Why migrate
Why teams are leaving Railway
Unpredictable Bills
Usage-based pricing means your bill changes every month. The $5/mo hobby plan quickly balloons with CPU, memory, and egress charges. Teams report surprise bills 3-5x expected.
No Managed Services
No curated catalog of managed applications. You deploy via Docker with no preconfigured backups, updates, or monitoring. Operational maintenance is on you.
Shared Containers, Limited Regions
Your app competes for resources with other tenants. Limited regions mean higher latency. Elestio offers dedicated VMs across 9 providers.
Railway vs Elestio: Before & After Migration
See exactly what changes when you move to Elestio. Compare across the areas that matter most to your team.
| Criteria | Railway (Before) | Elestio (After) |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Usage-based (unpredictable) | Per-hour, ~$11/mo (24/7) — see pricing |
| Infrastructure | Shared containers | Dedicated VMs with root access |
| Managed services | Deploy your own via Docker | 400+ preconfigured services |
| Automated backups | Manual setup required | Daily automated backups included |
| OS & security updates | Not managed | Automated with zero-downtime |
| Cloud providers | 1 (Railway infra) | 9 providers, 100+ regions |
| Monitoring & alerts | Basic metrics | Built-in monitoring + alerts |
| Support | Community + email | 24/7 expert support (email + dashboard) |
| CI/CD | Git-push deploys | Built-in CI/CD + Git integration |
| High availability | Not available natively | Multi-node clusters available |
Migrate from Railway to Elestio in 5 Steps
No Docker expertise needed. No complex CLI commands. Follow these steps to complete your migration.
Inventory Your Railway Services
List all services running on Railway: applications, databases, cron jobs, and environment variables. Export your Railway environment variables from each service's settings panel. Note database types and sizes.
Deploy Equivalent Services on Elestio
Browse Elestio's 400+ service catalog and deploy the same tools you used on Railway. PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, n8n, Supabase, and more are available with one click. Choose your preferred cloud provider and region.
Migrate Your Data
Elestio provides built-in migration tools in the dashboard for most databases. Follow our step-by-step migration guides to transfer your data. Our support team can assist you directly if needed.
Configure Environment & Custom Domains
Set your environment variables in the Elestio dashboard. Configure custom domains with automatic SSL. Set up CI/CD pipelines if you use Git-based deployments. Test everything while Railway is still running.
Switch DNS & Decommission Railway
Once verified, update your DNS records to point to Elestio. Monitor for 24-48 hours to confirm everything is stable. Then cancel your Railway plan. Total migration time: under 30 minutes for most setups.
What You Get After Migration
Every Elestio service includes these features at no extra cost.
Predictable Costs
Predictable per-hour pricing with no usage surprises. Know exactly what you'll pay before you deploy. Plans start at ~$11/mo (24/7) with dedicated resources.
Fully Managed Operations
Automated backups, OS updates, security patches, and monitoring. No more DevOps overhead -- Elestio handles the infrastructure so you can focus on building.
Multi-Cloud Freedom
Deploy on AWS, GCP, Azure, Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, OVH, or Scaleway. Choose the provider and region that best fits your needs and budget.
24/7 Expert Support
Real engineers available via email and dashboard around the clock. Not AI chatbots, not ticket queues -- actual experts who know your stack.
Cost Savings: Railway vs Elestio
Real-world pricing scenarios based on typical deployments. Elestio pricing is fixed and all-inclusive.
| Scenario | Railway Cost | Elestio Cost | You Save |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small 1 app + 1 database, light traffic |
~$50/mo Hobby $5/mo + resource overages |
$11/mo Managed VM, backups included |
78% |
| Medium 3 apps + 2 databases + Redis |
~$100/mo Pro $20/mo + heavy usage |
$28/mo 2 managed VMs |
72% |
| Production 5+ apps + databases + CI/CD + monitoring |
~$150/mo Pro plan + high resource usage |
~$80/mo 3 managed VMs, full stack |
47% |
Reviews
Trusted by 10,000+ Developers Worldwide
Real reviews from real users on Trustpilot.
"I'm in the IT industry for over 25 years and Elestio stands out in many ways. The managed services are top-notch, support is incredibly fast, and the platform just works. Couldn't be better!"
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
-
How long does it take to migrate from Railway to Elestio?
Most migrations take under 30 minutes. You can deploy your services from Elestio's catalog instantly and migrate your data using Elestio's built-in migration tools or follow our migration guides at docs.elest.io.
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Will I experience downtime during migration?
No. We recommend running both platforms in parallel during migration. Deploy on Elestio first, migrate your data, verify everything works, then switch your DNS. Zero downtime.
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Can I use the same tools I had on Railway?
Yes. Elestio offers 400+ managed services including all popular databases, frameworks, and applications. Most tools available on Railway are available on Elestio with full management included.
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How does Elestio pricing compare to Railway?
Elestio uses predictable per-hour pricing (~$11/mo if 24/7) for a fully managed VM. Unlike Railway's usage-based model where bills can spike unexpectedly, you always know exactly what you'll pay.
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Do I need Docker knowledge to use Elestio?
No. While Railway relies on Docker and Nixpacks for deployment, Elestio lets you deploy from a curated catalog with one click. No Dockerfiles, no build configurations needed.
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Does Elestio provide migration support?
Yes. Elestio provides 24/7 expert support via email and the dashboard. Our team can guide you through the migration process and help troubleshoot any issues.