Many developers who want to sleep at night are looking for alternatives to railway.com, be it because of their unpredictable pricing [1], bad customer support [1], or weird selection of regions [2]. Choosing an alternative can be pretty tough with so many shiny options out there, so I've scouted five awesome alternatives that I personally used already. Let's take the next taxi and get away from railway.com! (sorry, that pun was a must)
Sliplane
Sliplane charges €9/month + VAT per server, with unlimited containers. Good for small apps or test projects, fixing Railway’s cost issues. GitHub integration gives push-to-deploy, auto-SSL, and Docker Hub access. Zero-downtime deploys and health checks help reliability.
- Pros: Cheap for multiple small apps, easy unlimited container setup.
- Cons: No autoscaling or SOC 2 compliance.
- Pricing: €9/month per server, see Sliplane’s pricing.
- Note: I co-founded it, so take my word with salt, but it’s built for cheap, simple scaling.
Coolify
Coolify is open-source, self-hosted, free barring server costs, or $10/month for their managed Cloud option. Works with tons of languages, Git (GitHub, GitLab, etc.), and auto-SSL. Deploy on VPS, Raspberry Pi, whatever—supports Docker Swarm, Kubernetes coming. 123,000+ instances, 12,000+ Discord users.
- Pros: Cheap, full control, solid community help.
- Cons: Self-hosting needs tech know-how, not for the lazy.
- Pricing: Free self-hosted (e.g., ~$5/month on Hetzner).
- Detail: Discord’s 12,000+ users give fast support, beats Railway’s setup.
Kamal
Kamal, free and open-source from Basecamp, deploys containerized web apps to your servers with Docker. Zero-downtime, works with cheap hosts like DigitalOcean or Hetzner. Deploys in 20 seconds.
- Pros: No PaaS fees, full control, quick for web apps.
- Cons: Needs server skills, scaling’s not as smooth as PaaS.
- Pricing: Free, just pay server costs (e.g., ~$5/month Hetzner).
- Detail: 20-second deploys are fast as hell.
Render
Render is a managed PaaS for apps, including Docker, with auto-deploys, autoscaling, DDoS protection, and compliance (GDPR, SOC 2). Free tier for sites, APIs, databases, but gets pricey quick.
- Pros: Easy Docker deploys, solid features, free tier’s decent.
- Cons: Costs stack up fast past free tier.
- Pricing: Free Hobby tier, $19/user/month paid plans—Render Pricing.
- Note: Clearer pricing than Railway, same reliability questions.
DigitalOcean App Platform
DigitalOcean App Platform is managed, supports Node.js, Python, etc., with autoscaling, security, Git, and DigitalOcean tie-ins. Free for three static sites.
- Pros: Fair price, simple, good features like autoscaling.
- Cons: Not super customizable for weird needs.
- Pricing: Free for three sites, paid tiers vary DO Pricing.
- Detail: Free three-site tier is a solid start vs. Railway’s costs.
Table
| Platform | Cost | Ease | Scalability | Self-Hosting | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sliplane | €9/month + VAT per server | High | Moderate | No | Limited |
| Coolify | Free or $10/mo (+server) | High | High | Yes | Host-dependent |
| Kamal | Free (+server) | High | Moderate | Yes | Host-dependent |
| Render | Free tier, $19/mo+ | High | High | No | Broad |
| DO App Platform | Free 3 sites, paid tiers | High | High | No | Broad |
Wrap-Up
Sliplane and Coolify save cash for small stuff, tackling Railway’s pricing and uptime and support issues. Render and DigitalOcean are easy managed but expensive options. Kamal’s for DIY types. Pick based on cost and how much you want to mess with servers.
Where do you host Docker apps? What works or doesnt work for you? Share below!
Cheers,
Jonas
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