Coolify vs Railway (2026)
Head-to-head comparison for vibe coders: scores, free tiers, pricing and best-for, using the same evidence-based methodology. Rankings are never for sale.
Open-source, self-hostable Heroku/Vercel alternative for your own servers
Deploy apps, databases and services
Side-by-side comparison
| Criterion | Coolify | Railway |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 80/100 |
| Free tier | Yes: the self-hosted edition is free with all features (bring your own server) | Partial: one-time $5 trial credit (30 days), then a Free plan with $1/mo credit |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Pricing | Self-hosted free forever (you pay for your own server; Coolify needs 2 CPU cores, 2 GB RAM, 10 GB disk); Coolify Cloud $5/mo for 2 servers + $3/mo per extra server (annual saves 20%) | Hobby $5/mo (includes $5 usage) |
| Best for | Builders who want Heroku-style git deploys for several apps on one cheap VPS, with no per-app or per-seat fees | Full-stack apps with a database and workers, deployed in minutes |
| Category | Hosting & deploy | Hosting & deploy |
Score breakdown
| Criterion | Coolify | Railway |
|---|---|---|
| Fit for the use case /25 | 18 | 22 |
| Vibe-coder friendliness /15 | 9 | 14 |
| Output quality & reliability /15 | 11 | 12 |
| Pricing & free tier /15 | 14 | 10 |
| Ecosystem & integrations /10 | 8 | 8 |
| Momentum /10 | 8 | 8 |
| Code ownership & lock-in /10 | 10 | 6 |
Based on desk research of official pricing pages and docs; see methodology.
How they differ
Both deploy apps and databases from git with little config. Railway is a managed platform: you push code and pay for the resources your services use. Coolify is open-source software you install on your own server (or manage through Coolify Cloud), so many apps and databases share one machine you rent.
What you pay
Railway Hobby is $5 a month including $5 of usage, after a one-time $5 trial credit. Self-hosted Coolify is free with all features; you pay only for the server, which needs at least 2 CPU cores, 2 GB RAM and 10 GB disk. Coolify Cloud is $5 a month for 2 servers plus $3 per extra server.
Which to pick
Railway if you want zero server upkeep and pay-for-what-you-use billing. Coolify if you run several small apps and want one flat server bill, and you are fine owning updates, backups and security.
Who wins: Coolify or Railway?
By score, Railway wins Coolify vs Railway at 80/100 vs 78/100. Railway: Very smooth deploys for any stack. The free allowance is tiny. Coolify: The most popular open-source self-hosted PaaS (~63k GitHub stars, actively updated) and the cheapest way to run many apps: one VPS can host them all with no platform markup. You become the ops team, though: server security, backups and updates are on you, which is a real step up for first-time builders. Railway is best for Full-stack apps with a database and workers, deployed in minutes. Coolify is best for Builders who want Heroku-style git deploys for several apps on one cheap VPS, with no per-app or per-seat fees.
FAQ
- Which is better, Coolify or Railway?
- By our score, Railway (80/100) ranks above Coolify (78/100). Railway is best for Full-stack apps with a database and workers, deployed in minutes. The right pick still depends on your workflow; see the side-by-side table.
- What is the Coolify vs Railway score?
- Coolify scores 78/100 and Railway scores 80/100 on PromptToProd's evidence-based ranking. Scores are never for sale.
- Is Coolify cheaper than Railway?
- Often, once you run several apps: they can all share one server you rent, and self-hosted Coolify itself is free. For one small app, Railway Hobby at $5 a month is simpler and can cost about the same.
- Is Coolify a Railway alternative?
- Yes. It gives a similar git-push deploy flow with databases and HTTPS, but on your own server instead of a managed cloud.