Fly.io vs AWS for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

Fly.io Overview

Fly.io deploys Docker containers as Firecracker micro VMs on edge servers across the globe. The entire model is "deploy once, run everywhere." Your app can be live in multiple regions with a single config file and a fly deploy command. The CLI handles everything from provisioning to scaling to secret management.

For solo developers, Fly.io removes the operational overhead of managing infrastructure while keeping you close to the metal. You get persistent volumes, managed Postgres, private networking between services, and LiteFS for distributed SQLite. The free tier includes 3 shared VMs, which handles hobby projects nicely.

The learning curve is moderate. You need Docker knowledge and terminal comfort, but the concepts are straightforward. Deploy, scale, done.

AWS Overview

AWS is the everything cloud. Over 200 services covering compute, storage, databases, AI, IoT, and pretty much anything else you can think of. For app hosting specifically, the relevant services are EC2 (VMs), ECS/Fargate (containers), Lambda (serverless), Lightsail (simplified VPS), Elastic Beanstalk (PaaS), and App Runner (managed containers).

The problem for solo developers is obvious. AWS was built for enterprises with dedicated DevOps teams. The console is overwhelming. The pricing is a spreadsheet. The documentation is exhaustive but dense. I've seen experienced developers accidentally run up $500 bills because they forgot to turn off a test instance.

That said, AWS is the most capable cloud platform on the planet. If you need something specific, AWS probably has a managed service for it. And the 12-month free tier is genuinely generous, including a t2.micro EC2 instance, RDS database, S3 storage, and Lambda invocations.

Key Differences

Simplicity. Fly.io takes minutes to go from zero to deployed. AWS can take hours just to configure IAM roles, security groups, and VPCs before you deploy anything. For a solo developer, this complexity tax is real. Every hour spent on AWS configuration is an hour not spent building your product.

Service breadth. AWS wins this by an absurd margin. Fly.io does one thing well: deploy containers globally. AWS does everything. Need a CDN? CloudFront. Queue? SQS. Email? SES. Search? OpenSearch. Fly.io will never match this breadth, and it doesn't try to.

Global deployment. Both support multi-region deployment. The difference is effort. Fly.io makes global deployment a one-line config change. AWS multi-region requires configuring load balancers, Route 53 routing policies, and cross-region replication. The end result might be similar, but the effort is vastly different.

Pricing clarity. Fly.io's pricing is simple. Per VM, per GB bandwidth, per GB storage. AWS pricing requires a calculator and a finance degree. EC2 has on-demand, reserved, spot, and savings plans. Each service has its own pricing model. I genuinely cannot predict my AWS bill month to month, and I don't think most solo developers can either.

Lock-in risk. Using AWS-specific services (DynamoDB, SQS, SNS, Lambda) creates significant lock-in. Migrating away from AWS means rewriting parts of your application. Fly.io deploys Docker containers, so moving to another platform that runs Docker is relatively painless.

Career value. Here's the honest truth: AWS experience is valuable on a resume. If you're a solo developer who also freelances or might return to employment, knowing AWS well is a career advantage. Fly.io won't show up on job requirements in the same way.

When to Choose Fly.io

• You want to deploy globally without an infrastructure team
• Simple, fast deployment is your priority
• You don't need the breadth of 200+ cloud services
• Predictable pricing matters more than maximum flexibility
• You want to avoid the AWS complexity tax entirely

When to Choose AWS

• You need specific AWS services (SQS, DynamoDB, Lambda, etc.)
• Your project will grow to require enterprise-grade infrastructure
• You want the 12-month free tier for validation
• AWS experience matters for your career goals
• You need compliance certifications (HIPAA, SOC2, etc.)

The Verdict

For solo developers, Fly.io is the better hosting platform in almost every practical sense. It's faster to set up, simpler to manage, and cheaper for typical workloads. The global deployment model gives you capabilities that would take days to configure on AWS.

AWS makes sense in specific scenarios. If you're building something that requires SQS, or needs Lambda for event-driven processing, or requires S3 presigned URLs for file uploads, then AWS is the only option. It also makes sense if you're using the free tier strategically to run a project for 12 months at zero cost.

But let me be direct. Most solo developers who choose AWS are over-engineering. They don't need 200 services. They need a server, a database, and a deploy command. Fly.io gives you exactly that, globally, in minutes. Save AWS for when you actually need what only AWS can provide.