FVM vs PortBay
FVM
fvm.appPortBay
portbay.appSide by side
| Figure | FVM | PortBay |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $4.92/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 10 |
| Spec score · Development Environment Managers | 8.7 (#4) | 7.8 (#23) |
Plans
PortBay
- CommunityFree
- Pro$10 a month
- Plugin Solo$59 a year
- Plugin Studio$99 a year
- Agent Solo$168 a year
- Plugin Agency$199 a year
- Agent Studio$288 a year
- Plugin Unlimited$399 a year
- Agent Agency$444 a year
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
FVM
FVM manages Flutter SDK versions by project, allowing teams to keep builds consistent while using different versions across projects. A project’s `.fvmrc` file records its selected Flutter version and can include project-specific settings and flavors. FVM switches among installed SDKs without downloading them again. It can identify unreferenced versions, preview cleanup candidates, and remove unused SDKs with `fvm cleanup`. The documentation describes commands suitable for CI/CD automation and support for custom Flutter repositories. FVM provides packages for macOS, Linux, and Windows, with architecture availability varying by system. Installation options include a shell script, Homebrew, Chocolatey, Pub, and standalone packages. FVM detects VS Code and updates `.vscode/settings.json` for the Dart Code extension to use the project’s managed SDK. Android Studio and IntelliJ settings must be configured separately to point to the FVM SDK path. JSON API commands expose installed SDKs, releases, cleanup data, environment context, and project configuration. FVM stores known project roots in a machine-local file and says it does not scan disks for projects. The project is licensed under MIT.
PortBay
PortBay is a local development environment for running apps on a Mac and dispatching AI coding agents from a task board. Cards can be assigned to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or Antigravity; each card can have its own Git worktree so multiple agents can work on one repository at once. PortBay provides local project runtimes, trusted HTTPS on.test domains, per-project MySQL and PostgreSQL databases, and Mailpit email capture. Community includes public Cloudflare and SSH tunnels. Pro adds persistent SSH options including keep-alive, auto-reconnect, reverse tunnels, SOCKS proxy, and multi-hop. PortBay says source code is not uploaded and project files, task cards, the board, and agent comments stay on the machine. Agent sandboxing is on by default and denies access to credential stores and.env files outside the assigned project. The free Community plan supports up to six projects, two sandboxed runs, and one Mac. Pro is $10 a month for the first 100 licences while the subscription remains active, then $24 a month; it includes a 7-day trial. PortBay supports macOS and Linux; Windows is on the roadmap.