Railway vs WorkOS — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Railway starts at $5/mo. WorkOS starts at $125/mo. Railway is $120/mo cheaper on the entry tier than WorkOS.
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- Railway (Hybrid) — Railway is hybrid: a fixed subscription from $5/mo plus metered usage on top (Usage credits). Your real bill moves with volume, not seat count.
- WorkOS (Unknown model) — WorkOS bills on a fixed plan from $125/mo, so the listed price is what you pay regardless of volume.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
Modern PaaS positioned as the alternative to Heroku for developers who want git-push-to-deploy simplicity plus per-resource billing. Distinctive for its usage-based pricing (compute per GB-hour, RAM per GB-hour) versus flat dyno pricing at Heroku. Free trial credits give hobby projects room; production apps typically $20-$500/mo. YC-backed, popular with indie hackers and Series A/B startups.
Enterprise-ready authentication + user management, positioned as the alternative to building SSO/SCIM/directory sync from scratch. Distinctive per-connection pricing model — $125/mo per SSO connection (vs Clerk's bundled 1 free SSO on Pro). AuthKit free for first 1M users. Popular with B2B SaaS that need to close enterprise deals requiring SAML, SCIM, and audit logs — the "unlock enterprise revenue" tool.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Railway monthly | Railway annual | WorkOS monthly | WorkOS annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Free Trial / AuthKit Free | Free | — | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Hobby / SSO | $5 | — | $125 | $125 |
| Mid tier | — / Directory Sync | — | — | $125 | $125 |
| Pro / power | Pro / Audit Logs | $20 | — | $125 | $125 |
| Enterprise | Enterprise / Custom Domains | Custom | Custom | $99 | $99 |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Railway is worth it if… developers building side projects or small production apps who want Heroku-style ease with modern pricing — deploy any GitHub repo in one click, scale to serverless functions. Hobby covers indie dev use; Pro adds team features and higher limits.
WorkOS is worth it if… B2B SaaS companies (Series A-Series D) that need to add enterprise features (SSO, SCIM, audit logs, admin portal) to their product — particularly to close enterprise deals that require SAML/OIDC. Startup tier covers small SaaS; Enterprise for high-volume with custom pricing.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose Railway over WorkOS if…
Choose Railway if…
- You're fine with a base subscription plus metered usage on top (from $5/mo).
- You match the profile Railway is built for: developers building side projects or small production apps who want Heroku-style ease with modern pricing — deploy any GitHub repo in one click, scale to serverless functions.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose WorkOS if…
- You're comfortable with WorkOS's from $125/mo entry point.
- You match the profile WorkOS is built for: B2B SaaS companies (Series A-Series D) that need to add enterprise features (SSO, SCIM, audit logs, admin portal) to their product — particularly to close enterprise deals that require SAML/OIDC.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Railway | WorkOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $5/mo | $125/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Hybrid | — |
| Verification | Pricing under review | Pricing under review |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 26, 2026. Tracked daily.