Fly.io
Fly.io leans into running full app servers on isolated VMs, which makes it a natural alternative when Cloudflare Workers’ edge-function model feels too constrained. Instead of optimizing around per-request isolates, Fly Machines let teams run long-lived processes, background workers, and full frameworks with fewer runtime compromises while still deploying close to users.
A big differentiator is the “global by default” posture: apps can be placed in multiple regions without the same multi-region infrastructure overhead typically associated with VM-based deployments. This is especially useful for globally distributed APIs, proxies, and backends where latency matters but the codebase isn’t well-suited to edge-only patterns.
Fly.io is also built around a CLI-first workflow, making it easy to stand up services quickly and iterate with simple commands. You can pair the compute model with practical platform conveniences like straightforward domain setup and SSL, so it feels closer to a modern PaaS than DIY infrastructure.
Pick Fly.io over Cloudflare Workers when the primary goal is shipping a complete server runtime globally, not just pushing logic to the edge. The trade-off is that you’re operating more “server-shaped” workloads, but you gain flexibility for networking, process models, and stack choices that don’t map cleanly to edge functions.
Best for
Best for teams that want globally deployed VM-style apps with minimal multi-region operational overhead.
Standout features
- ✓Global deployment with VM-based compute
- ✓CLI-first app management and deploys
- ✓Long-lived processes and full frameworks
- ✓Easy custom domains and SSL
- ✓Simple scaling with quick commands
