Fly.io vs UpCloud Comparison
Compare Fly.io vs UpCloud 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.
UpCloud
7/10
A Finnish cloud infrastructure provider offering cloud servers, managed Kubernetes, managed databases, object storage, and networking to developers and businesses.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 5.9/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Reliability | 4/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 5/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $2/mo Pay-as-you-go (Machines) | €3/mo Starter |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $2/mo Pay-as-you-go (Machines) | €3/mo Starter |
| Features | ||
| API and CLI | ||
| Automatic Backups | ||
| Cloud Compute | ||
| Managed Databases | ||
| Multiple Regions | ||
| Object Storage | ||
| Uptime SLA | ||
| Content Delivery Network | Not listed | |
| Managed Kubernetes | Not listed | |
| VPS Hosting | Not listed | |
Fly.io vs UpCloud cost by team size
| Team size | Fly.io | UpCloud |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $2/moPay-as-you-go (Machines) | €3/moStarter |
| 5 users | $2/moPay-as-you-go (Machines) | €3/moStarter |
| 10 users | $2/moPay-as-you-go (Machines) | €3/moStarter |
| 25 users | $2/moPay-as-you-go (Machines) | €3/moStarter |
| 50 users | $2/moPay-as-you-go (Machines) | €3/moStarter |
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 6/10)
- Higher Customization score (8/10 vs 7/10)
Why choose UpCloud
- Higher Reliability score (8/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Support score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for small business (6/10 vs 4/10)
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.
UpCloud
Pros
- Independent benchmarks recorded very low p99 disk latency on its MaxIOPS storage
- Advertises a 100% uptime SLA with 50x credits for downtime
- Fixed plan prices include data transfer, which keeps bills predictable
- Official Terraform provider, REST API, and CLI support infrastructure as code
- Broad managed portfolio covering Kubernetes, four database engines, object storage, and a CDN
- EU headquarters, ISO 27001 certification, and GDPR focus suit European buyers
Cons
- Reviewers find it several times more expensive than Hetzner for similar specs
- Fewer locations than larger providers, concentrated in Europe
- Smaller community and fewer third-party reviews than DigitalOcean or Vultr
- One user reports outbound port 25 is blocked by default, which hinders mail servers
- Pricing is changing in November 2026, so older published prices may be out of date
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
UpCloud scores higher on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria: 7/10 against 5.9/10 for Fly.io. The largest gap is in Reliability: 4/10 for Fly.io and 8/10 for UpCloud.
No, neither Fly.io nor UpCloud lists a free plan.
UpCloud is the better fit for small business: we rate it 6/10 for them, against 4/10 for Fly.io.
