I'm unhappy with Fly.io because I need simpler ops

If you want simpler ops than Fly.io, the best move is usually to pick a platform that removes as much infrastructure thinking as possible.

Good simpler alternatives

1. Render

• Very straightforward deploys
• Git-based deploys
• Managed databases, cron jobs, background workers
• Less network/infra complexity than Fly
• Good “it just runs” experience

Best if: you want a Heroku-like experience with modern features.

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2. Railway

• Very low-friction setup
• Easy app + DB + env var management
• Nice UI, quick iteration
• Good for small/mid-sized apps

Best if: you want the simplest developer experience and don’t mind some platform abstraction.

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3. Heroku

• Still one of the simplest operationally
• Mature platform, very opinionated
• Less control, but fewer decisions
• Often the “I just want this deployed” answer

Best if: simplicity matters more than cost or low-level control.

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4. Vercel / Netlify

• Great if your app is mostly frontend + serverless functions
• Almost no ops for web apps
• Not ideal for long-running processes, custom networking, or heavy backends

Best if: you’re building a web app with a frontend-first architecture.

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5. Managed VPS with PaaS tooling

If you want to keep some control but simplify ops:

• DigitalOcean App Platform
• AWS App Runner
• Google Cloud Run
• Azure Container Apps

These are more “deploy container and forget” than Fly, though still more cloud-y than Render/Heroku.

Best if: you want containers but not the operational burden.

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My quick recommendation

If your main complaint is ops complexity, I’d rank:

1. Render
2. Railway
3. Heroku
4. Cloud Run / App Runner if you want containerized but managed
5. Vercel if your stack fits

If you tell me:

• what language/framework you use,
• whether you need a database,
• whether you need background jobs / websockets / cron,
• and your rough traffic level,

I can recommend the simplest platform for your exact setup.