AWS vs Deno Deploy for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

AWS Overview

AWS is the world's largest cloud platform with 200+ services. For solo developers, the relevant options include EC2 for virtual servers, Lambda for serverless functions, CloudFront for CDN, RDS for managed databases, and dozens of supporting services. AWS can run literally anything at any scale.

The platform also includes AWS Lambda@Edge and CloudFront Functions for edge computing, making it technically capable of global edge deployment. But configuring Lambda@Edge involves CloudFront distributions, IAM roles, function triggers, and regional deployment configurations. It works, but the setup overhead is substantial.

For serverless specifically, AWS Lambda is the industry standard. Combined with API Gateway, you can build scalable APIs. The complexity comes from stitching these services together with the right IAM permissions, triggers, and configurations.

Deno Deploy Overview

Deno Deploy is a serverless platform built for Deno, running JavaScript and TypeScript on V8 isolates across 35+ edge locations globally. Push to GitHub, and your code deploys worldwide in seconds. No containers, no servers, no infrastructure configuration.

The platform is built around simplicity. A single TypeScript file can be a globally distributed API. Deno Deploy handles routing, SSL, scaling, and global distribution automatically. The free tier provides 100,000 requests per day and 100 GiB bandwidth monthly.

Cold starts are nearly instant. V8 isolates boot in milliseconds, not seconds like container-based serverless platforms. For API endpoints and server-rendered pages, the response times are excellent from any global location.

Key Differences

Scope. AWS does everything. Databases, compute, ML, IoT, analytics, storage, queuing, streaming. Deno Deploy does one thing: run JavaScript/TypeScript at the edge. If your project needs a relational database, background workers, ML model hosting, or message queues, AWS has managed services for all of it. Deno Deploy expects you to use external services for anything beyond request handling.

Complexity. Deploying a serverless API on AWS involves Lambda functions, API Gateway, IAM roles, CloudWatch logs, and possibly VPC configurations. Deploying the same API on Deno Deploy involves pushing a TypeScript file to GitHub. The time from idea to production endpoint is minutes on Deno Deploy versus hours (or days) on AWS for a first-time user.

Edge distribution. Deno Deploy runs globally by default. Every deployment goes to 35+ edge locations. AWS Lambda runs in a single region unless you specifically configure Lambda@Edge with CloudFront. Getting true global edge compute on AWS requires multiple services and careful configuration. On Deno Deploy, it's automatic.

Runtime support. AWS Lambda supports Node.js, Python, Ruby, Java, Go, .NET, and custom runtimes. You can run virtually any language. Deno Deploy runs Deno (JavaScript/TypeScript) exclusively. If your backend is Python, Go, or any non-JS language, Deno Deploy isn't an option.

Cold starts. AWS Lambda cold starts range from 100ms to several seconds depending on runtime, memory, and VPC configuration. Deno Deploy's V8 isolates cold start in under 100ms consistently. For latency-sensitive APIs, Deno Deploy's cold start performance is measurably better.

Cost predictability. AWS pricing involves request counts, execution duration, memory allocation, data transfer, and service-specific charges across multiple services. A single API can span Lambda, API Gateway, CloudWatch, and S3 with separate pricing for each. Deno Deploy's pricing is simpler: a free tier with generous limits and a $20/month Pro plan. For solo developers, predictable pricing reduces financial anxiety.

Background processing. AWS Lambda supports asynchronous invocations, SQS triggers, scheduled events via EventBridge, and step functions for complex workflows. Deno Deploy is request-response only. No background jobs, no scheduled tasks, no queue processing. If your application needs background processing, AWS has the ecosystem for it.

When to Choose AWS

• Your stack uses Python, Go, Java, or any non-JavaScript language
• You need managed databases, queuing, or other AWS services
• Background processing, scheduled jobs, or long-running tasks are required
• Enterprise compliance or specific managed services are mandatory
• You want a complete infrastructure ecosystem under one provider

When to Choose Deno Deploy

• You're building TypeScript APIs or Deno Fresh applications
• Global edge distribution with near-instant cold starts is important
• Simplicity and fast deployment cycles matter more than service breadth
• The free tier (100K requests/day) covers your traffic needs
• You want to go from code to global production in minutes, not hours

The Verdict

AWS and Deno Deploy sit at opposite ends of the complexity spectrum. AWS is the everything-platform that can handle any workload but requires significant investment to learn and configure. Deno Deploy is the single-purpose platform that does edge TypeScript brilliantly but nothing else.

For a solo developer building a TypeScript API or a Deno Fresh site, Deno Deploy is the obvious choice. You go from code to globally distributed production in minutes with zero infrastructure configuration. The free tier is generous enough for most side projects.

For anything beyond edge JavaScript, AWS has the service ecosystem to handle it. If you need databases, background workers, ML pipelines, or multi-language support, AWS provides managed solutions for all of it.

My recommendation: use Deno Deploy for edge-optimized TypeScript services. Use AWS (or a simpler provider like DigitalOcean or Hetzner) for everything else. Deno Deploy's speed and simplicity for its specific use case are unmatched, but it's not a general-purpose platform.