Fly.io vs Vercel (2025): Which Platform is Right for You?

In 2025, developers have more options than ever for deploying apps globally. Two standout platforms – Fly.io and Vercel – cater to different needs, and the choice depends on what kind of application you’re building. In this article, we’ll break down the strengths, differences, and ideal use cases for each, helping you decide which platform fits your workflow.

⚡ Quick summary

Fly.io gives you low-level control over infrastructure with global virtual machines and built-in Postgres, making it ideal for backend-heavy or full-stack apps. Vercel, on the other hand, is designed for frontend teams – especially those using frameworks like Next.js – and shines when it comes to instant UI deployments and seamless collaboration.

🌍 What is Fly.io?

Fly.io is a developer-centric platform that lets you run full applications close to users by deploying lightweight virtual machines to edge locations. It’s especially useful when you need performance, stateful apps, or regional control over your deployments.

With Fly.io, developers can:

• Deploy Docker containers or apps written in Elixir, Go, Node.js, and Ruby.
• Spin up globally distributed Postgres databases with replication support.
• Use WireGuard mesh networking for secure communication between services.
• Run long-lived processes and manage stateful deployments without Kubernetes.

In essence, Fly.io is what Heroku might have become – if it were built for the modern edge.

🌐 What is Vercel?

Vercel is a frontend-first deployment platform built by the creators of Next.js. It’s designed to take your frontend code, connect it to Git, and ship it to a global edge network – automatically.

Vercel is best known for:

• Seamless integration with GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket.
• Automatic previews for every pull request.
• Optimized support for React, Next.js, and other frontend frameworks.
• Zero-config serverless functions and edge caching.
• Developer-friendly features like image optimization, analytics, and built-in CI/CD.

Vercel is ideal for frontend teams shipping fast, collaborative UIs with minimal infrastructure overhead.

🛠️ Developer experience compared

Fly.io is CLI-first. You define your app in a fly.toml config file, deploy with the fly command, and have full control over your infrastructure. It feels like working with a traditional VM or container setup – just globally distributed and much faster.

Vercel is Git-first. You connect your repo, push your code, and Vercel handles the rest. It’s made for frontend teams who want to iterate quickly without touching the command line or managing deployments manually.

🎯 Use cases: When to choose each

If you're ally if you're using Next.js or React.

🧠 Database and state support

Fly.io provides native support for Postgres databases. You can launch a production-ready database in the same region as your app, replicate it globally, and scale it easily. This makes Fly.io ideal for applications that need persistent storage or low-latency reads from different locations.

Vercel doesn’t host databases directly. You’ll need to bring your own (via Supabase, Planetscale, or traditional cloud providers) and connect them externally. While it works well for stateless apps and APIs, it’s less ideal for stateful, real-time backends.

🌐 Edge and serverless models

Fly.io runs full virtual machines, which means you can run almost any backend process you want – background jobs, long-running workers, or traditional web servers. These VMs are deployed to edge regions around the world for performance, and you can choose which regions to deploy to.

Vercel uses a serverless model. Functions run on-demand and are short-lived. It also offers edge functions for fast, low-latency responses, but the overall architecture is best suited to stateless operations and API endpoints with limited duration and memory needs.

💸 Pricing overview

Fly.io offers a generous free tier, including three shared VMs and some outbound bandwidth. Beyond that, pricing is usage-based and developer-friendly, starting around $2 per VM per month. It’s flexible, especially for side projects or startups.

Vercel also has a free Hobby plan that’s perfect for personal projects or simple frontend sites. Paid plans start at $20 per user per month for Pro accounts, with custom pricing for enterprise features like role-based access control, analytics, and priority support.

✅ Final recommendation

Choose Fly.io if:

• You’re building a full-stack or backend-focused app.
• You need built-in support for Postgres, persistent data, or long-lived processes.
• You want full control over where and how your code runs.

Choose Vercel if:

• You’re working on frontend-heavy apps, landing pages, or Next.js projects.
• You want effortless Git-based deployments and collaboration features.
• You value fast iteration cycles, edge caching, and serverless functions.

Both platforms are powerful – but optimized for different types of work. For teams that want the best of both worlds, it’s possible (and common) to host the frontend on Vercel and the backend API on Fly.io.

🧩 How UI Bakery fits in

Whether you’re using Fly.io or Vercel, you’ll still need to build the UI and handle business logic if you're creating internal tools, admin panels, or dashboards.

That’s where UI Bakery comes in. You can connect to any database or API – whether it's hosted on Fly.io, Vercel, Supabase, or elsewhere – and instantly generate internal tools without writing custom UIs from scratch.

UI Bakery also offers:

• Fine-grained access control (RBAC).
• Self-hosting and cloud deployment options.
• AI app generation from simple text prompts.
• Visual backend logic builder, actions editor, and data connectors.

If you want to save engineering time while still maintaining flexibility, UI Bakery is the missing piece between infrastructure and interface.

❓ FAQ

Is Fly.io better than Vercel?

‍Fly.io is better for backend apps, VMs, and databases. Vercel is better for frontend apps, JAMstack sites, and Next.js deployments.

Can I use both Fly.io and Vercel together?

‍Yes. Many developers host their frontend on Vercel and backend APIs or databases on Fly.io.

Does UI Bakery work with Fly.io and Vercel?

‍Absolutely. UI Bakery connects to any API or database, no matter where it’s hosted. You can use UI Bakery to build UIs on top of your infrastructure without coding the frontend manually.

Conclusion

Fly.io and Vercel are two of the most exciting deployment platforms in 2025 – but they serve very different needs. Fly.io gives you backend control, Postgres support, and flexibility for global infrastructure. Vercel gives frontend teams the tools to ship fast, visually-rich experiences without worrying about deployment complexity.

If you want to go beyond infrastructure and build polished internal tools quickly, combine either platform with UI Bakery to get the best of both worlds: fast infrastructure and fast UI delivery.