DigitalOcean App Platform vs Fly.io.
Prices checked , Fly.io's from
Fly.io is cheaper on 7 of the 7 shapes both sell, the widest gap 2 GB of memory at $10.70/mo against $25/mo, checked .
Where to start
DigitalOcean App Platformall 14 prices →It takes your code or an image and runs a container of it for you.
Starts at
$5/mo
apps-s-1vcpu-0.5gb · 1 shared vCPU · 512 MB
Fly.ioall 47 prices →It gives you a machine of your own, started and stopped in a second.
Starts at
$1.94/mo
shared-cpu-1x · 256 MB
Side by side
| Fact | DigitalOcean App Platform | Fly.io |
|---|---|---|
| Kind of platform | App platform | Micro-VM |
| Prices published | 14 | 47 |
| Entry price | $5/mo | $1.94/mo |
| Cheaper of the two | 0 of 7 | 7 of 7 |
| Free tier | none listed | none listed |
| Transfer per GB | 2¢ per GB | 2¢ per GB |
| One build minute | not published | not published |
| One extra member | not published | not published |
| A GB of disk a month | not published | $0.15 per GB a month |
Every shape both sell
7 shapes, sizes first, smallest first. Monthly prices.
| Shape | DigitalOcean App Platform | Fly.io |
|---|---|---|
| 512 MB of memory | $5apps-s-1vcpu-0.5gbalways on | $3.19shared-cpu-1xalways on |
| 1 GB of memory | $10apps-s-1vcpu-1gb-fixedalways on | $5.70shared-cpu-1xalways on |
| 2 GB of memory | $25apps-s-1vcpu-2gbalways on | $10.70shared-cpu-1xalways on |
| 4 GB of memory | $49apps-d-1vcpu-4gbalways on | $21.40shared-cpu-2xalways on |
| 8 GB of memory | $98apps-d-2vcpu-8gbalways on | $42.79shared-cpu-4xalways on |
| 16 GB of memory | $196apps-d-4vcpu-16gbalways on | $85.59shared-cpu-8xalways on |
| 32 GB of memory | $392apps-d-8vcpu-32gbalways on | $244.06performance-4xalways on |
How we count
Fly.io is cheaper on 7 of the 7 shapes both sell, DigitalOcean App Platform on 0. DigitalOcean App Platform takes your code or an image and runs a container of it for you; Fly.io gives you a machine of your own, started and stopped in a second. The two catalogues overlap without matching.
A shape is a runtime with the same stated memory at both, smallest first, or a subscription at the same step of both ladders. A seat and a gigabyte are never put in the same row.
Where one side of a row costs nothing, neither is marked as the cheaper: free is a limit rather than a price. What each platform meters on top is listed beside the prices and never folded into them, and a rate that is not published is not a rate of zero.
Frequently asked
- Is DigitalOcean App Platform cheaper than Fly.io?
- On the 7 shapes both sell, DigitalOcean App Platform is cheaper on 0, Fly.io on 7. Prices exclude tax and were read on 29 Sept 2026.
- What is the difference between DigitalOcean App Platform and Fly.io?
- DigitalOcean App Platform: You push a repository or an image and the platform builds it, runs it and keeps it running. There is no operating system to look after and no root, which is the point: the container is replaced rather than repaired. What you size is memory and a share of a processor. Fly.io: You get a machine rather than a container: it boots in about a second, it stops when you stop it, and it costs nothing while it is stopped. That makes the monthly figure a ceiling rather than a bill, and it is the number this index carries, because a machine you leave running is what a month of hosting costs.
- Does DigitalOcean App Platform or Fly.io stop your app when nothing calls it?
- DigitalOcean App Platform: it lists no free tier. Fly.io: it lists no free tier.
- What does each one charge on top of the plan price?
- DigitalOcean App Platform: transfer 2¢ per GB, builds not published, members not published. Fly.io: transfer 2¢ per GB, builds not published, members not published. A rate that is not published is not a rate of zero, and none of these is folded into the monthly figures above.
- How current are these prices?
- Both catalogues are read every day. DigitalOcean App Platform was last read 29 Sept 2026 and Fly.io 23 Sept 2026; the whole index was refreshed 29 Sept 2026. Prices exclude tax, and a tier that costs nothing is listed here and is the cheaper of two nowhere.