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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
1000+apps deployed
380+developers building
260+services running now
Oct 2025in production since

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.

How much does Ruby on Rails hosting cost?

Compare Ruby on Rails hosting on Hostim, Heroku, Railway, Vercel, Render, Fly.io and a raw AWS VM. Move the sliders to match your workload.

A typical Rails monolith with Puma + Sidekiq fits in 1 GB. Postgres usually starts in the low single-digit GBs.

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
€5
—
€8/mo
Deploy on Hostim
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.
€11
€6
€1
€18/mo
Visit Railway
RenderHobby workspace. Frankfurt region available.Only 5 GB of bandwidth included, then $0.15/GB.
€22
€6
€3
€32/mo
Visit Render
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
€19
—
€36/mo
Visit Vercel
Fly.ioAlways-on shared-CPU machine in Amsterdam.Managed Postgres starts at $38/month; the old self-run Fly Postgres is cheaper but unmanaged.
€5
€35
€0.53
€40/mo
Visit Fly.io
HerokuCommon Runtime dynos. Above 512 MB the next dyno is Standard-2X at $50.No metered egress on listed plans.
€44
€8
—
€52/mo
Visit Heroku

Cloud / raw VM (IaaS)

Cheaper per resource, but you operate the OS, deploys and backups yourself.

Provider
Compute
Database
Egress
Total / mo
AWSCheapestRaw EC2 VM + RDS in Frankfurt — you operate the OS, patches, deploys and backups.Ops time is not priced in.
€8
€14
—
€22/mo
Visit AWS

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.

Ready to deploy?

Get your Rails application running in minutes.

Deploy your Rails app

The numbers

Rails on Hostim: web container plus Sidekiq worker, both on flat plans.

€2.50/month

Small production stack

One app plan (sa-1-1) plus a free-tier managed database. The database only starts costing money at 1 GB (€1/month).

2,708 TPS

Managed PostgreSQL write throughput

pgbench, 4 clients, 300 s, plan drp-50 (2 vCPU / 4 GB). AWS RDS db.t4g.medium scored 1,080 TPS on the same test.

€0

Managed database free tier

PostgreSQL 256 MB, MySQL 256 MB, Redis 128 MB, volume 1 GB. No cap on how many free instances you create.

Included on every plan

Database high availability

PostgreSQL and MySQL run as a primary plus hot standby with automatic failover, shared plans included.

“Rails is a web application development framework written in the Ruby programming language.”

— Ruby on Rails guides

Sources

  1. Hostim.dev price list — Hostim.dev (checked 2026-08-06)
  2. PostgreSQL benchmark: AWS RDS vs Hostim vs self-hosted on Hetzner — Hostim.dev blog, July 2026 (checked 2026-08-06)
  3. Managed PostgreSQL — high availability and failover — Hostim.dev docs (checked 2026-08-06)
  4. Ruby on Rails guides — Ruby on Rails (checked 2026-08-06)

Deploy Rails from the command line

Install the CLI, log in, deploy. The same three lines work from a CI job.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hostimdev/cli/main/install.sh | sh
hostim login
hostim deploy app --git https://github.com/hostimdev/demo-rails \
  --branch main --plan sa-1-1 --port 3000

The app builds the Dockerfile in the repository and gets an HTTPS address on *.eu-center.hostim.dev for €2.50 a month. The Rails demo above is a working repository — the same app with PostgreSQL, Redis and a volume is one command: hostim templates apply --id demo-rails --new-project rails-demo --yes. Deploy your app has the full set of commands, with an image, a repository, a Compose file or a template.

Frequently asked questions

Can I host a Ruby on Rails app on Hostim?

Yes. Build a Dockerfile that runs Rails under Puma. Attach a managed PostgreSQL or MySQL and (optionally) a persistent volume for Active Storage local files. Hostim runs it as a long-lived container with TLS.

Does Hostim support Sidekiq and ActionCable?

Yes. Run Sidekiq as a separate app in the same project, sharing the managed Redis. ActionCable websockets work because the ingress proxies long-lived connections.

How much does Rails hosting cost on Hostim?

A typical Rails deployment on Hostim is one app container plus one managed database. The app starts at €2.50/month and the database is free on the included tier, so a small production stack runs from €2.50/month.

How does Active Storage work on Hostim?

Two options. Local disk service: mount a persistent volume at storage/ and files survive restarts. S3-compatible: point Active Storage at any external S3 bucket via env vars.

Where is my Rails app hosted?

In Germany. Hostim apps and databases run on bare-metal servers in Falkenstein, with no AWS, GCP or Azure dependency — so data stays in the EU and GDPR compliance stays simple.