Fly.io vs Neon DB

Fly.io and Neon handle managed PostgreSQL databases through different resource models. Fly.io operates by deploying Postgres as a specialized VM, with pricing ranging from $1.94/mo to $131.80/mo. This grants you access to 0.256 GB up to 16 GB of RAM alongside 1 GB to 160 GB of disk storage. Neon, by contrast, uses a serverless architecture where storage is decoupled from compute, starting at $0.00/mo and topping out at $69.00/mo. While Neon provides a higher entry-level RAM floor of 1 GB, its storage ceiling is significantly lower at 50 GB compared to the capacity available on Fly.io.

• Fly.io is cheaper for high-volume storage, charging $0.15/GB for excess disk, while Neon imposes a steep $0.35/GB overage penalty.
• Egress costs differ drastically; Fly.io charges $0.02/GB for data transfer, which is five times cheaper than Neon’s $0.10/GB rate.
• Neon offers a more granular compute model with 0.25 vCPU options for low-load instances, whereas Fly.io defaults to a minimum of 1 vCPU.
• The memory ceiling is identical at 16 GB for the top-tier plans, though the underlying hardware on Fly.io behaves like a standard Linux VM compared to Neon’s specialized storage-attached architecture.

Fly.io provides a more predictable cost structure for database-heavy workloads that require significant local disk space and frequent data egress. Its VM-based approach avoids the per-gigabyte storage premiums found in serverless models. Neon is better suited for intermittent, low-traffic applications where the ability to scale compute down to a fraction of a core provides immediate cost savings on the base monthly invoice. The decision between these platforms rests on whether your application architecture benefits from the persistent, fixed-size volume of a dedicated VM or the rapid, automated scaling of a serverless database engine.