# Keel vs Fly.io

Fly.io is a hosted application platform with its own infrastructure and tooling. Keel provides a command-line deployment workflow for AWS resources in your account. Choose based on whether you prefer Fly's platform or direct access to AWS services and billing.

## Side by side

| | Keel | Fly.io |
|---|---|---|
| Where your app runs | Your AWS account | Their platform |
| What you're learning | AWS, used everywhere | Fly-specific tooling |
| What you pay | AWS prices, direct | Their rates, on their infrastructure |
| AWS credits and discounts | Apply in full | Can't be used |
| Reaching your existing AWS | It's already there | Over the public internet |
| AWS services — S3, SQS, IAM, Cognito | Available and wired to your app | Not available to you |
| If you leave | Ordinary AWS, still running | Rebuild somewhere else |

## Build on what your team already knows

Keel creates standard AWS resources: an RDS database, an Application Load Balancer, and CloudWatch logs, among others.

Teams with AWS experience can inspect and operate those resources directly.

## The whole AWS toolbox, not a subset

Keel can bind services to AWS resources such as queues and object storage with scoped IAM. The broader AWS catalog remains available when an application needs services outside Keel's built-in resource types.

## Pay AWS, not a platform

```bash
keel cost     # what your app will cost, before you build it
```

Keel adds no usage margin to AWS. Eligible AWS credits and discounts apply to the resources it creates.

[Get started →](../guide/getting-started) · [Back to comparisons](./)