Fly.io vs Coolify: which to choose

Fly.io vs Coolify: when each platform fits

Choose between Fly.io and Coolify by asking one question first: do your apps need to run close to users in several regions, or do you need one or a few servers that your team controls and that keep data in your own infrastructure? Fly.io fits teams that need Machines spread across regions, want usage-based billing that scales down with traffic, and do not want to operate servers. Fly.io runs applications as fast-launching virtual machines in regions worldwide, so placement, host maintenance and the underlying hardware stay with the provider. The cost is variable: each Machine, volume, snapshot, egress charge and IP address appears on the bill, so a renewal review should pull the last few months of usage line by line rather than relying on a headline rate.

Coolify fits teams that run one or a few servers they control, prefer fixed server costs, and must keep application data in their own cloud accounts or data centers. Coolify connects to each server over SSH, prepares it for Docker workloads, and deploys from a Git repository, Dockerfile, Docker Compose file or prebuilt image. Its self-hosted edition is Apache-2.0 licensed, so the platform itself carries no subscription fee. The trade-off is that your team owns the servers, patching, the proxy and backups. Coolify's minimum host requirements are listed in its installation documentation, and you should confirm them against the size of your workloads before ordering hardware.

The decision turns on four things: how many regions your users actually need, where the data must physically sit, how much operating capacity your team has for servers and recovery, and which build workflow your apps already use. If Dockerfile or buildpack builds run unchanged in both, the choice comes down to placement and operations. If you need Machines close to users in several regions, Coolify's multi-server model is a poor match, so confirm its current multi-server limits in the multi-server deployments documentation before you commit. If your team cannot take on server recovery, price that staffing time into the comparison.

Which platform fits which scenario

This table matches common Fly.io vs Coolify situations to the platform that fits better and the condition under which the other option wins. Read each row against your own workload, team and data location rather than picking the overall winner.

Scenario	Better fit	Why, and when the other option wins
Single-region web app with one database	Coolify	One or a few servers in one location keep the model simple. Fly.io wins if you expect to need regional Machines and managed scaling without adding servers yourself.
App that must serve users in several regions	Fly.io	Fly.io places Machines in many regions from one configuration. Coolify manages servers you provide over SSH, so you must choose and pay for each location. Coolify wins if most users sit in one area and you accept higher latency elsewhere.
Data must stay in your own data center	Coolify	Coolify installs on Linux servers you control, so data stays where you put it. Fly.io wins only if its regions satisfy your residency rules and your auditors accept a managed provider; confirm this with your compliance lead.
Small team with no platform operators	Fly.io	Fly.io handles hosts, networking and region placement for you, so fewer people must patch servers. Coolify wins when a developer can own one server and you accept that OS updates, backups and recovery become your job.
Team with existing Dockerfile or Docker Compose workflows	Coolify	Coolify deploys from a Dockerfile, Docker Compose file or prebuilt image, so current builds carry over with little change. Fly.io also runs Dockerfiles, so it wins if you want Fly.io's Machine model and fly.toml rather than maintaining your own servers.
App relying on Fly.io volumes and Postgres	Fly.io	Fly.io provides attached volumes and managed Postgres. Coolify deploys PostgreSQL and other databases with scheduled backups, but you own storage capacity and restore testing. Coolify wins when you are prepared to run and test those backups yourself.
Costs that should rise and fall with traffic	Fly.io	Fly.io bills by usage, so quiet apps cost less in quiet periods. Coolify has a fixed server cost plus your own time. Coolify wins when steady, predictable load makes fixed server costs easier to budget than usage charges.
Need for a self-managed, free platform layer	Coolify	The self-hosted Coolify edition is free under Apache-2.0 with no feature limits, so software licensing is not a recurring line item. Fly.io wins if the operating time you would spend on the platform costs more than the usage charges it replaces.

How builds, volumes and databases compare in practice

Coolify deploys an application from a Git repository, a Dockerfile, a Docker Compose file or a prebuilt image. For Git sources, its build packs are Nixpacks, Railpack (beta), Static, Dockerfile and Docker Compose, and a separate Docker Image method skips the build stage entirely by pulling an image you have already built. Fly.io also builds from a Dockerfile or buildpacks and attaches volumes to Machines, but the mechanics differ in how the builder, the volume and the region are tied together. Confirm Fly.io's current volume behavior, including how volumes are created, moved and snapshotted, in its documentation before you map your fly.toml settings onto Coolify. On Coolify, the storage you need is a host path or a database, so plan where each persistent directory will live on the server you control.

Coolify deploys PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, Redis, Dragonfly, KeyDB and ClickHouse. Scheduled backups cover PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB and ClickHouse, but Redis, Dragonfly and KeyDB are not covered by scheduled backups, so any cache or queue data in those engines needs a separate plan. PostgreSQL backups use the pg_dump custom format, can be uploaded to S3-compatible storage and run on cron schedules with retention by count, days or size. Coolify's Import Backup accepts PostgreSQL SQL dumps, custom archives, tar archives and all-database dumps, which helps when you move data out of a managed database. Ask yourself which of your databases hold data you cannot rebuild, and test a restore into a scratch database before cutover.

Rollback is the step most teams misjudge. Coolify's guide for teams coming from managed platforms notes that a rollback can redeploy a retained application image, but it does not restore databases or persistent files. That means a bad release can be reverted at the code level while the schema changes and uploaded files stay as they are. Decide up front how you will handle migrations that cannot be reversed, where application uploads are stored, and who owns the backup schedule and retention settings after cutover. Use the Coolify docs on coming from managed platforms as a checklist, and confirm each backup and restore step against your own data before you retire the Fly.io volumes.

Fly.io vs Coolify capabilities compared

This table sets Fly.io Machines against Coolify managing your own servers over SSH, row by row across builds, proxy and TLS, databases, previews, multi-server support, API access and installation. Where the supplied material does not cover a Fly.io capability, the cell tells you what to confirm with Fly.io's current documentation. Use it to find the gaps that matter for your workloads before you plan a move.

Capability	Fly.io	Coolify (self-hosted)
Build inputs	Confirm current Dockerfile and buildpack support in Fly.io's documentation before planning.	Nixpacks, Railpack (beta), Static, Dockerfile and Docker Compose builds, plus prebuilt Docker images.
Reverse proxy and TLS	Routing and certificates are handled by the platform. Confirm certificate and custom domain details with Fly.io.	One coolify-proxy per server with Traefik by default or Caddy, both issuing HTTPS automatically. Custom (None) leaves routing and TLS to you.
Databases	Managed Postgres is a separate paid product. Confirm current plans and backup behavior with Fly.io.	Deploys PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, Redis, Dragonfly, KeyDB and ClickHouse on your servers.
Database backups	Confirm backup and recovery options for each database type in Fly.io's documentation.	Scheduled backups for PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB and ClickHouse, optionally uploaded to S3-compatible storage. Redis, Dragonfly and KeyDB are not covered.
Preview deployments	Confirm preview environment support and cleanup behavior with Fly.io.	Builds pull or merge requests from GitHub, GitLab, Gitea and Bitbucket. Needs wildcard DNS and deletes previews when the request closes or merges.
Multi-region placement	Machines can run in regions worldwide. Confirm the current region list and placement options.	Multi-server deployments across servers you connect. Confirm the current multi-server limits and placement rules in Coolify's documentation.
API access	Confirm the current API and CLI options in Fly.io's documentation.	Token-based API for managing resources, documented in Coolify's API authorization guide.
Installation and host requirements	No host to install. You choose regions and machine sizes in the platform.	Linux only (Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat family, SUSE, Arch, Alpine, 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS). Needs at least 2 CPU cores, 2 GB RAM and 10 GB free disk. Installs with a single script.

Multi-region placement against Coolify's multi-server model

Fly.io lets you start Machines in the regions you choose, so the platform handles where instances run and how they are scaled across them. Coolify's multi-server deployments work differently. One Coolify instance connects to several servers over SSH, prepares each for Docker workloads and deploys the app to the servers you select, but the geographic spread is something you design by provisioning servers in each location.

Placement: On Fly.io you change region settings and Machines start there. With Coolify, you provision a server in each location, connect it and deploy to it.
Traffic steering: Each server runs its own proxy for the domains deployed to it. Sending each user to the nearest server is a DNS or global load balancer decision that you build and operate.
Data location: Databases do not follow the app. Keeping reads or writes close to users across regions requires a replication design that you implement and run.
Certificates: Each server's proxy handles HTTPS for its domains, so every regional endpoint needs correct DNS records and a certificate path.
Operations: Deploys, patching and monitoring multiply with each server.

Before planning, confirm the current server limits and multi-server behavior in Coolify's multi-server deployment docs.

Data location, hosting and compliance implications

Moving from Fly.io to Coolify changes who holds the data, who runs the hosts and who answers an assessor's questions. The cards below cover the decisions that carry the most compliance weight, so you can scope them with your assessor before any migration work starts.

Where application data and backups live

On Fly.io, app volumes, Postgres data and snapshots sit in the regions you select from Fly.io's footprint, and backup location follows that platform configuration. With Coolify, data sits on servers you choose and can be placed in any jurisdiction your cloud or data center contract allows. Coolify's scheduled database backups can be uploaded to S3-compatible storage, so confirm the bucket region, encryption and retention with your data owner. Note that Redis, Dragonfly and KeyDB are not covered by Coolify's scheduled backups.

Who operates the hosts

With Fly.io, the provider runs the underlying hosts, and you rely on its security operations and contractual terms. With Coolify, your team or your contracted operator patches the operating system, Docker, the Coolify control plane and every connected server. Coolify runs on Linux distributions from its supported list, so the host baseline, kernel updates and access logs become your evidence to produce. Coolify Cloud also exists, but its instance runs on Coolify's managed infrastructure, which changes the operator and the data path, so treat it as a separate vendor review.

Proxy and TLS responsibility

Fly.io terminates TLS for your domains on its edge. In Coolify, each server runs one coolify-proxy container, with Traefik as the default and Caddy as the alternative, and both issue HTTPS certificates automatically. The Custom (None) option hands routing and certificate management to your team. Document which proxy is in use, where private keys are stored, how certificates renew and who can change proxy configuration, because an assessor will test those paths directly.

Access to the Coolify instance and SSH

Coolify connects to each server over SSH to prepare it and deploy workloads, so a compromised Coolify account can reach every connected host. Define who may log in to the Coolify instance, whether role separation is in place, how SSH keys are issued, rotated and revoked, and whether SSH is restricted by network path. Coolify's API also uses tokens with their own scope, so list which tokens exist and who owns them. Ask for these controls to be reviewed against your identity provider and privileged access policy.

Evidence an assessor will request

Under a self-hosted model, the assessor will ask for records that Fly.io previously held for you: host inventory, patch history, backup test results, restore runbooks, access reviews, change records for deployments, and logs of SSH and administrative sessions. Expect questions about who approved each release and how preview deployments are kept out of production data. DeployOpen prepares systems, controls and evidence for compliance assessments, but it does not issue audit reports or certifications. Independent auditors and certification bodies make those determinations.

Shared responsibility after migration

Fly.io's managed model places capacity, backups and recovery mainly with the provider, while Coolify moves those duties to the operator. Coolify's own guide for teams leaving managed platforms notes that a rollback can redeploy a retained application image but does not restore databases or persistent files. Write a responsibility matrix that assigns each recovery task, including database restore testing and volume recovery, to a named owner before cutover, and confirm that the matrix matches what your assessor expects.

What the Apache-2.0 license and free edition change

Licensing cost is not the decision driver for Coolify. The project is licensed under Apache-2.0, and Coolify's pricing page describes the self-hosted edition as free forever, with all features and no limitations or restrictions. Fly.io has no equivalent line item to remove, because its charges come from Machines, volumes, snapshots, egress, IPv4 addresses, certificates and any support plan. With Coolify, the recurring costs move to the servers Coolify manages, the staff time to run them, and the backup storage you add. Ask your team to model those costs against your current Fly.io bill, not the license terms.

Two edition facts matter for planning. The first is that Coolify Cloud is a different product from the self-hosted edition: the Coolify instance runs on Coolify's managed infrastructure, while you bring your own servers and pay the published Coolify Cloud fee for connected servers. Choose it only if you want Coolify to run the control plane for you, and confirm what it covers, including support and data location, in the pricing page and with Coolify before you commit. The second is version maturity. Coolify v4.0.0 was the first stable release after a long beta, and its release notes preview a v5 aimed at scalability in the core while v4 stays supported. Confirm the current supported version and upgrade path in the Coolify GitHub releases before you standardize on it.

Before any purchase or adoption decision, read the license file in the Coolify GitHub repository and the current edition terms on the pricing page yourself, and have your legal or procurement team confirm them for your use. Record which edition you plan to run, who is responsible for upgrades, and whether any feature you rely on sits in a paid tier. Terms can change between releases, so the date you checked them belongs in your decision record.

Cost of ownership by component on each side

Fly.io and self-hosted Coolify split cost differently: one side bills usage per resource, the other bills fixed hosts plus the people who run them. Compare the two by component, separating what recurs from what is paid once, and ask for written figures on each line before deciding.

Fly.io usage charges

Fly.io bills Machines, volumes, snapshots, egress, IPv4 addresses, certificates and any support plan, and most of these scale with how much your apps run and move data. Because the charges are metered, the monthly total moves with traffic, scaling events and storage growth. Ask for a bill breakdown for the last three full months so you can see which line items drive the total, rather than relying on a single headline estimate.

Servers running Coolify

Coolify runs on the servers you provision, and each host is a recurring infrastructure cost that stays the same whether traffic is quiet or busy. Size each host for the apps, databases and preview builds it will carry, since the minimum for Coolify itself is only a starting point. Confirm with your cloud or data center provider the monthly cost of each host, bandwidth allowances, and any charges for block storage used by database volumes.

Coolify Cloud subscription

Coolify Cloud is an optional managed control plane. Its fee covers the first connected servers and then adds a charge per additional server, with a discount for annual billing, while you still pay for the servers themselves. Compare this against your own time to run a self-hosted Coolify instance. The self-hosted edition is free to use, so this line only applies if you decide to pay for the managed control plane.

One-time setup work

Installation, proxy and TLS configuration, database backup schedules with S3-compatible storage, and preview deployment wiring are paid once but take skilled hours. Preview deployments need wildcard DNS for the default URL pattern, and backup retention and restore paths must be set before go-live. Ask any implementation partner for a written scope listing each of these items, the environments they cover, and what is excluded, such as application code changes to replace Fly.io-specific configuration.

Ongoing operating time

Patching hosts, updating Coolify, watching disk and memory, reviewing backup jobs and running restore tests are recurring tasks that Fly.io largely absorbs on its platform side. Coolify's migration guide notes that a rollback can redeploy a retained application image but does not restore databases or persistent files, so restore testing is a recurring responsibility you must budget for. Estimate these hours with your own staff, or agree a retainer with a provider, and compare the total against the Fly.io bill.

What a move from Fly.io to Coolify involves

The sequence moves each app, volume and database from Fly.io onto servers you control, proves the restored data works, and only then shifts traffic and retires the old resources. Each phase ends with a check you can record before moving on.

Inventory apps, volumes and databases
Your team lists every Fly.io app, its regions, machine count, attached volumes, Postgres clusters, secrets, scheduled jobs and custom domains. Record which apps run more than one process type and which depend on a specific region for latency or data placement. The output is a single inventory sheet that the cutover checklist refers to. Confirm the list against the Fly.io dashboard and CLI output, not memory, because forgotten volumes are the most common source of data loss during a move.
Choose the build input for each app
For each app, decide whether Coolify will build from a Git repository using a Dockerfile, a Docker Compose file, a Nixpacks or Railpack build pack, or a prebuilt Docker image. Apps that already ship a Dockerfile for Fly.io usually carry over unchanged, since Coolify's Dockerfile and Docker Compose build packs use the same input. The output is a documented build choice per app. Test each build once in a staging project so that build failures surface before the production cutover.
Size and provision servers
Your infrastructure or platform team provisions one or more Linux servers in the data centers or cloud accounts you choose. Coolify requires at least 2 CPU cores, 2 GB RAM and 10 GB of free disk, a supported distribution such as Debian, Ubuntu or a Red Hat family release, and amd64 or arm64 hardware. Size the servers from the inventory, leaving headroom for builds, which consume CPU and disk. The output is a set of hosts that pass a prerequisite check and that you have documented for patching and access.
Install Coolify and connect servers over SSH
Install Coolify on a management host using its installation script, then add each application server by SSH. Coolify prepares each server to run Docker workloads, so confirm the SSH key, firewall rules and administrator access before adding it. Store the Coolify administrator credentials and API tokens in your secrets manager. The output is a Coolify dashboard showing every server as reachable and ready, with a record of who holds administrative access.
Restore database data and test the restores
Create the databases in Coolify, then export data from Fly.io Postgres and import it. Coolify's import accepts PostgreSQL SQL dumps, custom archives, tar archives and all-database dumps. Run a restore into a separate Coolify database, check row counts and key queries, and time a restore so you know the rollback path. Persistent files on Fly.io volumes must be copied separately, because a Coolify rollback restores an application image but not databases or persistent files. Note that Redis, Dragonfly and KeyDB are not covered by Coolify's scheduled backups, so plan their data handling separately. The output is a restore test log that the team has signed off.
Configure domains, TLS and preview DNS
Point each application's domain to the Coolify server or proxy and confirm that the proxy issues certificates for it. Coolify runs Traefik by default or Caddy as an alternative, and both handle HTTPS automatically; if you choose the Custom option, your team owns routing and certificate renewal. If you want preview deployments, create a wildcard DNS record so the default pull request URL resolves. The output is working HTTPS on the new servers, reached through a staging hostname, with the certificate chain verified.
Cut over traffic with DNS
Lower the TTL on production DNS records ahead of time, freeze writes to the Fly.io database, run a final incremental data copy, and switch DNS to the Coolify endpoints. Watch error rates, latency and log output from both sides during the switch. The output is production traffic served from Coolify, with a documented rollback step that points DNS back to Fly.io if a critical check fails. Confirm the cutover window and approvals with the application owners in writing before you begin.
Decommission Fly.io after verification
Keep Fly.io machines, volumes and databases in place for a verification period agreed by the team, then remove them in a controlled order. Before deleting volumes or databases, take a final export and confirm it restores. Cancel billing items only after no resource is left running, and check the next invoice to confirm charges have stopped. The output is a closed decommission record listing each resource, its final backup location and the date it was removed.

Questions buyers ask before choosing Coolify over Fly.io

How much does it cost to switch from Fly.io to Coolify?

The switch has two cost sides: the platform itself and the labor to move onto it. Coolify's self-hosted edition is free under Apache-2.0, according to its pricing page, so the recurring cost is the servers you run it on, plus the cloud or hardware bill for them. Coolify Cloud, the managed option, costs $5 per month for 2 connected servers plus $3 per month for each additional server, with a 20% discount for annual billing, per Coolify's pricing page. Your Fly.io bill is metered per Machine, volume, egress and similar resources, so comparing the two means modeling your actual usage against fixed server capacity. One-time costs include migration work, testing and backup setup. Ask any quote to itemize those one-time items separately from recurring infrastructure and support.

How long does a migration from Fly.io to Coolify take?

Duration depends on the agreed scope, not on a fixed timeline. The main variables are the number of apps, how many use volumes or Postgres, how much per-region placement you need to replace, and how thoroughly backups and restores are tested. Most engagements are fixed-scope, so scope, deliverables and timelines are agreed in writing before work starts. A small set of stateless web apps with a single region is a much shorter exercise than a fleet with stateful data across several regions. Ask for a written timeline tied to named deliverables, and make sure it includes a restore test and a cutover plan with a rollback path.

What skills does my team need to run Coolify on its own servers?

Your team needs working Linux administration, DNS management, Docker knowledge and a tested backup practice. Coolify connects to each server over SSH, prepares it to run Docker workloads, and installs with a single script on supported Linux distributions, so someone must own server patching, firewall rules and SSH access. DNS is needed for each domain and for wildcard records if you use preview deployments. Docker knowledge helps when debugging builds and container health. Backups are the largest gap for teams coming from managed platforms: Coolify's scheduled backups cover PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB and ClickHouse, but not Redis, Dragonfly or KeyDB, so verify each database's recovery path yourself.

Can our team do the migration without outside help?

A team with Linux, Docker and DNS experience can do a simple migration alone, but the risk sits in the cutover and the data. Coolify's guide for teams coming from managed platforms notes that a rollback can redeploy a retained application image but does not restore databases or persistent files, so data moves and restore tests need deliberate planning. An outside implementation partner can take on fixed-scope work such as planning, implementing, hardening, backing up, documenting and handing over the environment. DeployOpen works this way: scope, deliverables and timelines are agreed in writing before work starts, and ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as retainers. A written scope is the right basis for comparing any quote.

Does Coolify replace Fly.io multi-region Machines?

Not in the same way. Fly.io places Machines across regions worldwide, while Coolify manages servers you connect over SSH, and its multi-server deployment support is limited compared with regional placement. Coolify runs one coolify-proxy container on each server and routes traffic through Traefik or Caddy, so you design geographic placement yourself with servers in the locations you choose. Apps that need low latency in many regions, or automatic failover across them, will need extra design work such as external load balancing, DNS routing and replicated data. Confirm the multi-server behavior against Coolify's current documentation before you commit, and list which apps truly need multiple regions.

How do Coolify database backups and restores differ from managed Postgres?

With a managed service, the provider runs backups and point-in-time recovery for you. With Coolify, you configure and test them. Coolify's PostgreSQL backups use the pg_dump custom format, can upload to S3-compatible storage, and run on cron schedules with retention by count, days or size. Its Import Backup accepts PostgreSQL SQL dumps, custom archives, tar archives and all-database dumps. Scheduled backups do not cover Redis, Dragonfly or KeyDB, and a dump on a schedule is not the same as a recovery point you can restore to a chosen time. Plan storage location, retention, encryption of backups, and a restore drill on a separate server. Ask your implementation partner to document the restore steps and time them.

Does a retainer cover upgrades and ongoing support for Coolify?

A retainer covers ongoing work that the written agreement defines, and it is separate from the one-time migration. DeployOpen offers ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing as retainers, so the scope of upgrades, patch windows, monitoring and response expectations should be stated in the contract. Coolify itself moves between versions: v4.0.0 was its first stable release, published on April 27, 2026, and its release notes preview a v5 aimed at scalability while v4 stays supported. Your team still needs to plan Coolify, Docker and operating system upgrades, test them on staging, and back up before each change. Ask for the exact support hours, upgrade process and what is excluded.

How DeployOpen helps evaluate and move from Fly.io

DeployOpen plans, implements, integrates, hardens, backs up, upgrades and documents self-hosted open-source platforms inside your own cloud accounts, data centers or air-gapped networks. For a Fly.io to Coolify decision, we start by writing down which apps, regions and data stores are in play, then build and hand over a Coolify setup you can run yourself.

How we scope

Inventory each Fly.io app, its build method, volumes, Postgres data and the regions it currently runs in.
Map which workloads need multi-region placement and which can run on one or more Coolify-managed servers.
Agree the scope, deliverables and timeline in writing before any work starts, as engagements are fixed-scope.

How we build

Set up Coolify on servers you control, checking them against the installation requirements for CPU, memory and disk.
Configure builds from your existing Dockerfile or buildpack setup, with proxy, HTTPS and database backups to S3-compatible storage.
Test restores of each database backup and rollback steps, since rollbacks do not restore databases or persistent files.

How we hand over

Document the architecture, server inventory, deployment steps, backup schedules and restore procedures for your own team.
Walk your engineers through day-to-day operations, including server patching, proxy changes and adding servers.
Deliver a cutover plan and a record of how each Fly.io app was moved, so the decision can be reviewed later.

How we support

Offer ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing as a retainer after handover.
Plan Coolify upgrades between stable releases and review the release notes before each change.
Run security testing of the migrated applications and infrastructure as part of the retainer scope if you choose it.

Fly.io vs Coolify