Nodion vs Fly.io
Fly.io runs full-stack applications on Firecracker microVMs in regions around the world. It appeals to developers who want their applications to run close to their users. Nodion is a European all-in-one PaaS that combines applications, managed databases, object storage, CDN, transactional emails and DNS on a single integrated platform.
What it costs per month
Always-on prices in USD per month, excl. tax: list prices, or estimates at list rates where a provider bills by usage. For every provider the cheapest plans that meet each minimum, in its cheapest region.
Small project
1 app with 512 MB RAM and the cheapest managed SQL database
90% less on Nodion
Nodion
App, 512 MB $2.40 + PostgreSQL, 256 MB RAM, 4 GB $1.80 (3.50 EUR)
Fly.io
shared-cpu-1x, 512 MB $3.69 + Managed Postgres Basic $38 + 1 GB storage $0.28
Growing app
2 app instances with 2 GB RAM each, a PostgreSQL or MySQL database with 4 GB RAM and 50 GB storage
85% less on Nodion
Nodion
2 × app, 2 GB $19.20 + PostgreSQL, 4 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 64 GB $28.80 (40 EUR)
Fly.io
2 × shared-cpu-1x, 2 GB $25.40 + Managed Postgres Launch, 8 GB, HA $282 + 50 GB storage $14
Production at scale
4 app instances with 8 GB RAM and 2 vCPU each, a PostgreSQL or MySQL database with 16 GB RAM, 4 vCPU, 250 GB storage and high availability
69% less on Nodion
Nodion HA standby
4 × app, 8 GB, 2 vCPU $153.60 + PostgreSQL with HA standby, 2 × 16 GB RAM, 4 vCPU, 256 GB $230.40 (320 EUR)
Fly.io HA standby
4 × shared-cpu-4x, 8 GB $203.20 + Managed Postgres Scale, 32 GB, HA $962 + 250 GB storage $70
Fly.io Machines in its cheapest region, Ashburn (Frankfurt costs about 1% to 4% more). Managed Postgres plans include high availability and jump from 2 GB to 8 GB and from 8 GB to 32 GB RAM, so the larger setups use Launch and Scale. Shared-CPU Machines only guarantee a fraction of each vCPU; with performance Machines, the production setup costs $1,392.06. Nodion: DS-G2 and GP-G2 packages from its public price book; an HA standby is billed as a second database node. List prices checked on October 12, 2026; usage beyond what is listed, such as traffic, is not included.
| Feature | Nodion | Fly.io |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Stuttgart, Germany (EU) | USA (remote-first) |
| Where Apps and Data Run | EU (Frankfurt), US (Manassas, San Jose), APAC (Singapore) | 17 regions on six continents |
| Data Protection | EU company, self-service DPA | US company, DPA available |
| Managed Applications | Yes | Yes |
| Managed PostgreSQL | Yes | Yes (from $38 per month, HA included) |
| Managed MySQL | Yes | No |
| Managed Valkey (Redis-compatible) | Yes | Via Upstash |
| Object Storage | Yes (S3-compatible) | Via Tigris (S3-compatible) |
| CDN | Yes (30 locations) | No dedicated CDN |
| Transactional Emails | Yes (SMTP) | No |
| Managed DNS | Yes (free, GeoDNS) | No |
| Billing Model | Per-second, no plan or seat fees | Per-second |
| Free Tier / Credit | Up to 15 EUR sign-up credit | No (trial: 2 machine hours or 7 days) |
| Docker + Buildpacks | Yes | Yes |
| 1-Click Deploy Marketplace | 20+ open source apps | No |
EU Hosting and Data Sovereignty
Fly.io, Inc. is a US company. While it offers European regions such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris and Stockholm, the company itself operates under US jurisdiction. Nodion is a German company headquartered in Stuttgart, operating under EU law, and runs your apps and data in the region you choose, including Frankfurt for the EU. For organizations that need an EU entity behind their infrastructure, and not just an EU data center location, Nodion provides that assurance natively.
All-in-One Platform vs Build-Your-Own
Fly.io focuses on running applications and managed PostgreSQL. Redis comes from Upstash and object storage from Tigris, both operated by third-party providers, although their charges appear on your Fly.io invoice. There is no dedicated CDN, transactional email or one-click marketplace. Nodion provides all of these as first-party services on a single platform with a single bill and one support team.
Pricing and Free Tier
Fly.io no longer offers a free tier for new users. New accounts get a free trial of up to 2 hours of machine runtime or 7 days, whichever comes first; after that a credit card is required. Fly.io's Managed Postgres starts at $38 per month as a high-availability cluster, and Fly.io's own example of a small web app with Managed Postgres comes to about $44 per month. On Nodion, a small app with a single database starts at 2.50 EUR per month: 1 EUR for the smallest instance and 1.50 EUR for a database. New accounts can earn up to 15 EUR in credit when signing up.
Global Edge Deployment
Fly.io's main strength is running applications in regions around the world. This is ideal for latency-sensitive applications that need to be close to users on several continents. Nodion runs apps and data in four regions (Frankfurt, Manassas, San Jose and Singapore) and serves cached content from 30 CDN edge locations. If your users are mainly in one part of the world, one region plus the CDN may be all you need. If you need your application running in many locations at once, Fly.io's architecture is purpose-built for that use case.
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