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Railway vs Vercel
Comparing two hosting & deployment platforms on pricing, features, free tier, and trade-offs.
Quick summary
Railway — Infrastructure, instantly. Railway is a platform for deploying apps, databases, and services with usage-based pricing and great developer experience.
Vercel — The frontend cloud. Vercel is the platform built by the creators of Next.js, offering edge-first hosting, preview deployments, and serverless functions.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Railway | Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Paid | Freemium |
| Starting price | $5/mo + usage | $20/mo |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Open source | No | No |
| Edge Network | No | Yes |
| Custom Domains | Yes | Yes |
| Edge Functions | No | Yes |
| Bandwidth (free) | N/A | 100GB |
| Databases Included | Yes | — |
| Preview Deployments | Yes | Yes |
| Serverless Functions | No | Yes |
| Build Minutes (free) | — | 6000/mo |
Railway
Infrastructure, instantly
Pros
- Runs real servers, not just serverless
- Easy Postgres/Redis/Mongo provisioning
- Pay for what you use
Cons
- No free tier anymore
- Fewer global regions
- Cold starts if idling
Vercel
The frontend cloud
Pros
- Best-in-class Next.js support
- Fast global edge network
- Excellent DX with Git integration
Cons
- Expensive at scale
- Vendor lock-in with Edge runtime
- Function timeout limits
Which should you choose?
Choose Railway if you need production-grade features and are ready to pay. Choose Vercel if a free tier is important for your stage.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Railway or Vercel?
There is no universal “better.” For most teams, Vercel is the safer default because Vercel offers a free tier, while Railway requires a paid plan. For edge cases, the comparison table above highlights where each tool wins.
Is Railway cheaper than Vercel?
Railway starts at $5/mo + usage, while Vercel starts at $20/mo. Exact costs depend on usage — check both vendors' calculators before committing.
Can I migrate from Railway to Vercel?
Migration difficulty depends on how deeply Railway-specific features (APIs, SDK conventions, data schemas) are baked into your app. Most hosting & deployment migrations take days to weeks. Both vendors typically publish migration guides — check their docs.
Is Railway or Vercel open source?
No — both Railway and Vercel are proprietary managed services. If open source is a requirement, see our alternatives pages.
Does Railway or Vercel have a free tier?
Vercel has a free tier; Railway does not.
Which is best for startups and indie hackers?
Startups usually optimize for the lowest friction to ship and the cheapest possible free tier. The one with the most generous free tier here is Vercel. For production workloads, revisit the trade-offs in the feature table above.