Compare / Fly.io Machines vs Hetzner Cloud
Fly.io Machines vs Hetzner Cloud
Pre-calculated from hand-checked data — Fly.io checked 2026-08-01, Hetzner Cloud checked 2026-08-01.
The short version
Fly.io Machines wins more of our comparison points, but Hetzner Cloud still fits if european projects that need serious compute or move a lot of traffic describes you.
Price Fly.io Machines
Fly.io Machines is cheaper at every stage we model — about $12/mo even for a growing project.
Ease Fly.io Machines
Fly.io Machines is easier to get running: fly launch builds the image and deploys it; configuration lives in fly.toml and the flyctl CLI.
Control Hetzner Cloud
Hetzner Cloud gives you more control over the stack — the flip side of the convenience trade.
Features Fly.io Machines
Fly.io Machines comes out ahead on 7 of the 15 features we track, versus 1.
What developers say about this matchup
First-person discussions from the past three years that compare these products directly. Summaries are paraphrased; follow the source for the full context.
A developer moved multiple backends and databases from Fly.io to a fixed-price Hetzner VPS; Render is discussed as the managed alternative.
Best cost-effective way to deploy a Shopify appAt a glance
| Fly.io Machines | Hetzner Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Dockerized apps that want low cost, fine control, or multi-region placement. | European projects that need serious compute or move a lot of traffic. |
| How deploys work | fly launch builds the image and deploys it; configuration lives in fly.toml and the flyctl CLI. | You get root on a bare server: bring your own setup, or use one-click apps like Docker and WordPress. |
| The tradeoff | You operate more of the stack yourself — especially the database. | Self-managed like any VPS, and the bandwidth advantage mostly applies to EU locations. |
| Free tier | None | None |
What you'd realistically pay
| Project stage | Fly.io Machines | Hetzner Cloud | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just starting | ≈$3/mo shared-cpu-1x, 256 MB | ≈€43.49/mo CCX13 (EU) | Fly.io Machines |
| Steady traffic | ≈$6/mo shared-cpu-1x, 1 GB | ≈€43.49/mo CCX13 (EU) | Fly.io Machines |
| Growing | ≈$12/mo Two 1 GB Machines | ≈€86.49/mo CCX23 (EU) | Fly.io Machines |
Our ratings
Ease of use Fly.io Machines
Pricing clarity Hetzner Cloud
Free tier
Scaling Fly.io Machines
Control Hetzner Cloud
Feature by feature
Fly.io Machines wins 7, Hetzner Cloud wins 1, with 7 even.
Deploy workflow
| Fly.io Machines | Hetzner Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy from Git push | Partial No native git integration; the documented path is flyctl in GitHub Actions. | No No deploy pipeline — bring your own CI or scripts. |
| Preview deploys | Partial PR apps work via the official GitHub Action, not out of the box. | No Nothing built in. |
| Official CLI | Yes flyctl does everything: launch, deploy, scale, ssh, logs. | Yes hcloud CLI manages servers, networks, and snapshots. |
| Instant rollbacks | Partial Redeploy any previous image; no one-click dashboard rollback. | Partial Snapshots and paid backups restore machines; no deploy-level rollback. |
Platform
| Fly.io Machines | Hetzner Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Custom domains + HTTPS | Yes Custom domains with free managed certificates. | Yes Point DNS at the server; TLS is yours via certbot or a proxy. |
| Built-in CDN / edge network | Partial Anycast routing sends users to the nearest region, but there is no static-asset CDN. | No No CDN product — put Cloudflare in front if needed. |
| Serverless functions | No Machines are micro-VMs, not functions. | No Not a VPS feature. |
| Docker containers | Yes A Docker image is the deployment unit. | Yes Docker CE one-click app or install it yourself. |
| SSH / shell access | Yes fly ssh console opens a shell in any running Machine. | Yes Full root SSH. |
| EU hosting region | Yes Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, London, and more. | Yes Germany and Finland are the home turf — this is where the value is. |
Runtime & operations
| Fly.io Machines | Hetzner Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic scaling | Yes Machines autostart and autostop with traffic; scale counts per region. | No Manual resizing or manual fleet management. |
| Scale to zero | Yes Stopped Machines cost only their storage. | No Servers bill until deleted, even powered off. |
| Scheduled jobs | Partial Scheduled Machines run on fixed intervals; full cron needs a workaround. | Yes Classic cron on the box. |
| Managed database | Partial Fly Postgres is automated-but-unmanaged; managed options come from partners like Supabase and Upstash. | No No managed database product — self-host or go external. |
| Logs & metrics built in | Yes Built-in metrics (Grafana), live logs, and log shipping. | Partial Basic server graphs in the console; app-level monitoring is yours. |
Watch out for
Fly.io
- New pay-as-you-go organizations get no free allowance.
- Fly Postgres is explicitly unmanaged: automated but not a managed database service — backups and failover are your responsibility.
- Per-second compute plus $0.02/GB egress makes bills variable; prices differ by region.
Hetzner Cloud
- US locations include only 1–2 TB of traffic versus 20 TB in the EU — the famous value is a European value.
- A public IPv4 address costs €0.50/month extra; only IPv6 is free.
- Servers bill until deleted, even while powered off.
- Cheaper shared-CPU (CX) plans exist but are not yet in our checked dataset.
Read the full reviews: Fly.io and Hetzner Cloud. Or answer four questions to see what fits your project.