Temps vs Fly.io
Fly.io runs your app near users. Temps runs it on your servers.
Fly.io is excellent at what Temps doesn't do: Firecracker microVMs across 35+ regions with pay-per-second billing. Temps is the opposite trade — one flat ~$6/mo server, native git-push deploys, and analytics, error tracking, session replay, and uptime monitoring built in. Fly.io's free tier ended in October 2024; deploys go through the flyctl CLI rather than git push.
Monthly cost at a glance
The short answer
Choose Temps if you…
- You want native git-push deploys with no Dockerfile required
- You need built-in analytics, error tracking, session replay, and uptime monitoring
- You prefer flat predictable pricing with no per-second billing
- You need self-hosting for compliance, data sovereignty, or vendor lock-in avoidance
- You want managed databases and email included, not billed separately
Choose Fly.io if you…
- You need true global edge deployment across 35+ regions
- You want Firecracker microVMs for sub-100ms cold starts
- You need GPU compute for ML inference workloads
- You prefer granular pay-per-second billing for bursty, low-traffic apps
- You want a battle-tested platform — Temps is young (v0.1.0)
Why teams switch from Fly.io
- Fly.io free tier discontinued Oct 2024
- Fly.io removed its free tier on October 7, 2024. The current minimum is the Hobby plan at $5/mo, billed for actual CPU, RAM, storage, and bandwidth usage beyond the included credit. Temps is Apache 2.0 — self-host free on any VPS, or ~$6/mo on Temps Cloud.
- Native git-push vs CLI-driven deploys
- Fly.io deploys through the flyctl CLI ('fly launch' can generate a Dockerfile for common frameworks); git-push workflows require wiring up GitHub Actions. Temps deploys on every git push out of the box, autodetecting your framework with no CI configuration.
- Full observability built in
- Fly.io provides Prometheus metrics but has no error tracking, session replay, or analytics. Temps ships Sentry-compatible error tracking, privacy-first analytics, rrweb-based session replay, and 60-second uptime monitoring — all in the same binary as the deployment engine.
- Self-hostable with Pingora + WireGuard
- Fly.io is cloud-only. Temps is Apache 2.0 — install on any server. Temps uses Pingora (Cloudflare's open-source Rust proxy, handling over 1 trillion requests per day) for routing and embedded WireGuard (via defguard_wireguard_rs + boringtun) for multi-node mesh networking with no wireguard-tools required.
Feature comparison
What each platform includes out of the box, and what needs a separate subscription.
Git push deployments
Temps
YesNative, framework autodetectFly.io
Noflyctl CLI; git-push via GitHub ActionsDocker support
Temps
YesFly.io
YesAutomatic SSL
Temps
YesFly.io
YesCustom domains
Temps
YesFly.io
YesDedicated IPv4 $2/mo extraPreview environments
Temps
YesNative per PRFly.io
NoCustom GitHub Action requiredFree tier
Temps
YesSelf-host free (Apache 2.0)Fly.io
NoDiscontinued Oct 7, 2024Managed PostgreSQL
Temps
YesIncludedFly.io
YesFrom $38/moManaged Redis
Temps
YesIncludedFly.io
YesVia Upstash (third-party)S3-compatible storage
Temps
YesBuilt-in RustFSFly.io
YesVia Tigris (third-party)Error tracking
Temps
YesSentry-compatible DSNFly.io
NoThird-party requiredWeb analytics
Temps
YesBuilt-in, privacy-firstFly.io
NoNot availableSession replay
Temps
Yesrrweb-based, built-inFly.io
NoNot availableUptime monitoring
Temps
Yes60s checks + alertingFly.io
NoNot availableSelf-hosted option
Temps
YesApache 2.0, any serverFly.io
NoCloud-onlyGlobal edge regions
Temps
NoMulti-node worker clustersFly.io
Yes35 regionsTransactional email
Temps
YesSMTP, SES, Scaleway built-inFly.io
NoBackground workers
Temps
YesCron & queuesFly.io
YesSeparate machine ($5+/mo)
What it actually costs
Fly.io's free tier was discontinued October 7, 2024. The minimum is $5/mo (Hobby plan), with CPU, RAM, storage, and bandwidth billed per use beyond the plan credit. Temps Cloud is ~$6/mo flat — databases, monitoring, analytics, and error tracking all included.
| Scenario | Temps | Fly.io |
|---|---|---|
| Free / getting started | $0 (self-hosted, Apache 2.0) | None — free tier discontinued Oct 2024 |
| Entry paid | ~$6/mo (Temps Cloud) | $5/mo Hobby (usage billed beyond credit) |
| App + DB + Redis | ~$6/mo (Temps Cloud, all included) | $50–70/mo (machine + Managed PG + Upstash Redis) |
| Full stack + observability | ~$6/mo (included) | $100–200+/mo (+ Sentry + analytics + monitoring) |
Fly.io Pricing Plans 2026
| Plan | Price | Free Tier? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby | $5/mo minimum | No (discontinued Oct 7, 2024) | Usage billed beyond $5 credit |
| Launch | $29/mo | No | Higher resource limits |
| Scale | $199/mo | No | Priority support |
| Enterprise | Custom | No | Dedicated SLAs |
Source: Fly.io pricing page. Numbers current as of 2026.
Migrating from Fly.io
Easy difficulty
Fly.io apps are Docker-based, so container images deploy unchanged on Temps. Transfer secrets with `bunx @temps-sdk/cli environments vars set`. Fly Postgres data migrates via pg_dump/restore; Upstash Redis via DUMP/RESTORE. Multi-region Fly machines become Temps worker nodes connected via WireGuard mesh. Most apps complete the migration in under an hour.
Frequently asked questions
Does Fly.io have a free tier in 2026?
No. Fly.io discontinued its free tier on October 7, 2024. The current minimum is the Hobby plan at $5/month, which includes $5 of usage credit. CPU, RAM, storage, and bandwidth beyond the credit are billed per use. Source: fly.io/blog/free-tier-end.
How much does Fly.io cost in 2026?
Fly.io's 2026 plans: Hobby ($5/mo, $5 usage credit), Launch ($29/mo), Scale ($199/mo). Usage beyond the plan credit is billed per CPU-second, GB-second RAM, GB of storage, and GB of egress. A production app with PostgreSQL and Redis (via Upstash) typically costs $50–70/mo.
Does Fly.io require Docker?
Every Fly.io app deploys as a container image, but you don't have to write the Dockerfile yourself — 'fly launch' can generate one for common frameworks. There is no native git-push workflow: deploys go through the flyctl CLI, and continuous deployment requires wiring up GitHub Actions. Temps deploys on git push out of the box, autodetecting Node.js, Python, Go, Rust, Ruby, and more without a Dockerfile.
What are the best Fly.io alternatives in 2026?
The top Fly.io alternatives in 2026 are Temps (self-hostable, built-in observability, ~$6/mo), Railway ($5/mo Hobby, usage-based), Render ($7/mo Basic), and Heroku ($7/mo Basic). Temps is the only one that's self-hostable under Apache 2.0 and includes error tracking, analytics, session replay, and uptime monitoring at no extra cost.
What is Temps' reverse proxy — how does it compare to Fly.io?
Temps uses Pingora, the open-source Rust reverse proxy Cloudflare built to replace Nginx across its global network. Pingora handles over 1 trillion requests per day on Cloudflare's infrastructure. Fly.io uses a managed Anycast-based proxy. Temps embeds Pingora directly — no separate proxy container, no extra configuration.
How does Temps handle multi-node deployments compared to Fly.io?
Fly.io distributes workloads across 35+ edge regions via Firecracker VMs. Temps uses embedded WireGuard (via defguard_wireguard_rs and boringtun — no external wireguard-tools package needed) to connect worker nodes over an encrypted peer-to-peer mesh. This lets you run multi-server clusters on any VPS provider without the geographic constraints of a single cloud vendor.
Ready to switch from Fly.io?
Self-host Temps for free, or run it on Temps Cloud from ~$6/mo.