KEEP IT

The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying.

Deploys services and databases from a repository with almost no configuration: it infers the build, provisions the dependencies, wires the networking and bills by what actually runs.

Promptfree, for everyone, and the only version there is
Set me up so a new service and its database are one command on my own server.

STACK
- Docker Compose as the unit of a project, one directory per environment
- Caddy in front with automatic TLS, Postgres and Redis as containers
- A deploy script over SSH that pulls, builds and rolls

PROJECT LAYOUT
- environments/{production,staging}/compose.yml plus an env file that is never committed
- A template command that scaffolds a new service with health check, limits and logging already set

NETWORKING
- Services reachable by name on an internal network; only Caddy is published
- Postgres and Redis never exposed to the host's public interface

DEPLOY
- Build, start the new container, wait for its health check, then swap the Caddy upstream and stop the old one
- Keep the previous image tagged so a rollback is one command

DATA
- Named volumes for Postgres and Redis, backed up nightly with pg_dump plus a volume snapshot to S3-compatible storage
- Restore script included, and a note that it has to be tested

ENVIRONMENTS
- Staging is the same compose file with a different env file and its own database
- Never share a database between environments; the README should say why

COST
- Record CPU and memory per service weekly, so the machine can be sized honestly

Include a README with the scaffold command, the rollback command and the backup schedule.

What you lose

  • Provisioning a database, a queue and a service in one screen with networking already wired
  • Usage-based pricing that costs nothing while a side project is idle
  • Environments per branch, each with their own variables and data
  • Metrics, logs and deploy history without configuring anything
  • Migration between regions and machine sizes as a setting rather than a project

If you would rather not build

  • Fly.io — paid, closest for multi-region deploys

The escape hatch

open source · no votes, no paid placement

Coolify

$0

Builds from git and deploys to a server you own.

coollabsio/coolifyfree · open source

Dokploy

$0

Docker and Compose deployments with a web UI, on your own machine.

Dokploy/dokployfree · open source

Why this verdict

our own opinion · changed only by a person

24/100

Verdict no at 24: Compose plus a deploy script gets you most of the ergonomics, and the prompt is specific about health checks and rollbacks. What does not survive is scale-to-zero pricing — a side project on your own VPS costs the same asleep as awake.

History

tracked since 9 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten

Interest · last 30 dayspeak 2/day
views01213 Jul18 Jul23 Jul28 Jul2 Aug7 Aug11 Aug
views prompt copies none yet votes none yet

Questions about Railway

answered from the record above

Is Railway free?

No — the plan we track is $20 a month. Pro at $20 per seat per month with usage billed on top; the Hobby plan is $5/month including some usage credit.

Can you replace Railway by building your own?

KEEP IT. The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying. Replacement score 24 out of 100, build time longer than it saves. Read what you lose before you decide.

How much does Railway cost?

$20 a month on Pro — $240 a year. Recorded 9 Aug 2026.

What do you lose by replacing Railway?

Provisioning a database, a queue and a service in one screen with networking already wired; Usage-based pricing that costs nothing while a side project is idle; Environments per branch, each with their own variables and data; Metrics, logs and deploy history without configuring anything; Migration between regions and machine sizes as a setting rather than a project. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to Railway?

Yes: Coolify, Dokploy. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.

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