Originally published at devtoolpicks.com
All three platforms can run your SaaS reliably. The question is which fits your project type, team size, and technical comfort level.
The answer is not always the same. A Next.js marketing site and a Laravel SaaS with a background job queue have very different requirements. A solo developer and a team of five have different seat-cost tolerances. Here is how to think through the decision.
Quick Decision Guide
Use Vercel When
Your project is Next.js or frontend-heavy. Vercel is built by the team that created Next.js. Features like Incremental Static Regeneration, the Image Optimization API, Server Components, and Edge Middleware work better on Vercel than anywhere else. If your stack is Next.js, the deployment experience on Vercel is genuinely the best available.
You want zero-config deploys and do not want to think about infrastructure. Vercel handles SSL, CDN, preview deployments for every branch, and auto-scaling without any configuration. For a solo developer who wants to push code and have it live in 30 seconds, this is valuable. No Nginx configs, no Docker, no deployment scripts.
You are prototyping or building a personal project. The Hobby plan is free for non-commercial use and is genuinely capable for learning and testing. Portfolio sites, open source projects, and personal tools run well on it.
Your app is stateless and frontend-first. Vercel's serverless functions work well for API routes that handle short-lived requests without persistent connections. If your backend is mostly thin API routes calling external services, Vercel handles this cleanly.
The $20/month Pro seat is acceptable. For a solo commercial SaaS, $20/month for hosting is reasonable. The per-seat model only becomes painful with a growing team: two developers pay $40, five pay $100, before any usage charges.
Avoid Vercel when: You have heavy backend workloads with long-running processes, persistent connections (WebSockets), or large file storage needs. Also avoid when you need a database co-located with your app, since Vercel does not provide managed databases natively.
Use Railway When
You need a full-stack app with a database, without managing servers. Railway lets you deploy a backend service and a PostgreSQL database from the same dashboard in minutes. No VPS to configure, no database backups to set up manually, no connection pooling headaches. For a solo founder who wants a production-grade setup without DevOps work, Railway hits the right balance.
Your stack is not Next.js. Railway supports any language that runs in Docker: Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, Rust, PHP. If you are building a Python FastAPI backend or a Go service, Railway is easier to set up than Vercel and gives you more flexibility than serverless platforms.
You want usage-based billing that starts small. The Hobby plan at $5/month includes $5 of usage credits. A simple Node.js app with PostgreSQL typically costs $8-15/month total. You pay for what you use, and the platform scales with your app rather than requiring upfront commitment.
You are migrating off Heroku. Railway's developer experience is the closest Heroku replacement available. The CLI, the dashboard, the Git-push-to-deploy workflow, and the native database support are all designed to feel familiar. Many developers made this switch when Heroku removed its free tier.
Avoid Railway when: Your app is a high-traffic workload where compute costs accumulate. A 1 vCPU / 1 GB container running 24/7 on Railway costs roughly $30/month. At higher traffic levels, a Hetzner VPS running the same workload costs $6-10/month. Once your Railway bill regularly exceeds $40-50/month, evaluate a VPS migration.
For a head-to-head look at how Railway compares to Render and Fly.io, see the Railway vs Render vs Fly.io comparison.
Use Hetzner When
You want the lowest cost at any traffic level. A Hetzner CX22 (2 vCPU, 4GB RAM) costs roughly €5.83/month. No per-request charges, no per-seat fees, no bandwidth metering beyond a generous included limit. A SaaS handling 100,000 monthly active users costs the same to host as one with 1,000 users, as long as the server has enough RAM.
You are building on Laravel or PHP. Tools like Laravel Forge ($12/month) and Ploi ($8/month) manage server provisioning, deployments, SSL, and database backups on top of a Hetzner VPS with minimal manual work. The Laravel community has gravitated toward this stack for years, and the tooling is purpose-built for it. See the Laravel Forge vs Ploi vs Coolify comparison for a full breakdown of server management options.
You want predictable billing. Railway and Vercel both have usage-based components that can surprise you during traffic spikes. Hetzner is a fixed monthly fee. You know exactly what you will pay regardless of how many requests your app serves.
You are comfortable with a VPS or willing to learn. Self-hosting on Hetzner means managing deployments, setting up CI/CD, handling database backups, and maintaining server security. Tools like Coolify reduce this overhead significantly, but the responsibility is yours. If a server goes down at 2am, you are the one who fixes it.
You are cost-conscious past the early stage. Many founders start on Railway for convenience and migrate to Hetzner when their monthly bill exceeds $40-50. The migration is a few hours of work and saves meaningfully as revenue grows. For a broader look at Vercel alternatives for this exact transition, see the best Vercel alternatives post.
Avoid Hetzner when: You are moving fast and want zero infrastructure overhead. At the early stage, the time cost of managing a VPS often exceeds the money saved. Railway or Vercel gives you that time back.
The Real Cost for a Solo SaaS
A typical solo SaaS: one web service, one PostgreSQL database, low to moderate traffic.
Vercel: $20/month (Pro, required for commercial use) plus usage overages. Database not included, so you need a separate managed database (Supabase, Neon, PlanetScale) adding another $0-25/month. Total realistic cost for a solo SaaS: $20-45/month.
Railway: $5-15/month for the Hobby plan covering a web service and PostgreSQL. Pro at $20/month if you need team seats or higher resource limits. No database costs on top since Railway hosts it natively.
Hetzner: $6-10/month for the VPS. Add $8-12/month for a server management tool (Forge or Ploi) if you want managed deployments, or use Coolify for free. Total: $6-22/month depending on tooling choice. Predictable every month regardless of traffic.
For a solo developer building a commercial SaaS, Railway at $10-15/month or Hetzner at $6-22/month both undercut Vercel Pro at $20/month plus database costs. Vercel earns back its cost through superior Next.js performance and the zero-config deployment experience, which has real value for developers who want to spend zero time on infrastructure. Choose based on your stack first, then budget.
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