OpenTools vs Railway
On the prices we found, Railway costs more than OpenTools for each app we list. What each price buys is below.
Prices, app by app
| App | OpenTools | Railway | Railway’s price is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| BookStack | $5Dev plan, a month | $16.70$20 with backups (Pro)More than OpenTools | Estimate: the template’s app and database at Railway’s rates |
| Ghost | $10Dev plan, a month | $15.30$20 with backups (Pro)More than OpenTools | Estimate: the app and MySQL at Railway’s rates |
| listmonk | $5Dev plan, a month | $13.80$20 with backups (Pro)More than OpenTools | Estimate: the app and Postgres at Railway’s rates |
| Memos | $5Dev plan, a month | $13.80$20 with backups (Pro)More than OpenTools | Estimate: the app and Postgres at Railway’s rates |
| Umami | $5Dev plan, a month | $14.50$20 with backups (Pro)More than OpenTools | Estimate: the template’s app and database at Railway’s rates |
| Uptime Kuma | $5Dev plan, a month | $10.15$20 with backups (Pro)More than OpenTools | Estimate: one service with a 1 GB volume at Railway’s rates |
| Wiki.js | $5Dev plan, a month | $13.80$20 with backups (Pro)More than OpenTools | Estimate: the app and Postgres at Railway’s rates |
US dollars a month before tax, as checked on 14 October 2026, for the smallest size Railway allows or recommends for each app. Prices change: check Railway before you decide. Railway estimates assume, per service: the main app 0.5 GB memory, 0.25 vCPU on average and a 1 GB volume ($10.15); Postgres 0.25 GB, 0.05 vCPU and 1 GB ($3.65); MySQL 0.4 GB ($5.15); Redis $0.70; ClickHouse 1 GB and 0.1 vCPU ($12.15). The bill is the larger of the plan fee and usage, and backups need Pro, so at least $20 with backups.
How Railway bills
A plan fee plus usage by the second: Hobby is $5 a month including $5 of usage, Pro $20 a month per workspace including $20. Memory is $10 per GB a month, CPU $20 per vCPU a month, volumes $0.15 per GB a month and outbound traffic $0.05 per GB. You pay the larger of the plan fee and your usage. From $5 a month on Hobby, or $20 on Pro, which has backups.
OpenTools charges a flat price per app: Dev is $5 for a light app, $10 for a medium one and $35 for a heavy one, for up to 10 people. Add-ons cost extra, from $2 an app a month (more users, more storage, longer backups, a person who fixes outages), and Email support is $49 an account a month. Anything bigger is a request, quoted first.
What’s included
| OpenTools Dev | Railway | |
|---|---|---|
| People who sign in | 10 people included; 25 with More users (+$5 an app a month). More than that is a request. | No limit from Railway: whatever the app allows. |
| Backups | Daily, the database and the app’s files, encrypted and stored off the server, kept 7 days. Included. Longer backups ($2 an app a month) keeps them 30 days, with a weekly test restore. | Built-in volume backups on Pro and Enterprise only, not on Hobby. |
| Updates | We test each new version first, then apply it for you each week, with a backup first and an automatic rollback if the app doesn’t answer. You can switch it off and update in one click instead. | Watches the Docker images and shows an update button; automatic updates on a schedule are optional. No testing step. |
| Custom domain | Included, with a free Let’s Encrypt certificate. | Included, with automatic HTTPS. |
| Data export | “Download my data” in your account: a database dump and the app’s files, any time. | Through the Railway CLI or SSH. |
| Support | Docs only. Add-ons: Email support ($49 an account a month), a reply within a business day, and We fix outages ($25 an app a month), a person who fixes the app when it’s down. | Hobby: the community forum only (“responses not guaranteed”). Pro: direct support, “usually within 72 hours”. No help with the app itself. |
The differences, plainly
- Price: Railway bills by usage, so the price depends on how busy the app is. By our estimate a typical app with its database comes to about $10 to $26 a month. Hobby has no built-in backups; Pro, which has them, costs at least $20 a month.
- Backups: included on Dev, nightly and kept 7 days (30 with Longer backups ($2 an app a month)). On Railway they need Pro.
- Updates: Railway offers a new image as soon as it appears, with no testing step. On Dev, each version is tested by us before it’s applied for you, and an update that fails rolls back by itself.
- People: Railway doesn’t limit who signs in to an app. Dev includes 10 people per app, and 25 with More users ($5 an app a month).
- Support: Railway’s direct support needs Pro, and doesn’t cover the app itself. Dev is docs only; Email support ($49 an account a month) is an add-on that answers questions about the app too.
- Flexibility: Railway runs any container or your own code next to the app. Dev runs one tested app per subscription.
When to choose Railway
- You want to run your own code or other services next to the app.
- You’re already on Railway Pro and want everything in one place.
- You want to tune memory and CPU yourself and pay only for what the app uses.
When to choose OpenTools
- You want backups included, encrypted and off the server, without setting up storage of your own.
- You want each update tested and applied for you, with a backup first and an automatic rollback.
- You want one flat price per app, with no sizing.
- You might move to your own server later: each app we sell has a self-hosting guide built from the same tested setup.
Sources
Checked on 14 October 2026: Railway pricing · Railway plans · Railway volume backups · Railway support. OpenTools: the plan, add-ons and prices.