Railway

Deploy full-stack apps from GitHub in seconds with automatic HTTPS and custom domains.

hostingbackendfullstack

Websiterailway.com

CategoryHosting & deploy

PricingFreemium

Card requiredNo

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ABOUT

What is Railway?

Railway is a modern deployment platform designed for full-stack projects. Connecting a GitHub repository gives you an instant live URL with automatic HTTPS, custom domains, environment variables and database provisioning. The platform uses a consumption-based model with a one-time $5 free trial (no card required), then a Hobby plan at $5/month. It is especially popular among indie developers and small teams building Node.js, Python, Go and Docker-based applications.

BEFORE YOU SIGN UP

What you should know

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Fire-and-forget deploymentsConnect a repo and Railway automatically detects the language, builds and deploys. HTTPS and custom domains are handled automatically.

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Built-in database provisioningAdd PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, or MongoDB with one click. Databases are private and networked automatically with your services.

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One-time $5 free trial creditNew users get a $5 credit to test the platform with no credit card required. After the credit is consumed, the Hobby plan costs $5/month.

Consumption pricing can be unpredictableRailway bills by CPU hour, RAM, storage and outbound transfer. Without careful monitoring, a modest app can easily exceed the free credit allocation.

COMMUNITY

From the forums

Railway has a strong and vocal community on Reddit and Discord, with developers frequently citing its simple workflow and fast Git-to-deploy pipeline. The most common frustrations revolve around the opaque usage-based pricing model, where costs can accumulate faster than expected when traffic or database size increases unexpectedly. Its DX is often compared favorably to Heroku.

— Community sentiment · Reddit

💬Discuss on Reddit ↗

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ABOUT US

Honest, independent, no fluff.

No paid placements. Just a clear look at what this does, what it costs, and what to know before you commit.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Is Railway free?＋

Railway offers a one-time $5 free trial credit with no credit card required. After the credit is used, the Hobby plan costs $5/month. A small single-process app with low traffic can fit within the Hobby allowance, but adding databases or workers increases the cost.

Does Railway support cron jobs or background workers?＋

Yes. You can configure cron jobs and background workers through the dashboard. They are deployed as separate services sharing the same project network and consume credits based on their runtime and resource allocation.

How does Railway compare to Heroku?＋

Railway is often considered a modern Heroku alternative with a similar Git-based workflow. It eliminates Heroku's per-dyno pricing by using a consumption model, which can be cheaper for small projects but harder to predict for larger ones.