Is PlayNHost a good Railway alternative for Telegram bots?
For one small bot at a fixed price, yes. Railway's Hobby plan is $5 a month including $5 of usage, with RAM at $10 per GB a month, and its Free plan gives $1 of credit a month. PlayNHost runs a polling Telegram bot 24/7 at a fixed $1.99 a month for 0.5 GB, with a 72-hour money-back guarantee. Railway is the better fit for webhooks, Docker deploys, or a bot small enough for $1 of credit.
- 72-hour money-back guarantee
- 24/7 website chat and tickets
- Prices include VAT
- 24/7Online on every plan, restarted automatically after a crash
- 72 hMoney-back guarantee on your first payment
- 8Languages for your own code
- 5Regions: Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia
How do Railway and PlayNHost compare?
| Railway | PlayNHost | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest paid plan | Hobby: $5 a month, including $5 of usageSource | $1.99 a month for 0.5 GB, a fixed price |
| Free plan | $1 of credit a month, up to 0.5 GB RAM per service, after a 30-day trial with $5Source | None: every plan is paid |
| Webhooks | Yes: public domains for servicesSource | Polling only: no public HTTPS address for webhooks yet |
| Regions | California, Virginia, Amsterdam and SingaporeSource | Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia |
| Refunds | For new customers, at Railway's sole discretion; usage is generally not refundedSource | 72-hour money-back guarantee |
| Support on the cheaper plans | Free and Hobby: community forum, answers not guaranteedSource | 24/7 website chat and tickets |
| Languages | Any, from a GitHub repo, a Docker image or a DockerfileSource | Your own code in Node.js, Python, Java, C# (.NET), Bun, Deno, Go or Rust |
What do you get with PlayNHost?
Always online
Your bot keeps polling when your computer is off, and the server restarts it after a crash.
A Bot page made for Telegram
It checks your token with Telegram, shows the bot's @username and opens it in Telegram.
It says what went wrong
The console names the cause when a bot stops answering: a refused token or another copy running.
Your code, your language
Node.js, Python, Java, C#, Bun, Deno, Go or Rust. Upload files, use SFTP, or deploy from Git.
Backups and a database
3 backup slots and a MySQL database on every plan.
The price you see is the price you pay
VAT included, billed monthly. Pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or Link.
How do I switch from Railway?
- 1
Pick a plan
Choose the RAM your bot needs. Setup starts as soon as payment clears.
- 2
Bring your bot
Take your code from Railway and upload it in the file manager or over SFTP, or connect your Git repository.
- 3
Add your token and start
Paste the token from @BotFather on the Bot page, stop the old copy, then start the bot here. Not for you? Ask within 72 hours and you get your money back.
When is PlayNHost the better choice?
- You want one fixed price: $1.99 a month for 0.5 GB, with no usage bill on top.
- You want a region in South America or Australia, or a 72-hour money-back guarantee.
- You want 24/7 website chat and tickets, and a Bot page that checks your token with Telegram.
When is Railway the better choice?
- Your bot uses webhooks, or runs next to a database and other services in one project.
- Your bot is very small and Railway's $1 of free credit a month covers it.
- You deploy with Docker or want usage billing by the minute.
Every PlayNHost Telegram bot plan includes
- Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia
- Online 24/7, with an automatic restart after a crash
- 72-hour money-back guarantee
- Your own code in Node.js, Python, Java, C# (.NET), Bun, Deno, Go or Rust
- A Bot page that checks your token with Telegram and shows the bot's @username
- The console says why a bot stopped answering: token refused, or another copy running
- Long polling; no public HTTPS address for webhooks yet
- File manager, SFTP, and Git deploy with an Update from Git button
- A MySQL database
- 3 backup slots included
- Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Link; BLIK in zloty
- Prices include VAT
- 24/7 website chat and tickets
Questions
Is Railway free for a Telegram bot?
Railway's Free plan gives $1 of credit a month and up to 0.5 GB of RAM per service, after a 30-day trial with $5 (its docs, checked 3 November 2026). Railway charges $10 per GB of RAM a month, so whether a bot fits in $1 depends on how much memory it holds. PlayNHost has no free plan.
Is PlayNHost cheaper than Railway?
For one small bot, yes: Railway's Hobby plan is $5 a month (it includes $5 of usage), and PlayNHost is $1.99 a month for 0.5 GB or $2.99 for 1 GB. A bot that uses more than $5 of resources pays more on Railway; a PlayNHost plan's price stays the same.
Does PlayNHost support Telegram webhooks?
Not yet. Bots on PlayNHost use long polling, which needs no address of its own. If your code sets a webhook, the Bot page shows it and can remove it so polling works again.
How do I move my bot from Railway?
Connect the same Git repository or upload your files over SFTP, paste the token from @BotFather on the Bot page, which hands it to your code as BOT_TOKEN and TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN, and press Start. Stop the Railway service first: Telegram lets only one copy of a bot read updates.
How fast is a PlayNHost Telegram bot server ready?
Setup starts as soon as payment clears. You then run everything from the PlayNHost panel: console, files, the Bot page and backups.
Can I change my plan later?
Yes. You can move to a bigger or smaller plan from the panel, and your bot's files stay where they are.
What if PlayNHost is not right for me?
Ask within 72 hours of your first payment and you get your money back.
Other comparisons
Prices and features of Railway come from its own website on 3 November 2026 and may have changed since; check its site before you decide. PlayNHost is not affiliated with Railway. Product names are the trademarks of their owners.