Railway vs Vercel
Railway vs Vercel compared for European indie developers and small startups. Pricing, EU jurisdiction, GDPR posture — and why Runsite (an EU-registered PaaS in Frankfurt) is worth a look.
// railway problems → runsite solutions
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.
// 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 |
// the other side
What about Vercel?
Vercel is great for frontend. But if you need backend hosting in Europe with GDPR compliance, Runsite is the answer.
// vercel problems → runsite solutions
Sound Familiar?
Every Vercel frustration, solved.
Vercel problem
"Vercel is frontend-only"
Need to deploy a Python API or Go service? Vercel's serverless model doesn't support long-running backend processes.
Runsite solution
Full container hosting, any stack
Deploy Django, FastAPI, Express, Go, or Rust in persistent containers. No cold starts, no function timeouts.
Vercel problem
"Origin servers are in the US"
Vercel's edge caches content globally, but your serverless functions and data origin are US-based.
Runsite solution
EU-only infrastructure
Compute, storage, and databases all run in EU data centers. True data residency, not just edge caching.
Vercel problem
"Surprise bills from function invocations"
Serverless pricing is unpredictable. A traffic spike can lead to unexpected charges.
Runsite solution
Fixed pricing + hard spending caps
Predictable monthly bills. Set a cap, get alerts. No pay-per-request surprises.
// comparison
Runsite vs Vercel
Side-by-side. No marketing fluff — just facts.
| Feature | Runsite | Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Backend Hosting | ✓ Full containers, any stack | Serverless functions only |
| EU Data Centers | ✓ Frankfurt (eu-central) | Edge only, origin = US |
| GDPR Compliance | ✓ EU entity, full compliance | ✗ US company |
| Managed PostgreSQL | ✓ From €5/mo | Via Vercel Postgres (Neon) |
| Docker Support | ✓ Any Dockerfile | ✗ Not supported |
| Spending Limits | ✓ Hard cap + alerts | Soft limits only |
| Frontend Hosting | Static files via S3 | ✓ Best-in-class CDN |
| Free Tier | ✓ Permanent | ✓ With limits |
// why consider runsite
Beyond Railway and Vercel
EU PaaS for indie developers and small European startups. One region: Frankfurt.
EU-First Infrastructure
While Railway and Vercel default to US markets, Runsite is built exclusively for European developers. Frankfurt (eu-central) region, EU entity, EU jurisdiction — no transatlantic transfers.
Real GDPR Compliance
EU-registered entity. Your data is governed by European law. No US jurisdiction, no CLOUD Act.
Predictable Pricing
No per-invocation charges, no surprise bills. Fixed plans with hard spending caps and Telegram alerts.
Common Questions
FAQ
Which is better for EU hosting, Railway or Vercel?
Neither Railway nor Vercel is EU-native. Both are US-headquartered and route the majority of traffic through US data centers. For genuine EU data residency, an EU-registered platform like Runsite is the safer choice — a Frankfurt (eu-central) region under EU jurisdiction, no transatlantic transfers, no CLOUD Act exposure.
Which has the better free tier, Railway or Vercel?
Free tiers on both Railway and Vercel change frequently and often include compute or bandwidth caps that expire after a trial period. If a permanent free tier matters, evaluate the current terms on each provider before committing.
Is Railway or Vercel GDPR-compliant?
Both can be configured to support GDPR-compliant workloads via Data Processing Agreements (DPAs), but as US entities they remain subject to the CLOUD Act. For workloads where US jurisdiction is a hard blocker, an EU-headquartered provider is required.
What is the cheapest way to deploy a side project — Railway or Vercel?
Pricing on both Railway and Vercel can scale unpredictably with traffic or build minutes. Hard spending caps are not available on either platform. Predictable monthly pricing with usage caps is a differentiator to look for elsewhere.
// explore alternatives
Try the European Alternative
Skip the Railway vs Vercel debate. Deploy on Runsite.
Start Free on Runsite →