Compare a Next.js-first frontend cloud against a general-purpose app platform that hosts any long-running service.
Pick Vercel when the workload is a Next.js app — preview deploys, edge functions, and zero-config framework support are the point. Pick Railway when you need a real always-on backend — Postgres, Redis, workers, cron — alongside your web service, and you'd rather not stitch together a separate frontend cloud and a backend host.
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| Attribute | Vercel | Railway |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Hosting | Hosting |
| Pricing Model | freemium | freemium |
| Starting Price | Free / $20/mo | Free / $5/mo |
| Free Tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open Source | No | No |
| Platforms | web, serverless, edge | — |
