Fly.io vs Hetzner for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

Fly.io Overview

Fly.io runs Docker containers as Firecracker micro VMs distributed across edge servers worldwide. Deploy your app and it runs in multiple regions simultaneously. The CLI-driven workflow handles deployments, scaling, secrets, and networking. You get managed Postgres, persistent volumes, private networking, and LiteFS for distributed SQLite.

The platform is designed for developers who want global performance without managing servers. Push your Docker container, configure regions in fly.toml, and you're live everywhere. One note that trips up newcomers, the old free tier of 3 shared VMs is gone. New organizations created after October 7, 2024 are pay-as-you-go only, and a new signup gets just a short trial (2 VM-hours or 7 days, whichever comes first) before a card is required. Legacy accounts from before that date keep their old allowances.

Fly.io trades raw performance for convenience. You're running on shared infrastructure optimized for distribution, not raw compute power.

Hetzner Overview

Hetzner is a German hosting company that offers some of the best price-to-performance ratios in the industry. After the April 1, 2026 price adjustment their cheapest cloud VPS, the CX23, is 3.99 euro/month for 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, and 40GB SSD, with 20TB of traffic included. The ARM-based CAX11 (same 2 vCPU and 4GB) runs 4.49 euro/month. Step up to the CX33 at 6.49 euro/month and you get 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM, and 80GB SSD. Dedicated servers go even further, and it's not uncommon for developers to run production workloads on Hetzner that would cost several times more on a hyperscaler.

The catch is that Hetzner gives you raw infrastructure. You get a Linux server, an IP address, and that's it. No managed deployments, no CI/CD, no one-click databases. You install everything yourself. For some developers, that's a feature. For others, it's a dealbreaker.

Hetzner has data centers in Germany (Falkenstein, Nuremberg), Finland (Helsinki), and the US (Ashburn, Hillsboro). The European locations are well-connected, and the US locations have expanded their reach for North American users. However, if you need Asia-Pacific or South American presence, Hetzner doesn't have you covered.

Key Differences

Managed vs. unmanaged. Fly.io deploys and manages your containers. Hetzner gives you a blank server. If you want to deploy an app on Hetzner, you need to set up Docker, configure a reverse proxy (Nginx, Caddy, or Traefik), handle SSL certificates, configure firewalls, and automate deployments. Fly.io handles all of this for you.

Price performance. Hetzner destroys Fly.io on raw value. A 3.99 euro/month Hetzner CX23 gives you 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, and 40GB SSD. The closest Fly.io machine with 4GB of dedicated memory is the performance-2x at around $64/month, and even a 1GB shared-cpu-4x machine lands near $8/month before you add a volume or egress. The equivalent compute on Fly.io costs several times more. If you're running a resource-intensive application (large database, ML models, media processing), Hetzner's hardware makes your money go much further.

Global deployment. Fly.io wins here decisively. Multi-region deployment is Fly.io's core feature. Hetzner has a handful of regions, and running in multiple locations means managing multiple servers yourself. For global apps, Fly.io is purpose-built. For single-region apps, Hetzner's power advantage matters more.

Server administration. With Fly.io, you never SSH into a machine. With Hetzner, you SSH into your machine regularly. Updates, security patches, monitoring, backups, log management. It's all on you. If you enjoy server administration, Hetzner is rewarding. If you'd rather never think about it, Fly.io removes the burden.

Scaling. Fly.io scales by adding VMs across regions with a config change. Hetzner scales by upgrading your server plan or adding more servers manually. Vertical scaling on Hetzner is seamless (upgrade the plan, reboot), but horizontal scaling requires load balancers and orchestration that you set up yourself.

Reliability and uptime. Both have solid track records. Hetzner has been operating since 1997 and their infrastructure is known for reliability. Fly.io has had some growing pains with outages and community complaints. For production workloads where uptime is critical, Hetzner with proper configuration is extremely stable.

By the Numbers (2026)

Specs and pricing as verified on 2026-05-28. Hetzner figures reflect the April 1, 2026 price adjustment, and all Hetzner prices exclude VAT.

Fly.io (pay-as-you-go, billed per second)

• shared-cpu-1x with 256MB RAM: about $2.02/month if left running full time.
• shared-cpu-2x with 512MB RAM: about $4.04/month.
• shared-cpu-4x with 1GB RAM: about $8.08/month.
• performance-1x with 2GB RAM: about $32.19/month. performance-2x with 4GB: about $64.39/month.
• Persistent volumes: $0.15 per GB per month of provisioned capacity.
• Egress: $0.02 per GB in North America and Europe, $0.04 per GB in Asia Pacific.
• Dedicated IPv4: $2/month. First shared anycast IPv4 is free.
• Managed Postgres: Basic plan $38/month, plus $0.28 per provisioned GB of storage. There is no free database tier.
• Free tier: none for new accounts. New orgs since October 7, 2024 get a trial of 2 VM-hours or 7 days, then a card is required.

Hetzner Cloud (fixed monthly, traffic mostly included)

• CX23 (EU only): 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB SSD, 20TB traffic, 3.99 euro/month.
• CAX11 (ARM, EU only): 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB SSD, 20TB traffic, 4.49 euro/month.
• CX33: 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM, 80GB SSD, 20TB traffic, 6.49 euro/month.
• CX43: 8 vCPU, 16GB RAM, 160GB SSD, 20TB traffic, 11.99 euro/month.
• CPX line (AMD, available globally including US): CPX32 is 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM, 160GB SSD at 13.99 euro/month.
• Primary IPv4: 0.50 euro/month per server. IPv6 is free, so an IPv6-only server saves that charge.

The headline gap is structural. Hetzner sells you a fixed box with a fixed bill and bundled traffic, while Fly.io meters compute, storage, and egress separately. For a steady single-region workload, the fixed box almost always wins on price. For a bursty or globally distributed workload that idles most of the day, per-second metering can be the cheaper and simpler model.

Real Cost at Solo-Dev Scale

Here is a concrete workload so the numbers stop being abstract. Assume a solo developer running one small web app plus a Postgres database, always on, in a single region, serving roughly 100GB of outbound traffic a month. Light by production standards, realistic for a side project that has a few real users.

On Fly.io

• App machine, shared-cpu-2x with 512MB RAM, always on: about $4.04/month.
• Managed Postgres on the Basic plan: $38/month, plus 10GB of storage at $0.28/GB, so $2.80. Subtotal $40.80.
• Egress, 100GB at $0.02/GB in North America or Europe: $2.00. The first amount of egress is generous, so call this a ceiling.
• Dedicated IPv4 if you need one: $2/month.

That lands near $48 to $49 per month, and the database is the entire story. Run Postgres yourself in a second Fly machine instead of using Managed Postgres and you can cut that dramatically, at the cost of managing the database, which is exactly the kind of work people pick Fly.io to avoid.

On Hetzner

• One CX33 server (4 vCPU, 8GB RAM, 80GB SSD) running both the app and a self-hosted Postgres: 6.49 euro/month.
• Primary IPv4: 0.50 euro/month.
• Traffic: the 100GB sits comfortably inside the 20TB included allowance, so 0 euro.

That lands near 7 euro per month, roughly 7.50 to 8 US dollars at typical exchange rates, for more CPU and far more RAM than the Fly.io setup, on one box you administer yourself.

The honest read: the raw infrastructure cost difference is large, on the order of $48 versus $7 for this workload, but it is not the whole picture. The Fly.io number buys you a managed, backed-up, highly-available database and zero server administration. The Hetzner number assumes you are comfortable installing Postgres, configuring backups, patching the OS, and handling your own uptime. Pair Hetzner with Coolify or Kamal and you recover much of the deployment convenience while keeping the price advantage. If your time is scarce and the database matters, the Fly.io premium can be money well spent. If you enjoy the server and want every dollar to stretch, Hetzner is hard to beat.

When to Choose Fly.io

• You need multi-region global deployment
• You don't want to manage servers, firewalls, or SSL
• Quick container deployment matters more than raw compute
• You want built-in networking between services
• You value development speed over cost optimization

When to Choose Hetzner

• Maximum performance per dollar is your priority
• You're comfortable managing Linux servers
• Your app runs in one region (Europe or US)
• You need dedicated resources, not shared infrastructure
• You want to run tools like Coolify, Dokku, or K3s on your own server

The Verdict

This comparison comes down to what you value more: convenience or value.

Fly.io is the better choice if you want to deploy without thinking about servers. The global distribution, managed infrastructure, and CLI workflow let you focus entirely on your application. The cost premium is the price of not managing infrastructure.

Hetzner is the better choice if you're comfortable with server administration and want to get the most out of every dollar. A single Hetzner VPS can run multiple projects, databases, and services for the price of one Fly.io VM. Pair Hetzner with a tool like Coolify or Kamal, and you get a deployment experience that approaches Fly.io's convenience at a fraction of the cost.

My recommendation for solo developers: if you've never managed a server, start with Fly.io and focus on building. If you know your way around Linux and want to stretch your budget, Hetzner with a self-hosted deployment tool is the most cost-effective setup you can build.

Sources

All figures checked on 2026-05-28.

• Fly.io resource pricing (compute, volumes, egress, IPv4): https://fly.io/docs/about/pricing/
• Fly.io free trial terms (2 VM-hours or 7 days): https://fly.io/docs/about/free-trial/
• Fly.io Managed Postgres plans and storage pricing: https://fly.io/docs/mpg/
• Hetzner Cloud April 1, 2026 price adjustment (CX23, CAX11, others): https://docs.hetzner.com/general/infrastructure-and-availability/price-adjustment/
• Hetzner Cloud IPv4 address pricing (0.50 euro/month, IPv6 free): https://docs.hetzner.com/general/infrastructure-and-availability/ipv4-pricing/
• Hetzner Cloud server plan overview: https://docs.hetzner.com/cloud/servers/overview/