Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Fly.io VS Substack

Compare Fly.io VS Substack and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Fly.io logo Fly.io

Edge computing is the new frontier.

Substack logo Substack

With Substack, anyone can start a publication that combines a personal website, blog, and email newsletter or podcast. It's quick and simple.
  • Fly.io Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-11-16
  • Substack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-26

Fly.io features and specs

  • Global Deployment
    Fly.io enables developers to deploy applications geographically close to users, reducing latency and improving performance.
  • CLI and Git-based Deployment
    Fly.io offers a command-line interface and Git integration for quick and efficient application deployment.
  • Automatic SSL
    Fly.io provides automatic SSL/TLS certificates, simplifying secure traffic management.
  • Scalability
    Applications deployed on Fly.io can scale both vertically and horizontally to handle varying loads.
  • Built-in Storage
    Fly.io offers persistent storage solutions such as Fly Volumes, which seamlessly integrate with applications.
  • Integrated Monitoring
    Fly.io provides built-in monitoring tools to track application performance and health.

Possible disadvantages of Fly.io

  • Learning Curve
    New users may find the platform's concepts and deployment methods unfamiliar, requiring time to learn.
  • Documentation
    Users have reported that the documentation can sometimes be lacking in detail or difficult to navigate.
  • Cost
    While Fly.io offers a free tier, the cost can become significant as you scale your applications.
  • Limited Language Support
    Fly.io supports fewer runtime environments and languages compared to more established platforms like AWS or Azure.
  • Platform Maturity
    As a relatively new platform, Fly.io may lack some advanced features and ecosystem integrations offered by more mature competitors.
  • Debugging
    The debugging tools and processes can be less comprehensive compared to traditional cloud providers.

Substack features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Substack offers a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for writers to publish and monetize their newsletters.
  • Built-in Monetization
    Writers can easily charge readers for subscriptions, allowing for straightforward monetization.
  • Direct Audience Connection
    Substack allows writers to build a direct relationship with their audience via email, which can lead to a more engaged readership.
  • Discovery and Community
    Features like staff picks and recommendations help writers get discovered by new readers.
  • No Upfront Costs
    Substack does not charge upfront fees; instead, it takes a percentage of subscription revenues, making it easier to start.
  • Content Ownership
    Writers retain full ownership of their content, giving them more control over their work.

Possible disadvantages of Substack

  • Revenue Share
    Substack takes a 10% cut of subscription revenues, which can add up for writers with a large subscriber base.
  • Limited Customization
    The platform has limited customization options compared to building a custom website or using more flexible CMS options.
  • Dependency on Platform
    Relying on Substack means depending on its policies and infrastructure, which could pose risks if the platform changes its terms or features.
  • Competition
    As more writers join Substack, it can become challenging to stand out amidst the growing competition.
  • Email Deliverability
    Writers may face issues with email deliverability, as some newsletters may end up in spam folders.
  • Payment Processing Fees
    Besides Substack's fee, payment processors like Stripe also take a percentage, further reducing net earnings for writers.

Analysis of Fly.io

Overall verdict

  • Fly.io is a strong choice for developers looking to enhance application performance through global deployment without the complexities often associated with managing multiple infrastructure locations. Its ease of use and robust features make it a competitive option in the edge computing space.

Why this product is good

  • Fly.io is known for its edge computing solutions that allow developers to deploy applications closer to users, resulting in reduced latency and improved performance. It supports a wide range of programming languages and frameworks, and offers a straightforward platform for deploying full-stack applications globally. Fly.io's pay-as-you-go pricing model can also be cost-effective for projects of various sizes.

Recommended for

  • Developers looking to deploy applications globally with minimal latency.
  • Teams needing a scalable and flexible infrastructure that can grow with their needs.
  • Projects that benefit from a serverless approach without sacrificing control over the code and environment.
  • Applications that require rapid deployment and ease of management.

Analysis of Substack

Overall verdict

  • Substack is a good choice for writers seeking autonomy and a straightforward way to monetize their content. However, it may not be the best fit for those who prefer working within the framework of a larger publication or those unfamiliar with the challenges of building and maintaining a subscriber base.

Why this product is good

  • Substack is a platform that allows writers, journalists, and content creators to publish and monetize their newsletters. It is praised for its ease of use, built-in subscription system, and direct-to-consumer model which enables writers to retain control over their audience and content. The platform has attracted both independent writers and established journalists seeking the freedom to monetize their work without traditional media constraints.

Recommended for

  • Independent writers and journalists
  • Content creators looking to monetize their work
  • Individuals seeking a direct relationship with their audience
  • Those who appreciate simplicity in publishing

Fly.io videos

We FLY a SPACESHIP! Video Game FLY.io Computer App with HobbyKidsTV

Substack videos

Monetizing Podcasts and Newsletters - Chris Best of Substack and Jonathan Gill of Backtracks

More videos:

  • Review - E1016 Substack CEO Chris Best empowers writers via email newsletter platform, raised $15M from a16z
  • Review - Why EVERYONE should be on Substack | What it is, How it Works, $$$
  • Review - Beehiiv vs Substack (2024) - Which is Better?
  • Review - My Experience with SUBSTACK: An Honest Review of Substack

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Fly.io and Substack)
Cloud Computing
100 100%
0% 0
Blogging
0 0%
100% 100
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
CMS
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Fly.io and Substack

Fly.io Reviews

Heroku Free Tier Gone โ€” 10 Alternatives Still Free in April 2026
Yes! Several platforms offer real free tiers in 2026. SnapDeploy gives you free containers (no time limits) with no credit card required โ€” and your hours only count when your app is running. Render offers free web services with 512 MB RAM (but they spin down after inactivity). Railway gives new users a $5 one-time trial credit. Fly.io offers trial credits for new users,...
Source: snapdeploy.dev
5 Free Heroku Alternatives with Free Plan for Developers
Fly.io is one the best free alternatives to Heroku that you can use. Itโ€™s designed for developers and students to run small applications for free and scale costs affordably as you grow. Just like Heroku it comes with CLI applications and there are other tools in it that you can use to easily deploy your apps. For advanced users, it has premium plans but for now, due to its...

Substack Reviews

25+ Medium Alternative Platforms for Publishing Articles
Substack offers writers of all experience levels the ability to write an email newsletter thatโ€™s profitable through subscriptions. Substack provides purpose-built web and newsletter publishing tools to enable writers to monetize their newsletters. It is a service often favoured by readers because itโ€™s a convenient all-in-one solution for writing a successful podcast that...
Source: forgefusion.io
10 Best Medium Alternatives for Reading and Publishing
What sะตts Substack apart is its sะตamlะตss intะตgration of contะตnt crะตation and subscription-basะตd monะตtization. Substackโ€™s usะตr-friะตndly intะตrfacะต, distribution tools, and support for various contะตnt formats make it a popular choice for indะตpะตndะตnt crะตators looking to connะตct dirะตctly with thะตir audiะตncะต and turn thะตir passion into a sustainablะต incomะต strะตam.
9 Best Medium Alternatives for Making Money With Your Writing in 2023
Substack and Medium differ primarily in their monetization methods. Medium pays creators based on reader engagement, while Substack enables writers to monetize directly through paid subscriptions to their newsletters. This business model allows Substack users to build a direct relationship with their readers via their email inboxes, whereas Medium interactions primarily...
11 Patreon Alternatives for Audience Monetization in 2023
Like a few of the other platforms weโ€™ve looked at, Substack takes a cut of your earnings rather than charging a 10% platform fee.
Source: www.uscreen.tv
Any good Mailchimp alternatives?
My question for you is, what is keeping you from making $31 per month from your list? Are you using any feature that Substack (free until you get paid) can't handle?

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Fly.io should be more popular than Substack. It has been mentiond 481 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Fly.io mentions (481)

  • Building an autonomous Slack agent with OpenCode
    The gateway is the web service that receives requests. I host it on Fly. It accepts Slack events, automation API calls, trigger requests, Composio webhooks, Inngest calls, and runtime calls. - Source: dev.to / 16 days ago
  • It Worked on My Machine (Literally)
    The tunnel was never meant to be permanent (it runs off my laptop, and the URL changes every time it restarts), so the next step was deploying somewhere real. I built the Docker image for Fly.io, set my username, and shipped it. - Source: dev.to / 23 days ago
  • I Built a Zero-Knowledge Encrypted Habit Tracker with Elixir & Phoenix LiveView
    Three independent encryption layers at rest: client-side E2E, Cloak AES-256-GCM in Postgres, and LUKS disk encryption on Fly.io. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • One honojs file for entire web scraping API
    I'll also provide github repository in the end, which you can use easily to launch your own scraping APIs on vercel, Cloudflare, netlify or, fly.io or even on a Docker container. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Object Storage & CDN Journey
    Tigris (Fly.io) provides globally distributed, S3-compatible storage with low latency, addressing the B2 latency limitations. However, its pricing model includes per-request charges in addition to storage. For an API-heavy workload like a chat system, this would scale poorly, so I decided not to go with it. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
View more

Substack mentions (98)

  • SpaceX to buy Cursor AI coding agent operator Anysphere for $60B
    The thing is, even the center of the road academics who refrain from such comparisons are noting the similarity. The MAGA movement meets the traditional defining characteristics of fascio. We can be rigid and say that only Mussoliniโ€˜s political movement can be properly be called fascist. But if we call Hitler and the Nazis fascists as well, then we open the door to any movement that meets the criteria. And Trump... - Source: Hacker News / 16 days ago
  • AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible
    Yes, it's much different in other countries. See https://substack.com/@doks/p-198191751. - Source: Hacker News / 22 days ago
  • Show HN: Playing with genomics foundation model tutorial/explainer article
    Hi folks, I got curious about how genomics foundation models work and wrote an article explaining how they are trained + can be used. Feel free to use the following as learning resources if you wish to jump into ML for comp bio stuff, it may help: - Code: https://github.com/dillondesilva/nt-promoter-region-classification - Article/Tutorial:... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • CBP Directive 3340-049B: Border Search of Electronic Devices
    The vast majority of people from the developed world have no problems going through any border in the developed world. Your experience is probably representative, but that's not what we're talking about. My understanding is that de facto you have no rights at all in China. The Americans take this sort of thing very seriously, which is why it's in the news and talked about. Some guy gets imprisoned for 37... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • GitHub โ€“ DOS 1.0: Transcription of Tim Paterson's DOS Printouts
    There was never a serious claim DOS copied CP/M code. The controversy was mostly about legality of reimplementation of the API, plus some pretty vague claims about copying the design: https://substack.com/@nemanjatrifunovic/note/p-178321556. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Fly.io and Substack, you can also consider the following products

Render - Render is a unified platform to build and run all your apps and websites with free SSL, a global CDN, private networks and auto deploys from Git.

Medium - Welcome to Medium, a place to read, write, and interact with the stories that matter most to you.

Railway - Made for any language, for projects big and small.

Ghost - Ghost is a fully open source, adaptable platform for building and running a modern online publication. We power blogs, magazines and journalists from Zappos to Sky News.

Vercel - Vercel is the platform for frontend developers, providing the speed and reliability innovators need to create at the moment of inspiration.

Buttondown - Buttondown is the best way to start and run your newsletter