Pick Vercel when
The app is a Next.js or static frontend. You want preview deploys per pull request and a global CDN with no setup. Traffic is high but server work per request is small. Your backend already lives somewhere else.
Side by side
From each vendor’s own pricing and limits pages.
| Railway | Vercel | |
|---|---|---|
| What it runs | Containers from a Dockerfile, image or repo. Processes stay running | Static files, Next.js and other frameworks, serverless Functions (Docker images run as Functions) |
| Paid plan | Hobby $5/month, Pro $20/month per workspace. The fee is also your first $5 or $20 of usage | Pro $20/month per developer seat, with $20 of usage credit |
| Free option | Free plan with $1/month of credit, 0.5 GB RAM per service; one-time $5 trial | Hobby plan, free, personal and non-commercial use only |
| Compute billing | $20 per vCPU-month and $10 per GB of RAM per month, per second of use | Active CPU from $0.128/hour, memory from $0.0106/GB-hour, $0.60 per million invocations |
| Traffic | $0.05/GB from the first GB | 1 TB included on Pro, then from $0.15/GB |
| Databases | Postgres, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB as services on the same usage rates; volumes $0.15/GB-month | None built in. Neon, Supabase, Upstash and others via the Marketplace, billed by them |
| Long-running work | Yes: workers, queues, cron, WebSockets | Functions stop after 300 s by default, 800 s max on Pro. No background workers |
| Persistent disk | Yes, volumes | No |
| Regions | California, Virginia, Amsterdam, Singapore | Global CDN. Functions default to Washington, D.C. (iad1), configurable |
| Company | US | US |
Sources: Railway pricing, Railway regions, Vercel pricing, Vercel Functions limits, Docker on Vercel. Read on 2026-09-23.
What it costs per month
Three app sizes, list prices, converted at $1 = €0.88, without VAT.
| Workload | Railway | Vercel | Hostim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next.js site, no database, 100 GB traffic | €10.56 | €17.60 | €2.50 |
| Small API, 512 MB RAM, 1 GB Postgres, 50 GB traffic | €13.77 | €34.93 | €3.50 |
| Growing app, 2 GB RAM, 10 GB Postgres, 500 GB traffic | €47.96 | €37.70 | €14.50 |
How the numbers are built:
- Railway: Hobby plan. Railway bills CPU you actually use, so we assume the app averages 10% of one vCPU and the database 5%, with 0.5 GB of RAM. A busy app costs more.
- Vercel: Pro plan with one seat. Light function usage fits in the $20 credit. Postgres is Neon from the Marketplace: free up to 0.5 GB, otherwise priced always-on at 0.25 compute units. A Neon database that scales to zero costs less.
- Hostim: that is us, so read this row with that in mind. Flat plan prices from our price list, traffic included.
Which one to pick
Pick Railway when
You run a backend that must stay up: an API, workers, queues, cron, WebSockets. You want the database next to the app on one bill. You deploy from a Dockerfile. You need a disk.
Use both when
The frontend is Next.js and the backend is not. Keep them in the same area — Vercel fra1 with Railway Amsterdam — so API calls do not cross the Atlantic.
Price your own app
Same price models as the table above. Move the sliders to match your workload.
A standalone Next.js container runs comfortably in 512 MB. Most apps pull a small Postgres for sessions/data; bandwidth grows with image traffic.
Managed app platforms (PaaS)
Push code or a Docker image; the platform handles ops.
Provider
Compute
Database
Egress
Total / mo
HostimRecommendedDedicated bare metal in Germany. Traffic included, no egress fees.
€3
€1
—
€4/mo
RailwayHobby plan. Usage-based: we assume the app averages 10% of one vCPU and the database 5%.Busy CPU raises the bill at $20 per vCPU-month.
€6
€5
€4
€16/mo
VercelPro plan, one seat. Light function usage fits in the $20 included credit; RAM is not billed as a fixed size.Postgres via the Marketplace (Neon), priced always-on. Scale-to-zero costs less.
€18
€17
—
€35/mo
Estimates from each provider's published list prices, read on 2026-09-23 and converted to EUR at $1 = €0.88. Excludes VAT. The (i) next to each provider states the plan and assumptions used. Pricing changes — check the provider's own page before you commit.
A third option, if you need the EU
We built Hostim, so we are not neutral here. Hostim runs containers and managed Postgres, MySQL and Redis like Railway, but at flat monthly prices and only in Germany, from a German company. It has no global CDN and no edge functions, so it does not replace Vercel for a frontend that must be fast worldwide. It fits the backend half, when the data has to stay under EU jurisdiction. See the Railway and Vercel comparisons.
Comparisons
See how Hostim compares.
Side by side against the platform you are moving from, or a round-up covering several at once.
Explore other alternatives
Heroku Alternative (EU)Render Alternative (EU)Railway Alternative (EU)Vercel Alternative (EU)Sevalla AlternativeNeon Alternative (EU Postgres)Fly.io AlternativeCoolify AlternativeCapRover AlternativePortainer AlternativeDokku AlternativeNorthflank AlternativeDigitalOcean App Platform Alternative
Compare several platforms at once
Frequently asked questions
Is Railway cheaper than Vercel?
For small apps with a database, usually yes. A 512 MB API with a 1 GB Postgres costs about $16 a month on Railway Hobby. On Vercel Pro it is $20 for the seat, plus a Marketplace Postgres such as Neon, which is free up to 0.5 GB and about $20 a month always-on above that. Vercel gets cheaper as traffic grows, because Pro includes 1 TB of data transfer and Railway charges $0.05 per GB from the first gigabyte.
Can Vercel run a backend and a database?
A backend, partly. Vercel runs server code as Functions, including Docker images, but a function stops after its maximum duration (800 seconds on Pro) and scales to zero after about 5 minutes idle. There are no background workers and no persistent disk. Vercel has no database of its own; you add Postgres, Redis or others from the Vercel Marketplace, billed by that provider.
Can Railway host a Next.js app?
Yes. Railway runs `next start` in a container, like any Node.js server. Server rendering, API routes, ISR and image optimisation work. What you do not get is Vercel’s global CDN and per-route edge functions: the app runs in the one region you pick, and you add a CDN yourself if you need one.
Which one keeps data in the EU?
Both are US companies, so both are subject to US law such as the CLOUD Act. Railway has an EU West region in Amsterdam, and a service plus its database can both run there. On Vercel you can move Functions to an EU region such as Frankfurt (fra1), but the CDN is global and the default region is Washington, D.C. (iad1). If you need an EU-owned provider, neither qualifies.
Can I use Railway and Vercel together?
Yes, and many teams do: the Next.js frontend on Vercel, the API, workers and database on Railway. Put both in the same area, for example Vercel fra1 and Railway Amsterdam, or every request pays a transatlantic round trip. You then pay two bills: the $20 Vercel seat and Railway usage.
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