Serverless or node-based? Pick the right Gyro Containers mode
1. The short answer
- Services that run most of the day, and you have several of them: Node-based (Mini, Small, Starter, Standard, Pro). There is a monthly cap and your services share the nodes.
- Spiky load, a service that runs only part of the day, test/preview environments or a single small service: Serverless. You do not pick a package; you choose the size of each container and pay only while it runs.
- Both can live in the same account: always-on services on a node-based environment, temporary jobs on a serverless service.
The panel, address, versions/rollback, variables, secrets, domain + SSL, logs, API, CLI and Terraform are the same in both modes; only billing and limits differ.
2. Side by side
| Node-based | Serverless | |
|---|---|---|
| What you rent | Nodes reserved for you (e.g. 2 x 2 vCPU / 4 GB) | Nothing; only containers |
| Price | Environment fee + node fee, with a monthly cap | vCPU-hour + GB-hour, no cap, only while running |
| Entry price | From 6.99 €/month (Mini 1-1) | A small container (0.25 vCPU / 0.5 GB) running a full month is ~6.31 € |
| Idle service | Node fee continues | The charge stops when replicas drop to 0 |
| Container size | Whatever fits in the remaining node capacity | 0.25-4 vCPU, 0.5-30 GB (valid combinations) |
| Account limit | The node capacity of your package | 16 vCPU / 32 GB at the same time (open a ticket to raise it) |
| Persistent disk | None (wiped when the container restarts) | None; 4 GB of temporary space per replica |
| Isolation | Nodes belong only to you | Every container runs in its own isolated runtime |
| Scaling | As many replicas as your nodes can hold | Replicas up to the account limit (16 vCPU / 32 GB) |
Prices exclude VAT, are fixed in euros and the TRY equivalent is shown in the panel at the current rate. Current prices: Concepts and packages and Serverless.
3. Work out the cost yourself
Serverless prices: vCPU-hour 0.0298 €, GB-hour 0.0024 €. Hourly price = vCPU x 0.0298 + GB x 0.0024; a full month is about 730 hours.
| Scenario | Serverless | Node-based |
|---|---|---|
| One small API, 24/7 (0.25 vCPU / 0.5 GB) | ~6.31 €/month | Mini 1-1: 6.99 €/month |
| Test service running 8 hours a day (1 vCPU / 2 GB, ~240 hours a month) | ~8.30 €/month | Starter: 16.98 €/month |
| 3 services, 0.5 vCPU / 1 GB each, 24/7 | ~37.90 €/month | Starter: 16.98 €/month |
| Preview environment off at weekends, ~160 hours/month (0.5 vCPU / 1 GB) | ~2.77 €/month | 6.99 € (Mini) and up |
Break-even: if a workload that fills a node-based package would run on serverless for more than roughly 40% of the month, node-based is cheaper; below that serverless wins. The monthly cap fixes the price of heavy use, while serverless does not charge you when idle.
Not all of a node's capacity is left for your services; each node reserves a system share (for example Starter leaves 1.75 vCPU / 3 GB). Do your sums with the usable capacity.
4. Decision flow
- Do you need more than 7 GB of memory for a single replica? Yes -> Serverless (up to 30 GB per replica). In node-based mode a replica must fit the node's remaining capacity (the largest node has 8 GB).
- Do your services run more than ~40% of the time and do you have several? Yes -> Node-based.
- Do you need a hard monthly ceiling on the bill? Yes -> Node-based (monthly cap). Serverless charges what you use, with no cap.
- Does the load drop to zero from time to time (tests, previews, job queues)? Yes -> Serverless.
- One small service running all the time? Both cost about the same (first row above); with serverless you pick no package, with node-based there is a monthly cap.
You can postpone the decision: run the same images in a new service and point your domain to it whenever you want to switch.
5. Frequently asked questions
Can I convert a node-based product to serverless?
There is no in-place conversion. Run the same image in a new Serverless service and point your domain (CNAME) to it; delete the old service so it stops being charged.
Why does a new serverless container sometimes take a few minutes to start?
If the region has no free capacity at that moment, new capacity is prepared (usually 2-5 minutes). The service shows "Preparing" and you are not charged meanwhile. In node-based mode capacity is on your own nodes; if the replica fits it starts within seconds.
Is autoscaling available in both modes?
Yes, with minimum / maximum replicas and CPU/memory targets. In serverless the replica count can grow up to your account limit; in node-based it is limited by your node capacity. Details: Autoscaling and alerts.
Which mode is more secure?
Both are isolated: node-based nodes belong only to you, and in serverless every container runs in its own isolated runtime. In both modes containers run as a non-root user and outbound SMTP (25) is closed (Limits and rules).
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