
Sliplane vs. Fly.io

Sliplane takes a radically different approach to container hosting. While Fly.io offers impressive global infrastructure with usage-based billing, we give you a dedicated server with predictable fixed pricing where you can run as many containers as it can handle.
How It Works
Here's the simple concept: You rent a server (starting at 2 vCPUs / 2GB RAM for €9/month), and you can run any containerized workload without worrying about per-second billing or bandwidth charges.
Want to host:
- Multiple web applications
- APIs with unpredictable traffic
- Databases and caching layers
- Background workers running 24/7
- Development and staging environments
- Any Docker container you need
All on one €9/month server? Go for it. Your cost stays the same whether your app gets 10 or 10,000 requests.
The Pricing Problem: Different Approaches
This is where Sliplane and Fly.io take different approaches:
Fly.io's model:
- Per-second billing for machines
- Bandwidth charges ($0.02-$0.12 per GB)
- Volume storage at $0.15/GB/month
- Support plans starting at $29/month
- Usage-based pricing scales with demand
- Great for apps with highly variable workloads
Sliplane's model:
- One fixed monthly price
- 2TB bandwidth included per server
- Storage included with your server
- No surprise bills
- Simple, predictable pricing
- Perfect for steady workloads and small teams
Real Cost Comparison
Let's break down actual monthly costs:
Fly.io pricing example:
- 2 shared CPUs, 4GB RAM: ~$11.40/month
- 20GB storage: $3/month
- 500GB bandwidth: $10-60/month (region dependent)
- Basic support: $29/month
- Total: $53-113/month (varies by usage)
Sliplane pricing:
- Medium server (3 vCPU, 4GB RAM): €24/month
- Storage included
- 2TB bandwidth included
- Support included
- Total: €24/month (~$26) fixed
The Complexity Trade-off
Fly.io offers powerful features:
- 35+ regions for global deployment
- Firecracker microVMs for isolation
- WireGuard VPN for secure networking
- Advanced routing and load balancing
- Enterprise-grade infrastructure
This power comes with complexity:
- Steeper learning curve for their platform
- More configuration for simple deployments
- Platform-specific concepts to master
- Distributed debugging across regions
Sliplane takes a simpler approach:
- Deploy any Docker container
- Choose your server location
- Standard Docker networking
- Familiar Linux environment
- Focus on shipping features
Real-World Example: SaaS Application
Let's compare costs for a typical SaaS with variable traffic:
Monthly traffic pattern:
- 2 web servers (always on)
- 1 API server (scales with demand)
- PostgreSQL database
- Redis cache
- Background workers
- 2TB monthly bandwidth
On Fly.io:
- Compute: ~$50-80/month (with scaling)
- Storage: $5/month
- Bandwidth: $40/month
- Support: $29/month
- Total: $124-154/month (unpredictable)
On Sliplane:
- Large server: €44/month
- Everything included
- No scaling charges
- Total: €44/month (~$48) fixed
When to Choose Each Platform
Choose Fly.io when you need:
- Global presence with <50ms latency worldwide
- Massive scale with automatic scaling
- Edge computing capabilities
- Multi-region redundancy
- Enterprise compliance requirements
Choose Sliplane when you want:
- Predictable costs for your business
- Simple deployment without the learning curve
- Fixed bandwidth (2TB included)
- Quick setup for standard applications
- Direct server access when needed
Developer Experience Comparison
Fly.io experience:
- Powerful CLI and deployment tools
- Comprehensive documentation
- Active community support
- Requires learning platform-specific concepts
- Best for teams familiar with distributed systems
Sliplane experience:
- Deploy using standard Docker
- Minimal learning curve
- Direct SSH access available
- Use existing Docker knowledge
- Ideal for teams wanting to ship quickly
The Bottom Line
Both platforms serve different needs. Fly.io is an excellent choice for applications requiring global distribution, automatic scaling, and enterprise features. Their platform is well-engineered and powerful.
Sliplane focuses on a different problem: giving developers and small teams a simple, predictable way to host containers. With 2TB of bandwidth included and fixed pricing, you can focus on building your product instead of monitoring usage metrics.
Looking for straightforward container hosting with predictable costs? We'd love to help you simplify your deployment.
Cheers,
Jonas, Co-Founder of sliplane.io