Node.js on Fly.io
Fly.io publishes its own guide for deploying Node.js.
JavaScript runtime used to run servers and build tooling outside the browser.
What Node.js needs.
Every host claims to run Node.js, so the claim on its own decides nothing. These are the things Node.js actually requires from the platform underneath it, and what Fly.io publishes about each. Fly.io documents 2 of the 4.
Persistent processes
Not documented
A long-running process is the point: WebSocket connections, in-memory caches and job queues all die with it. A host that only runs functions cannot keep one alive.
Max request duration
Not documented
Anything the process does inside a request — a large upload, a slow query, a streamed response — is bounded by this ceiling.
Docker deployment
Supported
Node apps routinely need a system binary the platform's buildpack does not ship. A Dockerfile is the escape hatch when they do.
Sources (1) →Sources ↓
- Deploy a Fly.io app ↗
“fly deploy builds, or gets, the Docker image for the app, and refreshes Machines with the latest changes. If there's a Dockerfile in the local working directory, use that Dockerfile for the build.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
Scales to zero
Supported
An always-on process bills while idle. Scaling to zero removes that cost and adds a cold start to the next request instead.
Sources (1) →Sources ↓
- Automatically stop and start Machines · Fly Docs ↗
“Use autostop/autostart to automatically start and stop or suspend existing Machines based on incoming requests. [...] you don't pay for their CPU and RAM when they're in a stopped or suspended state.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
What Fly.io documents.
Fly.io publishes its own guide for deploying Node.js.
The Basics covers everything you need to set up, run, and manage production Node.js apps on Fly.
Sources (1) →Sources ↓
- JavaScript on Fly.io · Fly Docs ↗
“The Basics covers everything you need to set up, run, and manage production Node.js apps on Fly.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
What it costs to run there.
- Pricing model
- Usage-based, no compute plan tiers
- When you exceed a cap
- No plan cap to exceed — Fly bills per second for provisioned resources. The only documented enforcement is unspecified automated scaling limits, which surface as an error message (platform-wide, all plans)
- Regions
- 18 regions
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Fly.io pricing ↗
“Plans get complicated, so we just charge based on usage. Billing is based on the resources provisioned for your apps, pro-rated for the time they are provisioned.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
- Fly.io regions ↗
“You can host your apps in any of the following regions — including ams (Amsterdam, Netherlands), nrt (Tokyo, Japan) and syd (Sydney, Australia).”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
Whether it suits you.
Workloads that ship as Docker images and need placement in particular regions. Billing is purely usage-based with no plan tiers, which suits spiky or region-pinned traffic better than a flat monthly fee.
Consider something else if…
You want a predictable flat bill rather than charges that track the resources provisioned for each app.
Visit Fly.io documentation