Overview: FlexSite vs Upsun for Drupal workloads
Upsun is a general-purpose PaaS that supports many languages and frameworks, including Drupal. It provides Git-based workflows, preview environments, and configurable services like Redis defined in configuration files.
FlexSite narrows the problem space to Drupal hosting and optimizes around that: caching and CDN are included, environments are fully flexible (add, remove, name as you need—pay only for what you use), and a built-in AI assistant, deployment visibility, site alerts, configuration advisories, and mobile app are part of the platform, not add-ons.
Feature comparison: caching, CDN, and environments
| Capability | Upsun | FlexSite |
|---|---|---|
| Varnish cache | HTTP caching via Platform router; Varnish-like behavior depends on configuration and fronting CDN. | Varnish included in all plans. |
| Redis | Available as a configurable service via project configuration. | Included in all plans. |
| CDN | Managed Fastly CDN on specific higher/enterprise tiers; many plans rely on customer-managed CDN. | Included in all plans (CloudFront). |
| Multi-environment | Production and development environments; preview environments created per Git branch with quotas tied to plan and resources. | Fully flexible—add or remove when needed, name as you like, pay only for what you use. |
| Deployment visibility | Varies by plan; not always end-to-end. | See what happens from code push until changes are ready on the environment. |
| Site Alerts | Monitoring available; proactive alerts vary by plan. | Proactive monitoring to detect errors and notify you. |
| Configuration Advisories | Not typically offered. | Per-environment recommendations to get the best from your sites. |
| Mobile app | Not typically offered. | Receive project alerts and talk with Flexy for project status whenever and wherever. |
| Built-in AI | No native AI assistant in the platform; AI via third-party tools or integrations. | Flexy AI included. |
Built-in performance stack
Upsun exposes powerful primitives: you define services such as Redis in configuration and attach them to applications. CDN is either self-managed or consumed via managed Fastly options on specific plans. This flexibility is valuable but shifts integration and cost decisions onto each team.
FlexSite standardizes on a performant default: Varnish enabled in front of every Drupal application, Redis integrated as the default application cache backend, and CloudFront CDN configured for edge asset and page delivery. This reduces time spent designing performance architecture for each project.
Flexible environments
Upsun offers a hierarchy of environments, including production, development, and preview environments created through Git branching. The number and size of environments are bounded by plan limits and resource quotas, requiring teams to manage idle environments and sometimes pause or remove them for cost control.
FlexSite environments are fully flexible: you decide when to add or remove one, name them as you want, and pay only for what you use. Short-lived environments for experiments, client demos, and the like are supported without fixed counts—teams can scale their workflow without renegotiating their plan.
AI-assisted platform
Upsun does not offer a platform-native AI assistant. Some third-party tools can interact with Upsun APIs, but they remain external services.
FlexSite’s Flexy AI lives alongside your hosting platform, optimized around Drupal and FlexSite operations (environments, cache behavior, deployment patterns). It helps teams move faster without having to wire AI into their own automation first.
Deployment visibility, site alerts, configuration advisories, and mobile app
FlexSite provides deployment visibility from code push until changes are ready on the environment, proactive site alerts to detect errors and notify you, per-environment configuration advisories to get the best from your sites, and a mobile app to receive project alerts and talk with Flexy for project status whenever and wherever.
Migrating Drupal from Upsun to FlexSite
A typical migration path includes exporting your Drupal codebase and databases from Upsun, re-creating the application on FlexSite with Varnish, Redis, and CloudFront enabled, and mapping Upsun environments and preview branches to flexible FlexSite environments (add, remove, name as you need—pay only for what you use). FlexSite can help ensure that environment topology and performance profiles are maintained or improved.
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