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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Hetzner Cloud vs Railway

Hetzner Cloud logo

Hetzner Cloud

Cloud & Infrastructure

Affordable cloud servers in Europe

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: Hetzner Cloud cost-Optimized plans are shown as currently unavailable; 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: Hetzner Cloud covers Cloud servers, Railway covers Git integration.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hetzner Cloud and Railway actually diverge.

Attributes where Hetzner Cloud and Railway differ
AttributeHetzner CloudRailway
PlatformsWeb, Api, CliWeb, Api, Docker
Founded19972021

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

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 Hetzner Cloud

  • Cloud servers
  • Block storage
  • Object storage
  • Load balancers
  • Networks
  • Firewalls
  • Floating IPs
  • Backups

Only in Railway

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

Both cover

  • Docker
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Hetzner Cloud

  • Low-cost virtual servers for development and testingnot Railway
  • European hosting with data held in Germany or Finlandnot Railway
  • Workloads with heavy egress, where included traffic mattersnot Railway
  • Self-hosting applications away from the hyperscalersnot Railway

Railway

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

Where each one falls short

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

Hetzner Cloud

  • Cost-Optimized plans are shown as currently unavailable
  • The shared-resource tiers are positioned for variable usage and development rather than sustained production workloads
  • Regions are limited to Germany, Finland, the United States and Singapore, so latency to other markets is a real constraint
  • The uptime guarantee is 99.9 percent, below what the large hyperscalers offer on comparable services
  • Support is 24/7 by email, without a phone channel

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

Hetzner Cloud

Free
  • CX11$3.29/month
    • 1 vCPU
    • 1GB RAM
    • 25GB SSD
  • CX21$6.59/month
    • 2 vCPU
    • 4GB RAM
    • 40GB SSD

Railway

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Hetzner Cloud if

  • You need cloud servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli.
  • You also want block storage.
Hetzner Cloud 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 Hetzner Cloud or Railway better?
Neither clearly leads. Hetzner Cloud 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, Hetzner Cloud or Railway?
Hetzner Cloud starts at Free and Railway at Free.
Does Hetzner Cloud or Railway run on more platforms?
Hetzner Cloud runs on Web, Api, Cli. Railway runs on Web, Api, Docker.
Can I use Hetzner Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Hetzner Cloud best used for?
Hetzner Cloud is most often used for low-cost virtual servers for development and testing, european hosting with data held in germany or finland, workloads with heavy egress, where included traffic matters, self-hosting applications away from the hyperscalers. Of those, low-cost virtual servers for development and testing and european hosting with data held in germany or finland are not what Railway is typically brought in for.
What can Hetzner Cloud do that Railway cannot?
Hetzner Cloud covers Cloud servers, Block storage, Object storage, Load balancers. Railway covers Git integration, Zero-config deployment, PostgreSQL, MySQL. Both handle Docker, Cloud deployment, Web support.
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