With LocalStack’s community edition introducing authentication requirements and CI/CD restrictions in March 2026, many developers are evaluating Floci as a free alternative. This comparison covers every dimension that matters: supported services, performance, Docker footprint, pricing, and compatibility.
Quick Verdict
Floci wins on price (free vs $35–70/month), startup speed (24ms vs 3.3s), and Docker image size (90MB vs 1GB). LocalStack wins on community maturity, third-party integrations, and enterprise support. For solo developers and small teams doing local testing, Floci is now the better default choice.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Floci | LocalStack Community | LocalStack Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (MIT) | Free (auth required) | $35–70/month |
| Startup time | 24ms | 3.3 seconds | 3.3 seconds |
| Docker image | 90 MB | 1.0 GB | 1.0 GB |
| Idle memory | 13 MiB | 143 MiB | 143 MiB |
| SDK test pass rate | 408/408 (100%) | Partial | Higher coverage |
| CI/CD support | Unrestricted | Requires paid plan | Included |
| Auth tokens required | No | Yes (since Mar 2026) | Yes |
| API Gateway v2 | Yes | No | Yes |
| Cognito | Yes | No | Yes |
| RDS (PostgreSQL/MySQL) | Yes (with IAM auth) | No | Yes |
| ElastiCache + Redis | Yes (with IAM auth) | No | Yes |
| S3 Object Lock | COMPLIANCE + GOVERNANCE | Partial | Full |
| License | MIT (open source) | Apache 2.0 | Commercial |
AWS Services Supported
Floci supports over 20 AWS services including Lambda, S3 (with Object Lock), DynamoDB, RDS (PostgreSQL and MySQL with IAM auth), SQS, SNS, EventBridge, API Gateway v1 and v2, IAM, Cognito, STS, VPC, Route53, Secrets Manager, SSM Parameter Store, and ElastiCache with Redis.
The key gap that made LocalStack Pro worth paying for — Cognito, API Gateway v2, and RDS — is now covered by Floci for free.
Performance
Floci launches in 24 milliseconds vs LocalStack’s 3.3 seconds. In a CI pipeline running hundreds of tests per day, this compounds into significant time savings. At 13 MiB idle memory vs 143 MiB, Floci runs comfortably in constrained environments including GitHub Actions free tier and low-spec developer laptops.
Getting Started with Floci
Point your existing AWS SDK at http://localhost:4566. Use any credentials — Floci does not validate them.
services:
floci:
image: hectorvent/floci:latest
ports:
- "4566:4566"When LocalStack is Still the Better Choice
LocalStack has a larger ecosystem, more third-party integrations (Terraform, CDK, Pulumi), and commercial support. If your team relies on LocalStack-specific tooling or needs guaranteed SLA support, LocalStack Pro remains viable. Floci is a newer project and its long-term maintenance is less certain.
Bottom Line
For developers who need to run AWS services locally for testing — without paying $35–70/month or managing auth tokens — Floci is now the default recommendation. See our full Floci launch coverage for more details on the project background.
