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DreamHost vs Railway
DreamHost
Railway
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and performance to help you choose the right hosting provider.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | DreamHost | Railway |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | N/A | N/A |
| Price | Not offered | Not offered |
| Storage | 25 GB NVMe SSD | 0.5 GB |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered | Usage-based ($0.05/GB egress) |
| Websites | 25 | Unlimited |
| CPU | N/A | Up to 1 vCPU (2 during trial) |
| RAM | N/A | Up to 0.5 GB (1 GB during trial) |
| Free Domain | ||
| Free SSL | ||
| Server Locations | ||
| Regions | 3 | 4 ★ |
| Locations | US East, Ashburn, Virginia US West, Hillsboro, Oregon Western Europe, Amsterdam | US West, Portland, Oregon US East, Virginia Western Europe Southeast Asia |
| Plan Details | ||
| Limited plan details available | ||
| Backups | ||
| Support | Community | |
| Money-Back Guarantee | ||
| Monthly Visitors | 40k | |
| Email Accounts | 20 Mailboxes | |
Features | ||
CMS & Platforms (7) | ||
Languages & Frameworks (9) | ||
Databases (4) | ||
Developer Tools (8) | ||
Performance & CDN (4) | ||
| Caching | ||
| CDN | ||
| LiteSpeed | ||
| SSD Storage | ||
Security (6) | ||
| 2FA | ||
| Backups | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| Malware Scan | ||
| SSL | ||
| WAF | ||
Support (4) | ||
Extras & Guarantees (5) | ||
| Slight discrepancies are possible. We recommend verifying details on the provider's website. | ||
| Visit DreamHost | Visit Railway | |
Pricing & Plans
DreamHost Plans
Railway Plans
Pros & Cons
DreamHost
Pros
- Industry-leading 97-day money-back guarantee on shared hosting
- Unlimited free SSL certificates on all plans
- Daily automated backups included at no extra cost
- Free domain for 1 year on annual plans
- Officially recommended by WordPress.org
- DreamPress managed WordPress with BunnyCDN and staging
- Unmetered bandwidth on all plans
- Employee-owned company — no corporate conglomerate
Cons
- No cPanel — custom DreamHost panel requires adjustment
- DreamShield malware scanning is a paid add-on ($3.99/mo)
- No Windows hosting — Linux only
- VPS plans do not include root access
- Dedicated servers start at $165/mo — premium pricing
- No phone support — live chat and email only
Railway
Pros
- Instant deployments from GitHub with zero configuration
- Usage-based pricing — pay only for what you use
- Supports any language/framework via Nixpacks auto-detection
- Built-in databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB)
- Automatic SSL certificates on all services
- Private networking between services
- Generous $5/month included credits on Hobby plan
- Simple and transparent per-second billing
- Easy horizontal scaling with replicas
Cons
- No traditional shared hosting features (no cPanel, FTP, email hosting)
- Usage-based pricing can be unpredictable for high-traffic apps
- Free tier is very limited (1 project, no custom domains after trial)
- No phone support — community and ticket-based only
- No managed WordPress hosting
- No money-back guarantee — usage-based billing
- Limited to 2 custom domains on Hobby plan
- Enterprise features require high monthly minimums ($200-$10,000)
Frequently Asked Questions
DreamHost
What is a VPS and who is it for?
A VPS gives you a full virtual server with root access. You install what you need, configure your stack, and run whatever applications you want. It's designed for developers, technical builders, and self-hosters who need flexibility beyond traditional web hosting. If you're running Node, Python, Docker, or anything your AI tools help you build, you're in the right place.If you're looking for a more hands-off experience, you can explore our managed VPS options here.If you're looking to run a WordPress site, DreamPress managed hosting is a better fit.
Do I have to manage the server myself?
You manage your applications and software stack — but we don't disappear. DreamHost guarantees the underlying infrastructure: hardware, network, and uptime. Our support team is available 24/7.
What can I run on a VPS?
Anything that runs on Linux. Node.js, Python services, Docker containers, AI-powered APIs, automation platforms, analytics tools, self-hosted productivity suites, custom databases, game servers — you have complete freedom over the software stack. You can install any OS, runtime, framework, or service you need. If it runs on a Linux server, it runs here.
Are there bandwidth or traffic limitations?
No. All plans include unmetered bandwidth — no transfer caps, no overage fees, no surprises when traffic spikes. You pay the same flat monthly rate whether your app gets 10 visitors or 10,000.
Can I scale up my plan as my project grows?
Yes. You can move between Stack plans as your resource requirements grow — from Stack 4 to Stack 32 is straightforward, and your environment moves with you. Scaling down to a smaller Stack is not currently supported.
What support is included?
DreamHost support is available 24/7 — hardware, network, and connectivity are all supported by our team. You can also reach us via live chat or email through the panel at any time.
Do I really need dedicated server hosting?
If your site slows under heavy traffic, shared resources are holding you back, or you need more control, it may be time to go dedicated server hosting. The whole server is yours: more power, top performance, and root-level control, with no noisy neighbors competing for resources.
What’s the difference between VPS and dedicated server hosting?
A VPS is like renting an apartment in a shared building. Your space is your own, but you still share the walls, plumbing, and power with other tenants. A dedicated server is the whole building, all yours. You get dedicated resources, more power, and full control.
What does my Success Manager actually do?
Your Success Manager gets to know your goals and helps you get more from your server. From onboarding and configuration to performance, security, and scaling recommendations, they offer proactive guidance and connect you with the right DreamHost experts when specialized help is needed.
Is it fully managed, or do I run the server myself?
Fully managed from day one, or self-managed if you like being in charge. With managed, we take care of the hardware, network, OS, and security updates, and core server stack around the clock.
How is my server protected?
Every server ships with always-on DDoS protection, a dedicated firewall, and single-tenant isolation, so your data sits on hardware no one else can touch.
What kind of support do I get?
Real, in-house experts are available 24/7 whenever you need a hand.
Railway
Which plan is right for me?
Hobby is for indie hackers and developers to build and deploy personal projects. Pro is for professional developers and their teams shipping to production. Enterprise is for dev teams building and deploying production applications with large replica size, SLA, and/or compliance needs.
How do I get started with the free Trial?
If you do not already have a Railway account, you can sign up for a free Trial by clicking Login on railway.com.
How does the Trial work?
When you sign up for the free Trial, you will receive a one-time grant of $5 in credits that you can use to try out Railway. The credits will be applied towards any usage on the platform and expire in 30 days. If you upgrade to a plan while you still have a credit balance from the trial, the remaining balance will carry over to your new plan.
How does the Hobby plan included usage work?
Your Hobby plan subscription includes $5 of usage per month. If your total usage at the end of your billing period is $5 or less, you will not be charged extra for usage. If your total usage exceeds $5 in any given billing period, you will be charged total usage.
Does included usage on Hobby accumulate?
Included usage is reset at the end of every billing cycle and does not accumulate over time.
How are sandboxes billed?
Sandboxes run on Railway's VM primitive and bill on VM rates: $50 per GB of memory per month and $50 per vCPU per month, metered per second, plus $0.05 per GB of egress. You pay for the CPU a sandbox actually uses and the memory it holds while running, not for wall-clock uptime, so a sandbox waiting on a model or a user costs almost nothing. Destroyed sandboxes cost nothing, and an idle timeout destroys forgotten ones automatically. Sandbox usage draws from the same included credit as the rest o
How can I get a receipt?
When you make a payment, you will receive an email with your invoice and receipt attached. You can also find your billing history in Account > Billing.
How to add company details on my invoice?
Head to Account > Billing and click 'Manage Subscription'. From there, you can update your billing information, including billing address and Tax ID.
What payment methods are accepted?
Railway accepts credit cards for plan subscriptions and usage. We support invoice payments for customers on the Enterprise plan.
Can I try Railway without a credit card?
Yes. As a new Railway user, you can sign up for a free Trial. You will receive a one-time grant of $5 to use on resources.
Can I upgrade or downgrade at any time?
You can upgrade any time, and when you do, you will get to the features of your new plan, as well as access to more powerful resources, immediately. When you downgrade, the changes will take effect at the beginning of your next billing cycle.
What happens when I cancel my subscription?
When you cancel your subscription, if you're on Hobby or Pro, your plan will remain active through the end of your current billing period, and any usage will be charged at the end of the period. If you are on the Hobby plan and using prepaid credits as your payment method, your subscription will be canceled immediately and any credit balance you may have will be forfeited.
Price History
The prices above are today's. We scrape both providers every night, so you can see what each plan cost before — promo cycles, renewal jumps and repricing included.
Ready to Choose?
Both providers offer great features. Visit their websites to see the latest deals and pricing.
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US East, Ashburn, Virginia
Western Europe, Amsterdam
Western Europe
Southeast Asia