Keep Railway for apps. Move the database to something predictable.
Railway is a great place to run app containers. The database tier - billed by the GB-hour - is where most Railway invoices get noisy. Swyftstack is the focused PostgreSQL + S3 layer that you point your Railway services at.
When Railway is the right tool
- You run several containerised services and you like Railway's project orchestration.
- Your monthly Railway bill is mostly compute, not data, and the database tier is fine.
- You're prototyping and the database is throwaway - usage-meter pricing is cheap for that.
- You want your app and database in the same dashboard for an early-stage team.
When Swyftstack is the obvious choice
- Your Railway invoice is dominated by Postgres GB-hours and egress, and you want a flat number.
- You want daily backups configured for you instead of bolting on a cron job.
- You want object storage on the same bill instead of stitching in R2 or B2.
- You want a one-click restore button, not a manual pg_restore drill at 2am.
- You'd rather email a human than file a ticket and wait.
Railway Hobby vs Swyftstack Starter / Growth
Comparing the data-tier specifically - what you actually get for the database half of the bill.
Railway Hobby | Swyftstack | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price (data tier) | $5 base + GB-hour usage | $19 Starter / $99 Growth ($9 / $49 first 2 months) |
| Predictable monthly bill | No - varies with usage | Yes - flat per tier |
| Real PostgreSQL (no proxy) | Yes | Yes - PG 16 unmodified |
| Database storage included | 5 GB included, then metered | 10 GB Starter / 100 GB Growth |
| Object storage included | Not included | 100 GB Starter / 1 TB Growth |
| Egress included | Metered, $0.05/GB after 100 GB | 500 GB Starter / 5 TB Growth |
| Daily backups | Manual setup / DIY cron | Automatic, encrypted, 7-30 day retention |
| One-click restore | Manual pg_restore | One click |
| Migration tool | Self-service pg_dump | Three-click hosted migration |
| Provisioning time | ~2 minutes | 47 seconds |
| Single invoice for db + storage + egress | Yes (within Railway) | Yes |
| Vendor lock-in | Low - standard PG | Low - standard PG + S3 |
Fix the database number without leaving Railway.
Railway's usage-based pricing is great right up until the database line item starts swinging month to month. If you want that number fixed before the month begins - storage, backups, restore, and egress included - move just the Postgres to Swyftstack and keep deploying everything else on Railway. If you love Railway's all-in-one deploy flow and the variable bill doesn't bother you, there's no reason to switch.
Keep Railway. Just move the database.
You don't have to leave Railway to take the database off the usage meter. Run your app where it is; change one env var.
47 seconds. Copy the connection string.
Paste your Railway Postgres URL. We pg_dump over the wire while your app keeps running.
Change DATABASE_URL on your Railway service. Redeploy.
Only after you're satisfied - the old database stays warm so rollback is free.
What you pay for, what you don't
If your Railway database tier is over $30/mo, the math almost always works in our favour. Bring last month's invoice and we'll do the comparison with you.
Storage, egress, and compute that you actually use. Predictable monthly plan price; overage prices published, not hidden.
Per-seat fees. Per-database fees. "Read replica" fees. Backup storage fees. Bandwidth surprise fees in a different units page.
Migrating off. pg_dump and S3 export work the same as on any standard host. We'll even help you cut over.
Frequently asked
Can I keep Railway and use Swyftstack only for the database?
Yes - that's the most common pattern. Keep your Railway app services exactly where they are; point DATABASE_URL at Swyftstack. The migration tool handles the cut-over.
How does Swyftstack make database spend easier to forecast?
Starter is $9/mo (launch) flat - storage, backups, restore, and 500 GB egress included. You know the database number before the month starts.
Will my Railway Postgres data migrate cleanly?
Yes. We migrate the schema, data, and indexes byte-for-byte. Connection-string-level cut-over - your Railway app code doesn't change.
Does the migration cause downtime?
No. The source database keeps serving traffic during the migration. You only swap DATABASE_URL when verification passes and you're ready.
What if I also need object storage?
Included on every plan through Swyftstack's console/API, signed URLs, scoped credentials, and public object links. Full S3 gateway compatibility is planned but not shipped.
Is this real PostgreSQL or a fork?
Real PostgreSQL 16, straight from postgresql.org. We don't fork or modify the engine. pg_dump, psql, and any standard client work normally.
Where is my data stored?
US or EU - you pick at signup. Encrypted in transit and at rest. Backups are encrypted with separate keys.
Can I move off Swyftstack later?
Yes. PostgreSQL is standard Postgres, and bucket objects can be exported. Take a pg_dump or export your files anytime - we'll even help.
What happens if I outgrow the Starter plan?
Click upgrade. Same database, same connection string, more capacity. No downtime, no migration.
Do I need to manage SSL myself?
No. SSL is on by default, certificates are managed and auto-renewed. Standard rejectUnauthorized: true works out of the box.
Make the database bill predictable.
Three-click migration. Your Railway app stays where it is. Roll back free until you're sure.