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Ruby on Rails Hosting
Done Right

Deploy your Rails applications to a managed Docker platform. Includes PostgreSQL, Redis, and persistent volumes out of the box. No server management required.

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# docker-compose.yml
services:
  web:
    image: my-rails-app
    command: ./bin/rails server
    environment:
      - RAILS_ENV=production
      - RAILS_MASTER_KEY=${RAILS_MASTER_KEY}
  db:
    image: postgres:16
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
  redis:
    image: redis:7
  • 🇪🇺 Hosted in Germany, GDPR by default
  • 🐳 Run Docker apps (Compose supported)
  • 🗄️ Built-in MySQL, Postgres, Redis & volumes
  • 🔐 HTTPS, metrics, and isolation per project
  • 💳 Per-project cost tracking · from €2.5/month

What "Rails hosting" actually means today

Historically, hosting Rails meant configuring a Linux VPS with Capistrano, Nginx, and Passenger. Today, the ecosystem has evolved. With Rails 7.1+ shipping with a default Dockerfile, modern deployment is container-first.

Puma and Threading

Modern Rails apps use the Puma web server by default, which is optimized for concurrency. A good hosting platform needs to support multi-process and multi-threaded execution without complex configuration, allowing your app to handle more traffic with less RAM.

Why Docker is the standard

Tools like Kamal (formerly Mrsk) have popularized Docker-based deployments in the Rails community. Docker bundles Ruby, system libraries (like libvips for ActiveStorage), and your gems into a single artifact, eliminating "it works on my machine" issues and making deployment predictable.

How Rails apps are typically hosted

Production Rails setups share a common architecture, regardless of the provider:

  • Containers: The application runs in stateless containers. Rails 8 even introduces a built-in authentication generator that works great in containers.
  • Database Separation: PostgreSQL is the gold standard for Rails. It runs as a separate service, not on the same filesystem as the app code.
  • Background Jobs: Sidekiq, Solid Queue, or Resque handle background tasks (emails, processing). These need a persistent process and often a Redis instance.
  • Environment Variables: Secrets are managed via RAILS_MASTER_KEY or individual environment variables injected at runtime.
  • ActiveStorage: File uploads require persistent volumes (for local storage) or cloud storage (S3) configuration.

Rails hosting on Hostim.dev

We provide a managed platform that maps directly to the standard Rails architecture.

Docker or Git Deploy

Push your code or a pre-built Docker image. We handle the build and deployment process automatically using your Dockerfile.

Built-in Databases

Spin up managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, or Redis instances alongside your app. Perfect for Sidekiq and ActionCable.

Persistent Volumes

Mount volumes for ActiveStorage local disk service or SQLite databases. Data persists across deployments and restarts.

EU Hosting

All data and workloads are hosted in Germany (Falkenstein), ensuring low latency for European users and GDPR compliance.

Is there free Rails hosting?

"Free" hosting is particularly difficult for Rails due to its memory footprint. Providers offering free tiers often:

  • OOM Kills: Rails apps often need 200MB+ RAM just to boot. Free tiers with 512MB limits often crash during asset compilation or heavy requests.
  • No Background Jobs: Free tiers rarely support the second process needed for Sidekiq or Solid Queue workers.
  • Sleep Mode: Apps spin down after inactivity, leading to long boot times (10s+) for the next user.

Hostim.dev offers a preview tier for testing, but our focus is on reliable, paid production hosting that gives your Rails app the resources it needs to run smoothly.

Rails web hosting vs. App hosting

You might see terms like "web hosting" and "app hosting" used interchangeably, but they refer to different paradigms.

Traditional Web Hosting (Shared): Designed for PHP/WordPress. Often uses Phusion Passenger in a shared environment. Hard to update Ruby versions, install system dependencies, or run background workers.

App Hosting (PaaS): Designed for modern applications. Provides the necessary environment for containers, build processes, and service orchestration. This is what Hostim.dev provides.

Is Hostim.dev a good fit?

Who it is for

  • Developers who want to deploy standard Rails projects using Docker.
  • Teams needing EU-based hosting for GDPR compliance.
  • Projects requiring a simple, flat pricing model without calculator spreadsheets.
  • Applications that need persistent storage and managed databases.

Who it is not for

  • Users looking for "cPanel" style shared hosting.
  • Massive scale applications requiring complex Kubernetes orchestration (though we scale well vertically).
  • Developers who want to manually manage OS updates and security patches on a VPS.

How to host a Rails app

The practical workflow on a container-based platform.

  • Create a project: A project is an isolated environment for your Rails app, databases, and storage.
  • Add managed services: Create a PostgreSQL or MySQL database, Redis if needed, and persistent volumes for ActiveStorage files.
  • Prepare your container: Use the defaultDockerfile generated by modern Rails versions or provide your own. You can also connect a Git repository containing theDockerfile. Hostim builds the image if needed.
  • Create the app: Create an app from the image or repo, then attach the database, Redis, and volumes to it.
  • Configure environment variables: DefineRAILS_ENV, RAILS_MASTER_KEY, database credentials, and other secrets in the dashboard.
  • Deploy and update: Hostim starts the container and keeps it running. Updates are done by redeploying or rebuilding the app, either manually or via CI.

Ready to deploy?

Get your Rails application running in minutes.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does the free tier include?

You can create free MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis databases, and persistent volumes. App containers start at €2.5/month. Each user gets one 5-day trial project with everything included – apps, DBs, volumes, metrics.

Can I deploy with just a Compose file?

Yes. Paste your Docker Compose YAML and we'll generate the services automatically. You can also deploy from a Dockerfile or Git repository (repo should have Dockerfile so our system can build the image).

Where is my app hosted?

On bare-metal servers located in Germany. We do not use AWS, GCP, or other large cloud providers – your data stays in the EU.

Do I need to know Kubernetes?

No. Hostim.dev removes Kubernetes complexity. You manage apps, databases, and resources – not clusters or YAML.

Is this for solo devs or teams?

Right now, each account manages projects individually. Multi-user roles and team collaboration are planned – we're actively listening to early users to shape this.