Railway vs Render vs Fly.io: cost at 100k visits
Updated 2026-10-21
Same app, three usage-based container hosts: one small always-on Node service serving 100,000 visits a month (about 150 GB of transfer at 1.5 MB per visit).
| Host | Setup assumed | Est. / month |
|---|---|---|
| Railway | Hobby plan ($5, includes $5 usage); 0.5 GB RAM (~$5) + ~0.1 vCPU average (~$2, assumed) + 150 GB egress at $0.05/GB | $14.50 |
| Render | Hobby workspace ($0) + $7 web service (512 MB) + 145 GB over the 5 GB allowance at $0.15/GB | $28.75 |
| Fly.io | shared-cpu-1x 512 MB in iad ($3.69) + 150 GB at $0.02/GB | $6.69 |
What drives the difference
Bandwidth. At 150 GB, transfer is most of the bill. Render's $0.15/GB after 5 GB costs about 7x Fly.io's $0.02/GB. Railway's $0.05/GB sits between them.
Region. Fly.io charges $0.04/GB for traffic leaving South America or Asia-Pacific regions, which doubles its egress line if you serve from there.
Free allowances. Fly.io has no free tier (trial only). Railway's Hobby fee is a usage credit, so a tiny app costs exactly $5. Render's free web service has limits and is not meant for production.
Verdict
For a bandwidth-heavy app, Fly.io is cheapest on paper. Railway is the simplest if you also want a database in the same project. Render's flat instance prices are predictable, but put a CDN in front or keep pages light because of its bandwidth rate. If most of your pages are static, Cloudflare (no egress fees) beats all three.
Estimates only. CPU use, databases, volumes and build minutes are excluded unless stated.
Sources
- https://railway.com/pricing (checked 2026-10-21)
- https://render.com/pricing (checked 2026-10-21)
- https://fly.io/docs/about/pricing/ (checked 2026-10-21)
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