Render vs Fly.io
Two Heroku replacements compared on free tier, cold start, and where their containers actually run.
Render still has a free web service tier (with 15-min spin-down). Fly.io ended its free tier in October 2024 and now requires a $5 monthly minimum. The price floor difference: Render = $0, Fly = $5.
Cold start: Render free tier spin-up is 30+ seconds after 15 minutes idle. Fly machines stay running on the $5 plan, no cold start.
Regional placement: Fly runs containers in 35+ regions close to users. Render runs in fewer regions and you don't pick. For latency-sensitive global apps, Fly's regional model is unique in the indie price range.
Pick Render free for: internal tools, CI runners, projects that can sleep. Pick Fly for: global SaaS with international users where the $5/mo is fine. The Render free tier is hard to beat at $0; the Fly $5 plan beats Render's $7 Hobby plan on regions and machine size per dollar.