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Railway vs Fly.io: which free plan?
Fly.io's free plan has ended, so Railway is the one you can still sign up for free.
Both checked against their official pricing pages on 1 Nov 2026.
| Type | Usage-based PaaS | Global app VMs |
|---|---|---|
| Free-tier score | 78 / 100 | 70 / 100 |
| Card to sign up | Not required | Required |
| Free plan ends | Credits: $5 for 30 days, then $1 / month | Trial: 2 machine-hours or 7 days |
| Sleeps when idle | No | No |
| Commercial use | Not stated | Allowed |
| Own domain on free | Yes | Yes |
| Free subdomain | *.up.railway.app | *.fly.dev |
| Free limits |
|
|
| The catch | $1 of monthly credit runs out quickly, so most always-on apps need the $5 Hobby plan. | The trial ends after 2 machine-hours, so you need a card for anything lasting. |
| Paid from | $5/mo (Hobby (includes $5 usage)) | $2.19/mo (Pay as you go (shared-cpu-1x 256 MB)) |
| Source | Official pricing for Railway (opens in a new tab) | Official pricing for Fly.io (opens in a new tab) |
Which one should you pick?
Pick Railway if…
- you do not want to add a card
- your project is: trying apps with a database
Pick Fly.io if…
Free allowances (3 small VMs, 3 GB volumes, 100 GB transfer) ended for new organisations on 7 October 2024; new accounts get only a trial of 2 machine-hours or 7 days.
Questions
Which is better for free, Railway or Fly.io?
Fly.io's free plan has ended, so Railway is the one you can still sign up for free.
Does Railway or Fly.io need a credit card?
Railway: no. Fly.io: yes.
What is the catch with Railway and Fly.io?
Railway: $1 of monthly credit runs out quickly, so most always-on apps need the $5 Hobby plan. Fly.io: The trial ends after 2 machine-hours, so you need a card for anything lasting.