Koyeb - Serverless Deploy for APIs and AI Inference

TL;DR

TL;DR: Koyeb is a serverless platform for deploying APIs, AI inference endpoints, and databases on high-performance GPUs and CPUs across 50+ global locations with per-second billing and autoscaling to zero.

Source and Accuracy Notes

• Project page: koyeb.com
• Source repository (CLI): github.com/koyeb/koyeb-cli
• License: Apache-2.0 (verified via GitHub API license.spdx_id)
• HN launch thread: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37159712

What Is Koyeb?

Koyeb is a serverless infrastructure platform designed for deploying intensive applications — APIs, AI inference endpoints, and databases — on high-performance compute (GPUs, CPUs, and accelerators) from AMD, Intel, and Nvidia.

Key differentiators from the HN launch thread:

• Global MicroVM deployment — run workloads in 50+ locations worldwide with sub-100ms latency
• Per-second billing — pay only for what you use, scale to zero when idle
• GPU instances — RTX A6000 (48GB), L40S (48GB), A100 (80GB) available
• Autoscaling — sub-200ms cold start, scale from zero to hundreds of instances

The platform recently joined Mistral AI to build “the future of AI infrastructure,” signaling a focus on AI inference workloads.

Prerequisites

• A Koyeb account (sign up)
• An API token (generate at app.koyeb.com/user/settings/api)
• macOS, Linux, or Windows for the CLI

Step 1: Install the Koyeb CLI

macOS (Homebrew):

brew install koyeb/tap/koyeb
```bash

**Upgrade later:**

```bash
brew upgrade koyeb
```bash

**From source (Go):**

```bash
go get github.com/koyeb/koyeb-cli/cmd/koyeb
go install github.com/koyeb/koyeb-cli/cmd/koyeb
```bash

**Pre-compiled binaries:** download from the [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/koyeb/koyeb-cli/releases) page for your platform.

## Step 2: Authenticate

Generate a personal access token from your Koyeb dashboard, then run:

```bash
koyeb login
```bash

You will be prompted:

```text
? Do you want to create a new configuration file in (/Users/you/.koyeb.yaml)? [y/N]
✗ Enter your personal access token: *************
INFO[0006] Creating new configuration in /Users/you/.koyeb.yaml
```bash

Verify authentication:

```bash
koyeb organization list
```bash

## Step 3: Deploy Your First Service

**Deploy from a Git repository:**

```bash
koyeb apps create my-api
koyeb services create my-api/web \
  --git github.com/youruser/yourrepo \
  --git-branch main \
  --instance-type nano \
  --regions fra
```bash

**Deploy a Docker image:**

```bash
koyeb services create my-api/worker \
  --docker youruser/yourimage:latest \
  --instance-type micro \
  --regions was
```bash

**Deploy with GPU (AI inference):**

```bash
koyeb services create inference/llm \
  --docker youruser/llm-server:latest \
  --instance-type gpu-rtx-a6000 \
  --regions lax \
  --port 8000:http
```bash

## Step 4: Enable Shell Completion

**Bash:**

```bash
# Linux
koyeb completion bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/koyeb

# macOS
koyeb completion bash > /usr/local/etc/bash_completion.d/koyeb
```bash

**Zsh:**

```bash
echo "autoload -U compinit; compinit" >> ~/.zshrc
koyeb completion zsh > "${fpath[1]}/_koyeb"
```bash

**Fish:**

```bash
koyeb completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/koyeb.fish
```bash

## Step 5: Monitor and Manage

**List deployments:**

```bash
koyeb deployments list --app my-api
```bash

**View logs:**

```bash
koyeb logs my-api/web
```bash

**Scale service:**

```bash
koyeb services update my-api/web --instance-type nano --min-scale 2 --max-scale 10
```bash

**Delete service:**

```bash
koyeb services delete my-api/web
```bash

## Deeper Analysis

### Pricing Model

Koyeb uses per-second billing with no minimum commitment:

| Plan | Base Price | Included Compute | Users | Services |
|------|-----------|------------------|-------|----------|
| Pro | $29/mo + compute | $10 | 10 | 100 |
| Scale | $299/mo + compute | $100 | 50 | 1,000 |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Unlimited | Unlimited |

**GPU pricing (per second):**

- RTX A6000 (48GB): $0.000208/sec ($0.75/hr)
- L40S (48GB): $0.000333/sec ($1.20/hr)
- A100 (80GB): $0.000444/sec ($1.60/hr)

All plans include autoscaling and scale-to-zero. You only pay for running instances.

### Architecture: MicroVMs vs Containers

Koyeb runs workloads on **MicroVMs** (lightweight virtual machines) rather than traditional containers. This provides:

- **Stronger isolation** — each workload runs in its own kernel
- **Bare-metal performance** — no container overhead
- **Sub-200ms cold starts** — faster than traditional VMs

The HN comments compare Koyeb to Fly.io, noting both use global distribution but Koyeb emphasizes GPU availability and AI inference workloads.

### Regional Deployment Strategy

Koyeb offers 50+ regions. You can:

- **Single region** — lowest cost, simplest
- **Multi-region** — high availability, lower latency
- **Global** — deploy to all regions automatically

Example multi-region deploy:

```bash
koyeb services create my-api/web \
  --docker youruser/api:latest \
  --regions fra,was,nrt \
  --min-scale 1 --max-scale 5

Practical Evaluation Checklist

Before adopting Koyeb, verify:

• Latency requirements — test your target regions with koyeb metrics
• GPU availability — check if your preferred GPU is in your target region
• Cold start tolerance — sub-200ms is fast, but test your specific workload
• Egress costs — review data transfer pricing for high-traffic APIs
• Persistent storage — Koyeb offers NVMe volumes; verify size limits for your use case
• Build time limits — free tier includes 5 concurrent builds; check if sufficient

Security Notes

• API tokens — store in ~/.koyeb.yaml with chmod 600; never commit to git
• Secrets management — use koyeb secrets create for environment variables, not hardcoded values
• Network isolation — services run in isolated MicroVMs; no shared kernel with other tenants
• RBAC — Scale and Enterprise plans include role-based access control
• Audit logs — Enterprise plan provides audit trail for compliance

FAQ

Q: How does Koyeb compare to Fly.io or Railway?

A: Koyeb focuses on high-performance compute (GPUs, accelerators) and AI inference workloads. Fly.io emphasizes edge deployment for web apps. Railway is more developer-friendly for full-stack apps. Koyeb’s MicroVM architecture provides stronger isolation than containers.

Q: Can I deploy a database on Koyeb?

A: Yes, Koyeb offers managed PostgreSQL with autoscaling. You can also deploy your own database in a container, but managed Postgres handles backups, replication, and scaling automatically.

Q: What happens when my service scales to zero?

A: When traffic drops to zero, Koyeb stops billing after a configurable idle period (default: 5 minutes). The next request triggers a cold start (sub-200ms). You can disable scale-to-zero for latency-critical services.

Q: Do I need to manage Kubernetes or infrastructure?

A: No. Koyeb is fully serverless. You deploy code or containers, and Koyeb handles scheduling, scaling, load balancing, and networking. No cluster management required.

Q: Can I use custom domains?

A: Yes. Add custom domains via koyeb domains create yourdomain.com and configure DNS. Koyeb provides automatic TLS certificates via Let’s Encrypt.

Conclusion

Koyeb fills a specific niche: high-performance serverless infrastructure for AI inference, APIs, and data-intensive workloads that need GPU access and global distribution. The per-second billing and autoscaling to zero make it cost-effective for spiky workloads.

Best for:

• AI inference endpoints needing GPU access
• APIs requiring low-latency global distribution
• Teams that want serverless without Kubernetes complexity
• Workloads with variable traffic patterns

Consider alternatives if:

• You need edge functions (Cloudflare Workers, Deno Deploy)
• You’re building a simple static site (Vercel, Netlify)
• You want full Kubernetes control (EKS, GKE)

Start with the free tier, deploy a test service, and measure cold start times for your specific workload before committing.