The Reality Check Nobody Tells You
Here's how I tested this shit: Same Express.js API, same PostgreSQL database, same codebase deployed to all four platforms. I didn't cherry-pick easy apps or optimize for any specific platform. Just a real-world Node.js API with auth, file uploads, and database queries. Ran it for 30 days straight and logged every dollar spent, every minute of downtime, every random error that made me want to switch careers.
Vercel is stupid fast for React apps. My Next.js site loaded in 32ms from London (performance benchmarks show consistent sub-50ms response times). But holy shit, the bandwidth charges will destroy you. One viral TikTok about my side project cost me $240 in overages. They don't warn you until after you're fucked. Check their pricing calculator and traffic monitoring docs before you commit to anything serious.
Railway feels like Heroku but actually works. The dashboard updates in real-time which is nice when you're debugging at 2am. Their old build system was garbage, but they switched to Railpack earlier this year and builds got way faster (Railpack reduces image sizes significantly compared to Nixpacks). Check their pricing docs and usage-based billing guide to understand costs. Still, that $5 monthly credit runs out fast - my bill hit $47 by day 20.
Render is boring as hell but reliable. Had zero downtime in 30 days while Railway went down twice and Vercel had those weird edge function timeouts (check Render's status page for their impressive uptime record). Their pricing is transparent with no bandwidth surprises, and their getting started guide is actually useful. It's like the Toyota Camry of deployment platforms - not exciting, but it starts every morning.
Fly.io is for people who actually understand Docker. Their CLI is surprisingly good and the global deployment is legit - had my app running in 6 regions with one command (35 regions available globally). Their Docker deployment guide is comprehensive, but the pricing calculator made no sense and I got random $12 bandwidth charges from Mumbai that I'm still trying to figure out.
What Actually Matters When Choosing
Your App Architecture (This Actually Affects Cost)
- Static sites or Next.js: Vercel wins, but watch the bandwidth
- Full-stack Node/Python/Ruby: Railway or Render, skip the serverless headaches
- Docker containers: Fly.io if you know what you're doing
- WordPress or anything traditional: Just use Render and sleep well
Real Cost Examples (From My Bills)
- Low traffic blog (1K visits/month): Railway about $8, Render was a bit cheaper at $7, Vercel was free until I got some traffic. Fly.io? I honestly can't figure out their pricing - ended up being like $15 for basically nothing.
- Medium traffic API (50K requests/month): Railway hit $23, Render was similar at $25, Vercel jumped to $45 with those function calls. Fly.io was around $31.
- High bandwidth app (500GB/month): Railway cost me $89, Render was $125, Vercel was fucking expensive at $780, Fly.io was $156 but I still don't understand why.
When Shit Hits the Fan at 2am (And It Will)
This is where you find out which platform gives a damn about you. Railway's support answered in 20 minutes when my database got corrupted - I was genuinely shocked. Vercel's community forum is a wasteland but their docs are actually helpful if you can find the right section. Render support takes 48 hours to respond but they'll stick with you until the problem's fixed. Fly.io expects you to debug everything yourself, which is fine if you're that kind of developer, infuriating if you're not.
But enough talk. You want numbers and specifics. Let's break down what each platform actually costs and where they'll screw you over.
