 25 users | $2/moPay-as-you-go (Machines) | FreeAlways Free |
| 50 users | $2/moPay-as-you-go (Machines) | FreeAlways Free |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Fly.io
- Higher Cost score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (6/10 vs 5/10)
Why choose Google Cloud
- Has a free plan (Fly.io does not)
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs $2/mo
- Higher Reliability score (9/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Analytics score (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (9/10 vs 5/10)
Pros & Cons
Fly.io
Pros
- Very low entry cost: a small shared Machine is about $2.19 a month, and invoices under $5 are waived.
- Apps can run in many regions with Anycast routing and global load balancing included at no extra cost.
- Per-hour billing and one-year reserved blocks that save 40 percent give flexible ways to manage cost.
- Managed Postgres plans include high availability, automated backups and connection pooling.
- A HIPAA package with a pre-signed BAA costs $99 a month on any paid plan.
Cons
- Status trackers show recurring network and API incidents through 2025 and 2026, and the CEO admitted reliability problems in 2023.
- The 99.9% uptime SLA is available only with Enterprise support, which starts at $2,500 a month.
- Bills spread across Machines, volumes, egress, IPs and support, which makes costs harder to predict.
- Apps need a Dockerfile and a fly.toml, which adds setup work compared with buildpack-style PaaS products.
- Compute costs more in some regions, up to 1.615 times in Sao Paulo.
Google Cloud
Pros
- Very broad managed catalogue that spans VMs, GKE, serverless, several database engines, a CDN and Cloud Armor, so most infrastructure can come from one vendor.
- Global footprint, which Wikipedia put at 40 regions and 121 zones in early 2024, helps teams deploy close to users and across zones.
- A 300 USD, 90-day credit plus a permanent Always Free tier, including a small VM, lets developers prototype at no cost.
- Capterra reviewers credit its scalability with helping them adapt quickly to changing client demand.
Cons
- Capterra reviewers repeatedly say the billing is complex, hard to audit and sometimes produces unexpected charges.
- Technical support requires a paid plan priced as a percentage of spend, and Premium starts at 15,000 USD a month.
- Reviewers report a steep learning curve and inconsistent documentation.
- The free e2-micro VM is limited to three US regions, so other regions incur standard charges.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Google Cloud scores higher on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria: 7.6/10 against 5.9/10 for Fly.io. The largest gap is in Reliability: 4/10 for Fly.io and 9/10 for Google Cloud.
Google Cloud costs less for 10 users: free on its Always Free plan, against about $2/mo on its Pay-as-you-go (Machines) plan for Fly.io, billed monthly.
Google Cloud has a free plan; Fly.io does not list one.
Google Cloud is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 5/10 for Fly.io.
