// comparison

AppCrane vs Railway

Railway is a great managed cloud platform. AppCrane is what you use when your data can't live on someone else's server — and when your team wants the AI agent it already uses (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex…) to drive deploys directly over MCP.

✓ AppCrane: free, self-hosted, your data ✓ AppCrane: SAML/OIDC/SCIM SSO ✓ AppCrane: MCP server — any AI agent ✓ AppCrane: per-user, token-bound audit ✗ Railway: $5–20/app/month, cloud-only
// feature comparison

Side by side.

Every feature that matters to a team deploying production AI applications.

AppCraneRailway
PriceFree (your server)$5–20 / app / month
Data locationYour serverRailway's cloud
Vendor lock-inNoneHigh
Docker isolation✓ per app✓
Enterprise SSO (SAML/OIDC/SCIM)✓ built-in✗
Agent control protocol✓ MCP — any client✗
Multi-platform agent supportClaude Code, Cursor, Codex, etc.✗
Per-user audit on agent actions✓ token-boundN/A
Real-time team presence✓✗
Dual environments✓ built-inManual
Auto-HTTPS✓ Caddy✓
GitHub webhook deploy✓✓
Zero-downtime deploy✓✓
Rollback✓ instant✓
Encrypted env vars✓ AES-256-GCM✓
Platform Owner can't read app secrets✓ middleware-enforcedN/A (no role separation)
Per-app configurable role permissions✓ 4-role model✗
Health checks + alerts✓✓
Open sourceMIT✗
Self-hostable✓✗
// the AI agent layer

MCP server — bring your agent.

Railway runs your code. AppCrane lets your AI agent run AppCrane — over the open MCP standard, from whichever client you already use.

Multi-platform agent support
Any MCP client works
  • Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex CLI, or any MCP client
  • Your agent stays in your local environment, with your context and your keys
  • No proprietary in-portal coding sandbox to learn or maintain
  • Switch agents without changing your deploy workflow
Per-user audit + GitHub-native flow
Every agent action traceable to a person
  • Each MCP token is bound 1:1 to an AppCrane user
  • Audit log records the user, MCP client, app, env, action, and result for every call
  • Edits land on real branches: agent/{slug}-{name} via the MCP branch tool
  • commit, push, and open_pr use your repo's normal credentials — CI, branch protection, and reviews continue to apply
// when to use which

Choose the right tool.

Both are excellent. The decision comes down to data ownership, compliance, and team size.

Choose AppCrane when
Control matters more than convenience
  • Your data can't leave your infrastructure (compliance, GDPR, HIPAA)
  • You need SAML/OIDC SSO or SCIM provisioning
  • You want your existing AI agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex…) to drive deploys directly via MCP
  • You need per-user audit on every agent action, with token-bound identity
  • You want a one-time server cost with no monthly per-app fees
  • You run 5+ apps and Railway pricing becomes significant
Choose Railway when
Speed to first deploy is the priority
  • You want zero infrastructure management
  • You're deploying 1–2 apps with no compliance requirements
  • You don't have or want to manage a VPS
  • Team is solo or very small with no SSO needs
// pricing reality

The cost difference.

Railway charges per app per month. AppCrane is free — you pay for one server that runs everything.

ScaleAppCraneRailway (est.)
1 app~$6/mo (VPS)~$10/mo
5 apps~$6/mo (same VPS)~$50/mo
10 apps~$12/mo (bigger VPS)~$100–200/mo
SSOIncludedNot available
1 year, 10 apps~$144~$1,200–2,400
Ready to switch?
One command. Your server. No monthly bill.
Get AppCrane → View on GitHub
AppCrane — MIT License