Is Railway free?
Last updated
Short answer: Partly. New accounts get a 30-day trial with a one-time $5 credit and no credit card. After 30 days, or once the $5 is spent, the account moves to the Free plan: $0 a month with $1 of usage credit each month (it doesn't roll over). Anything always-on usually needs Hobby, which has a $5 monthly minimum that includes $5 of usage.
The trial
Railway gives new users a one-time grant of $5 in credits, applied to any usage and expiring after 30 days. No credit card is required. If you upgrade while trial credit is left, the remaining balance carries over to the new plan.
The Free plan after the trial
Per Railway's docs, the trial reverts to the Free plan, which provides $1 of free credit per month. Free plan limits on Railway's pricing page: up to 1 vCPU and 0.5 GB RAM per service, 0.5 GB of volume storage, and community support. Global regions and some networking features are trial-only.
What a small app really costs
Railway bills usage per second (memory $0.00000386 per GB-second, CPU $0.00000772 per vCPU-second, egress $0.05 per GB). A service that stays on all month usually uses more than $1, so most people running a real app end up on Hobby: a $5 minimum that includes $5 of usage, with extra usage billed on top. Pro is a $20 minimum that includes $20.
Sources
- Railway pricing, checked 2026-10-15
- Railway docs: free trial, checked 2026-10-15
Options and entry prices
| Service | Pricing (vendor page) | Checked | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Railway | Free: 30-day trial with $5 credits, then the Free plan at $0/mo with $1 of usage credit per month (up to 1 vCPU / 0.5 GB RAM per service). Hobby: $5 minimum usage, includes $5 of monthly usage. Pro: $20 minimum usage, includes $20. Usage billed per second (CPU $0.00000772/vCPU-sec, memory $0.00000386/GB-sec, egress $0.05/GB). | 2026-10-15 | Try Railway affiliate link |
| Render | Hobby $0/mo + compute (up to 25 services, 5 GB bandwidth). Pro $25/mo + compute. Scale $499/mo + compute. Enterprise custom. | 2026-10-14 | Try Render |
| Netlify | Free $0 forever (300 credits/month). Personal $9/mo (1,000 credits). Pro $20/mo with unlimited members (3,000 to 20,000 credits tiers). Enterprise custom. | 2026-10-14 | Try Netlify |
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Pricing summaries copied from each vendor's page, not a scored ranking. Units differ between vendors.
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FAQ
Do I need a credit card to try Railway?
No. Railway's pricing FAQ says new users can start the free trial without a credit card and receive a one-time $5 grant.
Does Railway's free credit roll over?
No. The Free plan's $1 of monthly credit does not roll over month to month, per Railway's docs.
What happens when the Railway trial ends?
After 30 days or once the $5 is used, the account reverts to the Free plan with $1 of credit per month and lower resource limits.
Is Railway cheaper than Render or Vercel?
It depends on what runs. Railway bills by actual usage; Render and Vercel charge plan fees plus compute or usage. See the comparison linked below.
Next steps
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- Railway cost calculator estimate your monthly bill
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- Affiliate disclosure
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