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DigitalOcean vs Fly.io
Fly.io runs full-stack apps close to users but does not provide the same AI-native stack and managed agent runtime.
DigitalOceanCloud for developers: droplets, databases and app hosting
Fly.ioRun full-stack apps close to your usersWhich to pick
Pick DigitalOcean if you want…
- Full-stack cloud with integrated AI inference
- General cloud VMs
- Integrations with Kubernetes, PostgreSQL or MySQL (on DigitalOcean's list, not Fly.io's)
Pick Fly.io if you want…
- Hardware-isolated edge VMs for agents
- Low-latency edge compute
- Integrations with OpenRouter, GitHub or Slack (on Fly.io's list, not DigitalOcean's)
DigitalOcean offers droplets and managed databases but requires manual VM management.
Side by side
- What it is
- DigitalOcean:DigitalOcean provides a unified cloud platform with compute, storage, managed databases, and AI/ML services for building and scaling applications.
- Fly.io:Fly.io provides hardware-isolated Linux VMs (Sprites and Machines) that run close to users for AI agents and full-stack apps.
- Best for
- DigitalOcean:Full-stack cloud with integrated AI inference
- Fly.io:Hardware-isolated edge VMs for agents
- Who it’s for
- DigitalOcean:Developers and teams building AI agents, web apps, and data-intensive workloads.
- Fly.io:Developers building AI agents, personal assistants, or apps that need low-latency edge compute.
- Pricing
- DigitalOcean:Freemium
- Fly.io:Freemium
- Plans
- DigitalOcean:DigitalOcean Harness Runtime $0.0535/hr per hour · Action Gateway $0.10/1,000 calls · Inference $0.05/M tokens · GPU Droplets $1.91/GPU/hour per hour · App Platform $0/month
- Fly.io:Machines shared-cpu-1x $0.0027 per hour · Machines performance-2x $0.0861 per hour · Sprites compute $0.07 / CPU-hour · Support Standard $29 per month · Support Premium $199 per month
- Works with
- DigitalOcean:Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Valkey, OpenSearch, Prometheus, Grafana
- Fly.io:OpenRouter, GitHub, Slack, any HTTP API
DigitalOcean features
- Managed Agents. Run production AI agents on the same stack as data, inference and infrastructure without cross-vendor hops.
- Inference Engine. Serverless, dedicated or batch inference on 70+ models with an intelligent router that selects the best model per call.
- Core Cloud Compute. Droplets, GPU Droplets, Managed Kubernetes and App Platform for any workload, with per-second billing.
- Managed Databases & Vector Stores. Fully managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Valkey, OpenSearch and vector databases with automated backups.
- Functions & Serverless. Event-driven serverless functions that scale automatically and charge only for usage.
- Networking & Security. Load balancers, VPC, firewall, CSPM and global CDN with flat pricing and free data transfer within regions.
Fly.io features
- Sprites. Sleep-aware VMs that checkpoint filesystem and services, allowing instant wake-up and rollback.
- Machines. Fast-booting, hardware-isolated VMs that scale to tens of thousands of users.
- Block Device Storage. Object-storage backed block device with automatic checkpointing and unlimited scaling.
- Connectors. Configure a credential once and share it across all Sprites with granular permissions and auto-rotation.
- Zero-Management Disk. Disk grows automatically up to 100 GB per Sprite, billed only for used bytes.
- Global Edge Network. Deploy in 18+ regions with <1 s boot time and 99.9 % SLA.
DigitalOcean vs Fly.io FAQ
Is DigitalOcean or Fly.io free?+
DigitalOcean has a free plan (App Platform) and paid plans. Fly.io has a free plan; paid plans start at $29/month (Support Standard).
Do DigitalOcean and Fly.io integrate with the same tools?+
Their integration lists don't overlap: DigitalOcean lists Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB and 5 more; Fly.io lists OpenRouter, GitHub, Slack and any HTTP API.
On DevHunt
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.