Fly.io vs Cloudflare Pages for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

Fly.io Overview

Fly.io deploys Docker containers as micro VMs across a global edge network. Any language, any framework, any dependency. You configure with fly.toml, deploy via CLI, and your app runs in multiple regions. The platform includes managed Postgres, persistent volumes, private networking, and LiteFS for distributed SQLite.

For solo developers building server-heavy applications, Fly.io provides a managed way to deploy globally without learning Kubernetes or managing servers. The free tier gives you 3 shared VMs, and paid usage scales based on VM size, bandwidth, and storage.

Cloudflare Pages Overview

Cloudflare Pages deploys static sites and edge-rendered applications to Cloudflare's global CDN with 300+ points of presence. It started as a static hosting service and evolved into a full edge platform through its integration with Cloudflare Workers.

Modern frameworks like Next.js, Astro, SvelteKit, Nuxt, and Remix can run on Pages with server-side rendering via Workers. You connect a GitHub repo, configure your build command, and every push deploys globally. The free tier includes unlimited bandwidth, 500 builds per month, and global CDN distribution.

The Cloudflare ecosystem extends Pages with Workers KV (key-value storage), D1 (SQLite at the edge), R2 (S3-compatible object storage), Queues, and Durable Objects. It's a complete edge development platform.

Key Differences

Runtime model. Fly.io runs full Docker containers as VMs. Your app can use any language, install any system dependency, and write to the file system. Cloudflare Pages runs JavaScript/TypeScript on Workers (V8 isolates) with significant restrictions. No file system writes, limited CPU time per request, and no native binaries. Fly.io is more flexible. Pages is lighter and faster for what it supports.

What you can host. Fly.io hosts anything containerizable. Django, Rails, Go services, ML inference. Cloudflare Pages hosts static sites natively and dynamic applications through Workers functions. If your backend is Python or Go, Fly.io is the only option. If your entire stack is JavaScript/TypeScript with a framework like Next.js or Astro, Pages handles it well.

Performance profile. Cloudflare Pages serves static assets from 300+ edge locations. That's hard to beat for static content. Fly.io serves dynamic content from your selected regions (typically 5-30, depending on configuration). For static-heavy sites, Cloudflare is faster. For compute-heavy dynamic responses, Fly.io's VMs are more powerful.

Pricing. Cloudflare Pages wins on cost for most solo developer projects. The free tier alone covers static sites and moderate-traffic SSR apps. Fly.io's free tier is more limited (3 shared VMs), and production workloads cost more. For a blog, marketing site, or documentation, paying anything when Cloudflare Pages is free doesn't make sense.

Database options. Fly.io has managed Postgres and can run any database in a container. Cloudflare has D1 (edge SQLite) and KV. D1 is good for read-heavy workloads and small to medium datasets. For complex queries, joins, and large datasets, Fly.io's Postgres is more capable.

Deployment experience. Cloudflare Pages deploys are fast. Push to GitHub, build runs, site is live in under a minute. Fly.io builds Docker images and provisions VMs, which takes 1-3 minutes. Cloudflare also provides instant preview URLs for every pull request, which is excellent for review workflows.

Vendor ecosystem. Choosing Cloudflare Pages means buying into the Cloudflare ecosystem. Workers, KV, D1, R2 are all Cloudflare-specific. If you want to migrate away, you're rewriting edge logic. Fly.io runs standard Docker containers, making migration to any Docker-compatible platform straightforward.

When to Choose Fly.io

• Your backend uses Python, Go, Ruby, or any non-JS/TS language
• You need a full relational database on the same platform
• Your app requires persistent file storage or long-running processes
• You need more compute power than Workers provide
• Avoiding vendor lock-in is important to you

When to Choose Cloudflare Pages

• You're building a static site, blog, or documentation
• Your framework runs on Cloudflare Workers (Next.js, Astro, SvelteKit)
• Free global CDN hosting is attractive for your budget
• Lightweight data storage (D1, KV) covers your needs
• You want the fastest static asset delivery globally

The Verdict

Fly.io and Cloudflare Pages are built for different jobs. Cloudflare Pages excels at static content and edge-rendered frontends. Fly.io excels at dynamic backends and anything that needs a full server runtime.

For solo developers building content sites, blogs, landing pages, or SSR apps with frameworks like Astro or Next.js, Cloudflare Pages is the obvious choice. Free hosting on a global CDN with 300+ edge locations. There's no reason to pay more for this use case.

For solo developers building APIs, full-stack apps with real backends, or anything requiring Python, Go, or persistent processes, Fly.io is the right tool. Docker containers give you the flexibility that Workers can't match.

The best approach for many solo developers is using both. Cloudflare Pages for your frontend, Fly.io for your API and database. You get free global delivery for static assets and managed compute for your backend. Each platform doing what it does best.