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Coolify vs Railway
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Coolify and Railway.
Last reviewed:
| Feature | Coolify | Railway |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Open Source | Freemium |
| Free Tier | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly Cost (Solo) | $0-5 | $5 |
| Target Audience | developers, solopreneurs, solopreneurs | solopreneurs, developers, startups |
| Verified | No | Yes |
| Solo-Friendly | Yes | Yes |
| Open Source | Yes | No |
| Editorial Rating | 4.2/5 | 4.3/5 |
| Categories | Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Key Features | One-click app deployment, Database hosting, Automatic SSL, Docker and Docker Compose, Git integration | Instant deployment, Database hosting, Automatic scaling, Preview environments, Team collaboration |
| Free Tier Quality | excellent | good |
Pricing Breakdown
Coolify
Self-hosted: free forever. Server costs: $4-10/month (VPS). Coolify Cloud: from $5/month.
Railway
Hobby: $5 free usage/month (512MB RAM). Pro: $20/month (8GB RAM, team features). Usage-based: $0.000231/min vCPU, $0.000231/min per 1GB RAM.
Integration Overlap
Shared Integrations (4)
GitHubDockerPostgreSQLRedis
Only in Coolify (4)
GitLabBitbucketDocker ComposeLet's Encrypt
Only in Railway (6)
MySQLMongoDBNext.jsDjangoRailsGo
Use Case Fit
Coolify
- * Self-hosted app deployment
- * Personal PaaS
- * Database hosting
- * Side project hosting
- * Development environments
Railway
- * Full-stack application deployment
- * Database hosting (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis)
- * Backend API hosting
- * Cron job and worker management
- * Quick prototype deployment
Coolify
Pros
- + Free and open-source
- + Heroku-like DX on your own server
- + Supports Docker, static sites, databases
- + Beautiful modern dashboard
Cons
- - Requires a server to run on
- - Newer project with some bugs
- - Limited to Docker-capable hosts
- - Community support only (no SLA)
Railway
Pros
- + Fastest deployment experience
- + Built-in databases (Postgres, Redis, MongoDB)
- + Excellent DX
- + Generous free tier ($5 credit/mo)
Cons
- - $5 credit goes fast for always-on services
- - Less mature than Vercel/Heroku
- - Limited regions
Editorial Verdict
For solo founders on a budget, Coolify wins with solo-friendly pricing and a excellent free tier. For the highest-rated experience, Railway edges ahead with a 4.3/5 editorial rating.
SaaSLens Editorial Team
Editorial Team