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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

AWS (Amazon Web Services) vs Railway

AWS (Amazon Web Services) logo

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Cloud & Infrastructure

The leading cloud computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Railway logo

Railway

Cloud & Infrastructure

Ship software instantly

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AWS (Amazon Web Services) data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills; Railway plan fees are usage credits rather than allowances, so the $5 Hobby and $20 Pro fees are spent on compute and anything beyond is billed on top
  • They diverge on capability: AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, Railway covers Git integration.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Railway actually diverge.

Attributes where AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Railway differ
AttributeAWS (Amazon Web Services)Railway
PlatformsWeb, Api, Cli, MobileWeb, Api, Docker
CategoryUnknownCloud & Infrastructure
Founded20062021

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • EC2 - Virtual Servers
  • S3 - Object Storage
  • RDS - Managed Database
  • Lambda - Serverless Computing
  • CloudFront - CDN
  • VPC - Virtual Network
  • IAM - Access Management
  • CloudWatch - Monitoring

Only in Railway

  • Git integration
  • Zero-config deployment
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • Redis
  • Environment variables
  • Custom domains
  • Monitoring

Both cover

  • Docker

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Web hostingnot Railway
  • Data storagenot Railway
  • Machine learningnot Railway
  • Big data analyticsnot Railway
  • Application developmentnot Railway

Railway

  • Deploying applications and databases without managing serversnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
  • Running preview environments and services straight from a repositorynot AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

  • Data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills
  • Discounts require one or three year Savings Plan commitments rather than being automatic
  • Every service is priced separately, so a working architecture has no single published cost
  • The free tier is a promotional allowance rather than an ongoing free plan

Railway

  • Plan fees are usage credits rather than allowances, so the $5 Hobby and $20 Pro fees are spent on compute and anything beyond is billed on top
  • The free plan carries $1 of monthly credit and caps a service at 1 vCPU and 0.5 GB
  • Compute is metered per second for both memory and CPU, so cost tracks uptime rather than traffic and an idle service still bills
  • Egress is $0.05 per GB on top of compute
  • The Pro fee is per workspace rather than per user or per project

Pricing, plan by plan

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Free
  • AWS Free TierFree
    • EC2 750 hours/month
    • 5GB S3 storage
    • 20GB data transfer
  • Pay-As-You-GoFree
    • No upfront payment
    • No long-term commitments
    • Pay only for what you use

Railway

Free
  • FreeFree
    • $5 credit/month
    • Community support
    • Unlimited projects
  • Pro$20/month
    • Private repos
    • Priority support
    • Advanced monitoring

Which should you pick?

Choose AWS (Amazon Web Services) if

  • You need ec2 - virtual servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile.
  • You also want s3 - object storage.
AWS (Amazon Web Services) review

Choose Railway if

  • You need git integration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Docker.
  • You also want zero-config deployment.
Railway review

Questions people ask

Is AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Railway better?
Neither clearly leads. AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and Railway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Railway?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) starts at Free and Railway at Free.
Does AWS (Amazon Web Services) or Railway run on more platforms?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) runs on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile. Railway runs on Web, Api, Docker.
Can I use AWS (Amazon Web Services) for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is AWS (Amazon Web Services) best used for?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) is most often used for web hosting, data storage, machine learning, big data analytics. Of those, web hosting and data storage are not what Railway is typically brought in for.
What can AWS (Amazon Web Services) do that Railway cannot?
AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, S3 - Object Storage, RDS - Managed Database, Lambda - Serverless Computing. Railway covers Git integration, Zero-config deployment, PostgreSQL, MySQL. Both handle Docker.
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