Railway →
Same DX, EU Data Residency
Railway is developer-friendly but US-based. Runsite offers the same DX with EU data centers and GDPR compliance.
Best Railway alternative: quick answer
The best Railway alternative depends on your stack, but for EU-based indie developers and small startups, Runsite is the strongest option: GDPR-compliant hosting in Frankfurt (eu-central), predictable EUR pricing with hard spending caps, and a permanent free tier that needs no credit card. Unlike Railway, your data never leaves the EU or falls under the US CLOUD Act, so compliance is the default rather than a configuration step.
// comparison
Runsite vs Railway
Side-by-side. No marketing fluff, just facts.
| Feature | Runsite | Railway |
|---|---|---|
| EU Data Centers | ✓ Frankfurt (eu-central) | ✗ US-West only |
| GDPR Compliance | ✓ EU entity, full compliance | ✗ US company |
| Free Tier | ✓ Permanent | ✓ $5 trial credit |
| Web Service Pricing | €5/mo | ~$5/mo (usage-based) |
| Managed PostgreSQL | ✓ From €5/mo | ✓ Usage-based |
| Deploy from Git | ✓ | ✓ |
| Spending Limits | ✓ Hard cap + alerts | ✓ Usage limits |
| Object Storage | ✓ S3-compatible | ✗ Via volumes only |
Pricing and feature details verified June 2026. Always confirm current rates on Railway’s official pricing page.
// in-depth comparison
Railway vs Runsite: What You Need to Know
You probably picked Railway for its DX, and it earns that reputation. The dashboard is clean, deployments are fast, and the usage-based pricing model is straightforward once you understand it. As a modern PaaS without legacy baggage, it is a strong contender.
Where it leaves you exposed is geography. Railway runs exclusively in US-West-1, with no European regions, which means higher latency for your EU users and no option for EU data residency. The $5 trial credit also depletes quickly, dropping you onto pure usage-based billing with no free fallback. Runsite runs in Frankfurt (eu-central), a fully EU-jurisdictional region, is incorporated as an EU legal entity, and includes built-in S3-compatible object storage that Railway lacks.
If you are building products for European markets, or you want a permanent free tier for side projects instead of a trial credit, Runsite is worth a look. The developer experience is comparable, but the infrastructure is EU-native from the ground up.
// why switch
Built for European Developers
Everything you need, nothing you don't. Hosted where your users are.
EU Infrastructure
Railway runs in US-West. If you serve European users or need GDPR compliance, Runsite is the EU-native choice.
Real Free Tier
Railway gives you $5 trial credit. Runsite gives you a permanent free tier: no credit card, no expiry.
Built-in Object Storage
S3-compatible storage included. No need for external services like AWS S3 or Cloudflare R2.
// railway problems → runsite solutions
Common Railway frustrations. Sound familiar?
Every Railway frustration, solved.
Railway problem
"Railway only has US servers"
All Railway deployments run in US-West-1. European users experience higher latency.
Runsite solution
EU-only Frankfurt region
Deploy to Frankfurt (eu-central) with EU data residency. Sub-20ms latency for European users.
Railway problem
"$5 free trial runs out fast"
Railway's trial credit depletes quickly. After that, you're on usage-based billing with no free option.
Runsite solution
Permanent free tier
No trial. No credit card. Build and deploy side projects forever at zero cost.
Railway problem
"No built-in object storage"
Railway offers persistent volumes but no S3-compatible object storage. You need external providers.
Runsite solution
S3-compatible storage included
Store files, assets, and backups with built-in S3-compatible object storage. No third-party setup needed.
// getting started
Deploy in 3 Steps
From git push to live, in under 2 minutes.
curl -fsSL https://runsite.app/install | sh runsite init --from github runsite deploy --region eu-central // same platform, other angles
Keep exploring
Switch to EU-Native Hosting
Same developer experience. European infrastructure.
Start Free on Runsite →