Compare
Fly.io vs Heroku
Fly.io runs full-stack apps close to users with edge locations, whereas Heroku runs centrally managed dynos.
Which to pick
Pick Fly.io if you want…
- Hardware-isolated edge VMs for agents
- Edge-focused low-latency deployments
- A free plan to start with
- Integrations with OpenRouter, Slack or any HTTP API (on Fly.io's list, not Heroku's)
Pick Heroku if you want…
- Managed containers and data services for web apps
- The lower starting price: $5/month against $29/month
- Integrations with Git, Docker or Node.js (on Heroku's list, not Fly.io's)
Side by side
- What it is
- Fly.io:Fly.io provides hardware-isolated Linux VMs (Sprites and Machines) that run close to users for AI agents and full-stack apps.
- Heroku:Heroku is a fully managed PaaS that lets developers build, deploy, and scale apps using git, containers, and managed data services.
- Best for
- Fly.io:Hardware-isolated edge VMs for agents
- Heroku:Managed containers and data services for web apps
- Who it’s for
- Fly.io:Developers building AI agents, personal assistants, or apps that need low-latency edge compute.
- Heroku:Developers, teams, startups and enterprises needing simple app hosting
- Pricing
- Fly.io:Freemium
- Heroku:Paid
- Plans
- 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
- Heroku:Eco $5 per month · Basic $7 per month · Standard-1X $25 per month · Performance-M $250 per month · Private-S $125 per month
- Works with
- Fly.io:OpenRouter, GitHub, Slack, any HTTP API
- Heroku:Git, GitHub, Docker, Node.js, Ruby, Java, PHP, Python
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.
Heroku features
- Dyno containers. Runs apps in smart, isolated containers with automatic scaling and patching.
- Heroku Postgres. Fully managed PostgreSQL database service optimized for developers.
- Heroku Redis. Managed key-value store with a developer-friendly experience.
- GitHub Integration. Creates disposable Review Apps for pull requests and auto-deploys on push.
- Add-ons & Buildpacks. Extend apps with 150+ third-party add-ons and community buildpacks.
- Security & Compliance. Provides PCI, HIPAA, ISO, SOC compliance and optional Shield environments.
Fly.io vs Heroku FAQ
Is Fly.io or Heroku free?+
Fly.io has a free plan; paid plans start at $29/month (Support Standard). Heroku is paid, from $5/month (Eco).
Which is cheaper, Fly.io or Heroku?+
Heroku is cheaper to start with: Heroku's Eco plan ($5/month) against Fly.io's Support Standard plan ($29/month).
Do Fly.io and Heroku integrate with the same tools?+
Partly. Both list GitHub. Fly.io also lists OpenRouter, Slack and any HTTP API; Heroku also lists Git, Docker, Node.js, Ruby and 7 more.
On DevHunt
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.