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Heroku vs Railway
Short answer: Pick Heroku if you want managed containers and data services for web apps; pick Railway if you want all-in-one cloud deployment and scaling. Heroku starts at $5/month; Railway has a free plan.
Which to pick
Pick Heroku if you want…
- Managed containers and data services for web apps
- Simple PaaS deployments
- Integrations with Git, Node.js or Ruby (on Heroku's list, not Railway's)
Pick Railway if you want…
- All-in-one cloud deployment and scaling
- Rapid prototyping and dev-ops simplicity
- A free plan to start with
- Integrations with Railway CLI (on Railway's list, not Heroku's)
Heroku provides a PaaS with similar ease of use but lacks Railway's usage-based billing and visual canvas.
Side by side
- What it is
- Heroku:Heroku is a fully managed PaaS that lets developers build, deploy, and scale apps using git, containers, and managed data services.
- Railway:Railway is a full-stack cloud platform that lets developers deploy apps, databases and services with automatic scaling, monitoring and networking.
- Best for
- Heroku:Managed containers and data services for web apps
- Railway:All-in-one cloud deployment and scaling
- Who it’s for
- Heroku:Developers, teams, startups and enterprises needing simple app hosting
- Railway:Developers and teams who want to ship web apps and services without managing infrastructure.
- Pricing
- Heroku:Paid
- Railway:Freemium
- Starting price
- Heroku:$5/month (Eco)
- Railway:—
- Free plan or trial
- Heroku:—
- Railway:Free plan (Free) · Free trial
- Plans
- Heroku:Eco $5 per month · Basic $7 per month · Standard-1X $25 per month · Performance-M $250 per month · Private-S $125 per month
- Railway:Free Free · Hobby Free
- Works with
- Heroku:Git, GitHub, Docker, Node.js, Ruby, Java, PHP, Python
- Railway:GitHub, Docker, Railway CLI
Heroku features
- Dyno containers. Runs apps in smart, isolated containers with automatic scaling and patching.
- Heroku Postgres. Fully managed PostgreSQL database service optimized for developers.
- Heroku Redis. Managed key-value store with a developer-friendly experience.
- GitHub Integration. Creates disposable Review Apps for pull requests and auto-deploys on push.
- Add-ons & Buildpacks. Extend apps with 150+ third-party add-ons and community buildpacks.
- Security & Compliance. Provides PCI, HIPAA, ISO, SOC compliance and optional Shield environments.
Railway features
- One-click Deploy. Connect a repo and Railway auto-configures, builds and deploys the app instantly.
- Visual Project Canvas. See and edit the entire stack, networking and resources on a visual canvas.
- Instant Networking. Private connections, public endpoints, SSL and load balancing are provisioned automatically.
- Auto Scaling & Replicas. Scale CPU, RAM or add replicas with load balancing, globally.
- Built-in Observability. Logs, metrics, traces and alerts are available in a single dashboard.
- Preview Environments. Every pull request gets an isolated preview environment with one-click rollbacks.
Heroku vs Railway FAQ
What is the difference between Heroku and Railway?+
Railway provides quick one-click deployments and integrated databases, targeting smaller projects rather than enterprise-grade compliance. Heroku provides a PaaS with similar ease of use but lacks Railway's usage-based billing and visual canvas.
Should I use Heroku or Railway?+
Pick Heroku if you want managed containers and data services for web apps, simple PaaS deployments or integrations with Git, Node.js or Ruby (on Heroku's list, not Railway's). Pick Railway if you want all-in-one cloud deployment and scaling, rapid prototyping and dev-ops simplicity or a free plan to start with.
Is Heroku or Railway free?+
Heroku is paid, from $5/month (Eco). Railway has a free plan and paid plans.
Do Heroku and Railway integrate with the same tools?+
Partly. Both list GitHub and Docker. Heroku also lists Git, Node.js, Ruby, Java and 6 more; Railway also lists Railway CLI.
On DevHunt
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.