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Render vs Railway: free tier and first paid price (checked 2026-10-19)
Render has a free plan that stays free; Railway has no lasting free plan. Render Paid instance (workspace stays Hobby) or Pro workspace: $7/month instance, or Pro workspace $25/month + compute; Railway Hobby: $5/month minimum usage. These first paid prices are not directly comparable from the list prices alone. Only Railway says no card is needed.
| Fact | Render | Railway |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Stays free | No lasting free plan |
| Card for the free plan | Unknown | Not required |
| EU region | Unknown | Unknown |
| First paid plan | Paid instance (workspace stays Hobby) or Pro workspace | Hobby |
| First paid price | $7/month instance, or Pro workspace $25/month + compute | $5/month minimum usage |
| Free plan includes | Hobby workspace is $0/month + compute, for personal projects and prototypes, with 5 GB bandwidth included. Free compute: web services $0/month (512 MB RAM, limitations apply), Postgres $0/month (256 MB RAM, 100 connections), Key Value $0/month (25 MB RAM, 50 connections). FAQ: free compute is for exploring, personal projects, and previews, and has usage limits. | Free is $0 per month to start: '30-day free trial with $5 credits, then $1 per month'. After the trial: up to 1 vCPU / 0.5 GB RAM per service and 0.5 GB volume storage. Page says 'No credit card required'. |
| Free limits |
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| Paid plan note | Smallest paid web service row: less than 1 CPU, 512 MB RAM, $7/month. Pro workspace is $25/month + compute and includes 25 GB bandwidth. | Hobby includes $5 of monthly usage credits. The Free plan itself becomes $1/month after the trial. |
| EU / data region note | Page says 'Global regions & CDN' but does not name an EU city. | Hobby lists 'Global regions'. No EU city is named on the pricing page. |
| Last checked | ||
| Pricing page | render.com/pricing | railway.com/pricing |
Questions
Does Render or Railway have a free plan?
Render has a free plan that stays free; Railway has no lasting free plan. Checked 2026-10-19: Render pricing, Railway pricing.
Which is cheaper to start paying for, Render or Railway?
Render Paid instance (workspace stays Hobby) or Pro workspace: $7/month instance, or Pro workspace $25/month + compute; Railway Hobby: $5/month minimum usage. These first paid prices are not directly comparable from the list prices alone. Checked 2026-10-19: Render pricing, Railway pricing.
Do Render and Railway need a credit card for the free plan?
Render does not say whether a card is needed; Railway says no credit card is needed for the free plan. Checked 2026-10-19: Render pricing, Railway pricing.
Do Render and Railway offer an EU region?
Render does not state an EU region; Railway does not state an EU region. Checked 2026-10-19: Render pricing, Railway pricing.
Sources
- Render pricing page (checked 2026-10-19)
- Railway pricing page (checked 2026-10-19)
Every cell is copied from the official pricing pages. The verdict is generated from those fields and makes no other claims. "Unknown" means the page did not say. Prices change: check the vendor page before you buy.
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