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Software · head to head

Heroku vs Railway

Heroku logo

Heroku

Software

Cloud Application Platform

From
$7/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Railway logo

Railway

Software

Ship software instantly

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Railway has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Heroku there is no free dyno tier; the cheapest Eco dyno is $5 per month; 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: Heroku covers Git-based deployment, Railway covers Git integration.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Heroku and Railway actually diverge.

Attributes where Heroku and Railway differ
AttributeHerokuRailway
Starting price$7/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Api, WorkersWeb, Api, Docker
Founded20072021

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Heroku

  • Git-based deployment
  • Buildpacks
  • Dynos (containers)
  • Add-ons marketplace
  • Postgres database
  • Logging
  • API
  • Slack

Only in Railway

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

Both cover

  • Environment variables
  • GitHub
  • HTTPS
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Heroku

  • Deploying and scaling web applications with git push and no server administrationnot Railway
  • Running managed Postgres, Redis and Kafka as attached data servicesnot Railway
  • Isolated production environments in a Private Space for regulated workloadsnot Railway

Railway

  • Deploying applications and databases without managing serversnot Heroku
  • Running preview environments and services straight from a repositorynot Heroku

Where each one falls short

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

Heroku

  • There is no free dyno tier; the cheapest Eco dyno is $5 per month
  • Eco dynos sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity, are restricted to personal accounts and allow only 2 process types
  • Free SSL and 10 process types start at the Basic dyno at $7 per month
  • Private and Shield dyno types require a Private Space, which is billed on top of the dynos
  • Private Space dynos start at $250 per month for Private-M and $500 per month for Private-L
  • Dyno prices are per dyno per month, so an app with several process types multiplies the bill

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

Heroku

$7/month
  • Hobby$7/month
    • 512MB RAM
    • Shared CPU
    • 1 web dyno
  • Standard$50/month
    • 512MB RAM
    • Dedicated CPU
    • Automatic scaling

Railway

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Heroku if

  • You need git-based deployment.
  • You work on Web, Api, Workers.
  • You also want buildpacks.
Heroku 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 Heroku or Railway better?
Neither clearly leads. Heroku starts at $7/month and Railway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Heroku or Railway?
Railway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $7/month for Heroku and Free for Railway.
Does Heroku or Railway run on more platforms?
Heroku runs on Web, Api, Workers. Railway runs on Web, Api, Docker.
Can I use Railway for free?
Yes. Railway has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Heroku starts at $7/month.
What is Heroku best used for?
Heroku is most often used for deploying and scaling web applications with git push and no server administration, running managed postgres, redis and kafka as attached data services, isolated production environments in a private space for regulated workloads. Of those, deploying and scaling web applications with git push and no server administration and running managed postgres, redis and kafka as attached data services are not what Railway is typically brought in for.
What can Heroku do that Railway cannot?
Heroku covers Git-based deployment, Buildpacks, Dynos (containers), Add-ons marketplace. Railway covers Git integration, Zero-config deployment, PostgreSQL, MySQL. Both handle Environment variables, GitHub, HTTPS, Cloud deployment.
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