Which alternative doesn't require rewriting my entire fucking codebase?

**Supabase Edge Functions** - copy-paste your Deploy code and it works. Same Deno runtime, no API changes. Easiest migration possible. **Netlify Edge Functions** is second-easiest if you can deal with Netlify's deployment quirks. Also Deno runtime. **How long this shit actually takes:** - Supabase Edge Functions: 2-3 days (5 minutes if you're lucky, couple days if their docs are wrong again) - Netlify Edge Functions: 3-5 days (Netlify's CLI is weird, delete node_modules and try again) - Cloudflare Workers: 1-2 weeks (converting Deno APIs to web standards, Wrangler will break twice) - Vercel Edge Functions: 1-2 weeks (their edge runtime has gotchas you won't find until deploy) - Fly.io/Railway: 2-4 weeks (full rewrite to containers/servers, Docker will make you question life choices)

My app is Node.js - which platforms won't break everything?

**Works without bullshit:** - ✅ **Fly.io**: Docker containers run any Node.js version perfectly - ✅ **Railway**: Full Node.js with npm/yarn, no weird restrictions - ✅ **AWS Lambda@Edge**: Complete Node.js runtime (if you can stomach AWS) **Mostly works with some pain:** - ⚠️ **Cloudflare Workers**: Node.js compatibility covers ~80% of APIs (check their docs for your specific modules) - ⚠️ **Vercel Edge Functions**: Limited Edge Runtime - no `fs`, limited Node APIs **Don't even try:** - ❌ **Supabase Edge Functions**: Deno only, you'll be rewriting everything - ❌ **Netlify Edge Functions**: Also Deno only - ❌ **Deno Deploy**: Obviously Deno only (why you're here)

Cold starts - what actually happens in production?

**From monitoring real apps for 3 months:** **V8 isolates (actually fast):** - Cloudflare Workers: 10-20ms (consistently good) - Deno Deploy: 40-70ms (not as good as advertised) - Vercel Edge Functions: 50-90ms (decent) **Containers (slower but predictable):** - Fly.io: 200-400ms (but stays warm with any traffic) - Railway: 300-600ms (traditional server boot, stays warm 15+ minutes) **Old-school serverless (variable as hell):** - AWS Lambda@Edge: 300-1200ms (depends on region and phase of moon) **Reality check:** If you have regular traffic, cold starts barely matter. Railway and Fly.io keep instances warm way longer than the isolate platforms. Deploy's "50ms cold starts" are bullshit under load.

Traffic spikes - what doesn't shit the bed?

**When our Product Hunt launch hit us hard - went from nothing to tens of thousands of users fast:** 1. **Cloudflare Workers**: Handled it like nothing happened, latency stayed under 25ms 2. **Deno Deploy**: Did okay, 50-80ms latency during peak traffic 3. **Vercel Edge Functions**: Handled it fine, 60-120ms latency 4. **Fly.io**: Took 3-4 minutes to scale up, then rock solid 5. **Railway**: 5+ minute scale-up with some timeouts (traditional server problems) **Winner:** Workers for instant scaling. Deploy is predictable but not amazing under pressure.

Pricing - what actually costs what?

**Small app (1M requests/month, 50GB bandwidth):** - Railway: $20 flat (unlimited everything) - Deno Deploy: $20 (within free tier limits) - Cloudflare Workers: $5 (paid tier, unlimited bandwidth) - Supabase Edge Functions: Free (if you stay under limits) **Growing app (10M requests/month, 200GB bandwidth):** - Railway: $20 (still flat rate) - Cloudflare Workers: $50 (no bandwidth overage bullshit) - Deno Deploy: $38 ($20 + $18 bandwidth overage) - Vercel Edge Functions: $180 ($20 + $160 in fucking overages) **High traffic (50M requests/month, 1TB bandwidth):** - Railway: $20 (unlimited is actually unlimited) - Cloudflare Workers: $250 (scales reasonably) - Deno Deploy: $120 ($20 + $100 bandwidth overages) **Winner:** Railway for predictable costs, Workers for high-scale without bandwidth rape.

How difficult is it to move databases when switching platforms?

**Database migration complexity depends on your current setup:** **From Deno Deploy + external database:** - **Supabase Edge Functions**: Migrate to Supabase Postgres (2-3 days with migration tools) - **Any other platform**: Keep existing database, update connection strings (1 day) **Database-included alternatives:** - **Railway**: Built-in PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB with one-click provisioning - **Fly.io**: PostgreSQL clusters with automatic backups - **Render**: Managed PostgreSQL with point-in-time recovery **Migration tools available:** - PostgreSQL: `pg_dump` and `pg_restore` work universally - MongoDB: Atlas migration tools for any destination - Redis: Built-in replication for most platforms **Estimated downtime:** 15-30 minutes for small databases (<1GB), 2-4 hours for larger datasets.

What about vendor lock-in concerns?

**Lowest lock-in risk (portable):** 1. **Fly.io**: Docker containers run anywhere 2. **Railway**: Standard Node.js apps 3. **Render**: Standard server applications **Medium lock-in (some platform-specific features):** 4. **Cloudflare Workers**: Web Standards APIs mostly portable 5. **AWS Lambda@Edge**: Standard Node.js with some AWS-specific features **Higher lock-in (platform-specific runtimes):** 6. **Vercel Edge Functions**: Vercel Edge Runtime 7. **Supabase Edge Functions**: Supabase ecosystem integration 8. **Deno Deploy**: Deno-specific APIs and deployment model **Migration escape routes:** Always design applications using Web Standards APIs when possible. Avoid platform-specific databases and auth systems unless the integration benefits outweigh portability concerns.

Which alternative should I choose for my specific use case?

**API-heavy applications:** Cloudflare Workers (global performance) or Railway (simplicity) **Full-stack web apps:** Supabase Edge Functions (integrated backend) or Vercel Edge Functions (React integration) **Real-time applications:** Fly.io (persistent WebSockets) or Railway (traditional server model) **Content-heavy sites:** Cloudflare Workers (CDN integration) or Netlify Edge Functions (JAMstack workflow) **Enterprise applications:** AWS Lambda@Edge (compliance) or Fly.io (control and flexibility) **Budget-conscious projects:** Railway ($20 unlimited) or Cloudflare Workers ($5 entry point) Stop overthinking it - pick based on what's actually breaking in your app right now. Need global speed? Workers. Hit memory limits? Fly.io. Want cheap and simple? Railway.

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Deno Deploy Alternatives: Technical Analysis & Migration Guide

Critical Limitations of Deno Deploy

Geographic Coverage Failures

Limited to 6 regions only vs competitors with 300+ edge locations
Latency impact: Singapore to Tokyo = 180-200ms vs Cloudflare Workers 40ms from same location
African developers: 300ms+ latency to nearest region
Production impact: Difference between user retention and bounce

Memory Constraints

Hard limit: 512MB memory maximum
Critical failures:
- CSV processing >100MB: Instant crash
- Image resizing: 50ms timeout
- Large JSON datasets: Memory exceeded error
- Crypto operations: Complete failure
No graceful degradation: Isolate dies instantly on limit breach

Node.js Migration Breaking Points

fs.readFile(): "Forbidden API access" error
process.env: Must rewrite to Deno.env.get()
CommonJS imports: Complete rewrite to ES modules required
Buffer operations: Silent failures in production
__dirname: Must convert to import.meta.resolve()
Node 18 compatibility breaks multiple features

Enterprise Compliance Gaps

SOC2 Type 1 only (enterprises require Type 2)
Limited GDPR data residency options
99.95% SLA only on Enterprise tier
Basic audit logging vs comprehensive solutions
Afterthought SSO implementation

Cost Structure Issues

Bandwidth costs: $0.50/GB above free tier
Real example: Viral Reddit traffic = $100+ monthly overage
Surprise billing: No caps or warnings on overages

Platform Comparison Matrix

Platform	Cold Start	Global Locations	Memory Limit	Node.js Support	Free Tier	Production Cost
Cloudflare Workers	<10ms	300+	128MB	Via compatibility layer	100K req/day	$5/month
Vercel Edge Functions	<50ms	10+	128MB	Limited Edge Runtime	100K req/month	$20/month
Netlify Edge Functions	<50ms	8+	128MB	Limited (Deno)	2M req/month	$19/month
Supabase Edge Functions	<100ms	6	128MB	Limited (Deno)	500K req/month	$25/month
Fly.io	50-200ms	35+	256MB-8GB	Full Docker support	160GB/month	$29/month
Railway	100-500ms	4	512MB-32GB	Full Node.js	500 hours/month	$20/month
AWS Lambda@Edge	100-300ms	13	128MB	Full Node.js	1M req/month	Pay-per-use
Render	200-1000ms	2	512MB-32GB	Full Node.js	750 hours/month	$7/month

Migration Difficulty Assessment

Zero-Effort Migration (2-3 days)

Supabase Edge Functions

Identical Deno runtime to Deploy
Copy-paste existing code
Built-in PostgreSQL with <10ms queries
Risk: Only 6 global regions, vendor lock-in

Minimal Effort Migration (3-5 days)

Netlify Edge Functions

Same Deno runtime
Platform-specific deployment quirks
CLI complications require troubleshooting

Moderate Effort Migration (1-2 weeks)

Cloudflare Workers

Convert Deno APIs to Web Standards
Build step required for TypeScript
300+ edge locations performance benefit
Unlimited bandwidth

Vercel Edge Functions

Limited Edge Runtime compatibility
Integration with existing Vercel deployments
No WebSocket support limitation

High Effort Migration (2-4 weeks)

Fly.io/Railway

Complete architecture rewrite to containers/servers
Docker complexity introduction
Full Node.js compatibility benefit
Configurable memory and persistent connections

Production Performance Data

Observed Cold Start Times (3-month monitoring)

Cloudflare Workers: 10-20ms consistently
Deno Deploy: 40-70ms (below advertised performance)
Vercel Edge Functions: 50-90ms
Fly.io: 200-400ms (stays warm with traffic)
Railway: 300-600ms (traditional boot, 15+ minute warmth)

Traffic Spike Handling (Product Hunt launch case study)

Cloudflare Workers: <25ms latency maintained
Deno Deploy: 50-80ms during peak
Vercel Edge Functions: 60-120ms during peak
Fly.io: 3-4 minute scale-up, then stable
Railway: 5+ minute scale-up with timeouts

Cost Analysis by Usage Tier

Small Application (1M requests/month, 50GB bandwidth)

Railway: $20 flat unlimited
Deno Deploy: $20 within limits
Cloudflare Workers: $5 paid tier
Supabase Edge Functions: Free tier

Growing Application (10M requests/month, 200GB bandwidth)

Railway: $20 unchanged
Cloudflare Workers: $50
Deno Deploy: $38 ($18 bandwidth overage)
Vercel Edge Functions: $180 ($160 overages)

High Traffic (50M requests/month, 1TB bandwidth)

Railway: $20 unchanged
Cloudflare Workers: $250
Deno Deploy: $120 ($100 bandwidth overages)

Critical Failure Scenarios

Memory-Related Failures

CSV processing >100MB: Immediate crash
User upload image processing: Timeout after 50ms
Background crypto operations: Complete failure
Large dataset JSON parsing: Memory exceeded

Geographic Performance Degradation

Singapore-based users: 4.5x latency increase vs Cloudflare
African developers: >300ms baseline latency
Global applications: Unacceptable user experience

Node.js Compatibility Breaks

File system operations: Complete prohibition
Environment variables: API change required
Module system: ES modules rewrite mandatory
Buffer operations: Silent production failures

Platform-Specific Advantages

Cloudflare Workers

Best for: Global performance critical applications
Advantages: 300+ locations, unlimited bandwidth, $5 entry point
Limitations: 128MB memory, build step required

Supabase Edge Functions

Best for: Full-stack applications needing database
Advantages: Zero code migration, integrated PostgreSQL
Limitations: Same 6-region coverage as Deploy

Fly.io

Best for: Memory-intensive applications
Advantages: 256MB-8GB configurable memory, full Docker support
Limitations: Container complexity, slower cold starts

Railway

Best for: Predictable costs and traditional server patterns
Advantages: $20 unlimited flat rate, full Node.js support
Limitations: Only 4 regions, traditional server limitations

Migration Decision Framework

Choose Cloudflare Workers if:

Global latency is critical
Bandwidth costs are concern
Can tolerate build step complexity

Choose Supabase Edge Functions if:

Zero migration effort required
Need integrated database solution
Can accept limited geographic coverage

Choose Fly.io if:

Memory limits are blocking factor
Need persistent connections
Require full computing power

Choose Railway if:

Cost predictability is priority
Traditional server patterns preferred
Background jobs or persistent state needed

Known Issues and Workarounds

Fly.io Deployment Issues

fly deploy random failures with "ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:4280"
Workaround: Retry deployment command
Windows PATH limits cause deployment failures

Cloudflare Workers Limitations

128MB memory lower than Deploy's 512MB
Node.js compatibility covers ~80% of APIs
Check compatibility: Review specific modules before migration

Vercel Edge Functions Constraints

No WebSocket support (major limitation)
Limited Edge Runtime restrictions
High overage costs at scale

Database Migration Strategies

Migration Complexity by Source

External database: Update connection strings only (1 day)
Deploy + PlanetScale: Migration tools available (2-3 days)
No existing database: Platform-integrated options preferred

Downtime Estimates

Small databases (<1GB): 15-30 minutes
Large datasets: 2-4 hours
Tools: pg_dump/pg_restore universal compatibility

Vendor Lock-in Risk Assessment

Lowest Risk (Portable)

Fly.io: Docker containers
Railway: Standard Node.js
Render: Standard applications

Medium Risk

Cloudflare Workers: Web Standards APIs
AWS Lambda@Edge: Some AWS-specific features

Higher Risk

Vercel Edge Functions: Platform-specific runtime
Supabase Edge Functions: Ecosystem integration
Deno Deploy: Deno-specific APIs

Implementation Recommendations

Immediate Action Items

Assess current memory usage patterns
Measure geographic latency requirements
Inventory Node.js dependencies
Calculate bandwidth usage trends

Risk Mitigation

Design using Web Standards APIs
Avoid platform-specific databases unless benefits outweigh portability
Implement feature flags for migration testing
Maintain database portability

Success Metrics

Cold start performance <100ms target
Global latency <50ms from major regions
Cost predictability within 10% variance
Zero breaking changes in migration

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