$20 minimum with higher resource limits and unlimited team seats.
- Why it fits
- Full-stack apps and APIs where you want the app and its database running in minutes.
- How deploys work
- Connect a repo or image; Railway detects the build, deploys it, and adds databases with one click.
- The tradeoff
- Pure usage billing means the bill moves with your traffic — predictable only while the app is small.
Horizontal scaling; database and extra transfer on top.
- Why it fits
- Apps that want git-push deploys inside a provider they can grow with.
- How deploys work
- Connect the Git repo or a container image; App Platform builds, deploys, and scales it.
- The tradeoff
- Weaker compute per dollar than a Droplet — the convenience premium is real.
Two Standard-1X dynos; realistic totals depend heavily on add-ons.
- Why it fits
- Teams that already know Heroku and value its mature workflow over price.
- How deploys work
- git push heroku main; buildpacks detect the stack and the platform handles the rest.
- The tradeoff
- You pay a platform premium — comparable raw compute costs a third as much elsewhere.
