# Where to host a Ruby on Rails app in Europe in 2026

Last updated: 2026-11-10

For a typical Rails app with Postgres and background jobs, **Scalingo** and **Clever Cloud** are the closest fit among European platforms: both build Rails from Git, sell a managed database next to the app and document how to run Sidekiq. If you'd rather keep the Dockerfile and Kamal setup that Rails generates, **Kamal on a Hetzner server** keeps the bill low and the upkeep on your side, and **Sliplane** runs that Dockerfile for you. **Eurobase** suits a small stateless Rails or Rack app whose database already lives somewhere else.

## Rails hosts in Europe at a glance

| Platform | Company | Managed Postgres | Background jobs | Cheapest paid start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scalingo | Strasbourg, France | Yes, from €7.20 a month excl. VAT | Worker containers from your Procfile | €7.20 a month for 256 MB, excl. VAT |
| Clever Cloud | France | Yes, as an add-on | Sidekiq beside Puma on each instance | Per-second billing, free credits at sign-up |
| Hetzner with Kamal | Germany | No, you run it | Whatever you put on the server | €5.49 a month excl. VAT, see the note below |
| Sliplane | Berlin, Germany | Yes, from €19 excl. VAT | Extra services on the same server | €9 per server, excl. VAT |
| Eurobase | Warsaw, Poland | No | No worker processes | Free, then €10 a month + VAT |
| Heroku | US company, Europe region | Yes | Worker dynos | $5 a month Eco dyno |

Prices are from each provider's own page, checked on 9 and 10 November 2026.

## What a Rails app needs from its host

- **A database close to the app.** If your app uses Postgres or MySQL, a host without a managed one means renting it from someone else and adding a network hop to every query. See [managed Postgres in Europe](/i/managed-postgres-europe).
- **A place for migrations.** `db:migrate` has to run on every release, before or right after the new code starts. Check where the platform lets you hook it in.
- **A separate process for jobs.** Sidekiq runs next to Puma in its own process, so check whether the plan lets you start one.
- **Asset compilation at build time.** `assets:precompile` should run during the build, not on the first request.
- **Memory headroom.** Scalingo's docs default Puma to one worker on its 256 MB and 512 MB containers, so budget memory per process.
- **Who you sign with.** Running in a Europe region doesn't make a US platform an EU company. The difference is covered in [EU region vs EU company](/i/eu-region-vs-eu-company-cloud-act).

## 1. Scalingo

Scalingo is a Git-push platform based in Strasbourg that keeps the Heroku workflow of buildpacks and Procfiles. Its Ruby docs say Rails gets custom support in all its versions, and the platform sets `RAILS_ENV` and `RACK_ENV` to `production` when it finds a Rails app. Ruby 3.3, 3.4 and 4.0 are available, with 3.4.12 as the default. You run Puma from a `Procfile`, migrations go in a post-deployment hook that only fires once the new version has booted, and a `worker: bin/jobs` line starts Solid Queue in its own container. There are guides for Sidekiq and Delayed Job too, plus Scalingo Scheduler for timed tasks and Review Apps, which spin up a separate app for every pull or merge request.

- **Best for:** teams moving a Rails app off Heroku who want the same workflow, a managed database and an ISO 27001 provider.
- **Price:** the 256 MB S container is €7.20 and the 512 MB M is €14.40, both estimated over 30 days and excluding VAT. The smallest Postgres, 512 MB with 10 GB, is €7.20 a month excl. VAT. In the SecNumCloud region the S container is €8.64. New accounts get a 30-day free trial.
- **What it lacks:** scale to zero. Scalingo states its containers never sleep, so each web and worker container is billed all month.

## 2. Clever Cloud

Clever Cloud is a French PaaS that hosts apps in datacenters it operates itself and holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification. A Ruby app needs a `Gemfile` that includes `puma`, its `Gemfile.lock` and a `config.ru`, which a new Rails project already has. List rake tasks in `CC_RAKEGOALS`, for example `db:migrate, assets:precompile`, and they run on each new build. Set `CC_ENABLE_SIDEKIQ` with a linked Redis add-on and each instance starts a Sidekiq process beside Puma. A linked PostgreSQL add-on hands your app a connection string, and Cellar, its S3-compatible storage, can back Active Storage.

- **Best for:** Rails apps that want a database, Redis and object storage from one certified French provider.
- **Price:** you pay per second for what runs, up to a ceiling you choose, and sign-up comes with free credits and no payment card.
- **What it lacks:** a fixed monthly price. You estimate the bill with its price estimator.

## 3. Hetzner with Kamal

Kamal is an open-source deploy tool made by 37signals, and the official Rails getting-started guide deploys to production with it, using the Dockerfile every new Rails app includes. You give Kamal the IP addresses of plain Ubuntu servers with an SSH key, and it installs Docker where it's missing, deploys with zero downtime and, on a single server, can get a Let's Encrypt certificate for your domain. Hetzner advertises its cloud as made in Germany and runs its own data centre parks in Falkenstein, Nuremberg and Helsinki.

- **Best for:** developers comfortable with Linux and Docker who want the lowest monthly bill and no platform in between.
- **Price:** Kamal costs nothing. Hetzner's entry cloud server is listed from €5.49 a month excl. VAT in Helsinki, or €6.49 in Falkenstein and Nuremberg, but those smallest plans couldn't be ordered on 10 November 2026.
- **What it lacks:** a provider looking after backups, Postgres upgrades and security patches. Those stay with you.

## 4. Sliplane

Sliplane is a Berlin company that runs your containers on servers you rent from it at a fixed price. It picks up your framework automatically, can build from a Dockerfile, so the one Rails generates works unchanged, and lets a web container, a job worker and Redis share one server.

- **Best for:** a Rails app plus workers and Redis on one predictable bill, without running the server yourself.
- **Price:** Starter has 1 vCPU, 1 GB of memory and 20 GB of storage for €9, excl. VAT. Managed PostgreSQL starts at €19 excl. VAT.
- **What it lacks:** a guaranteed European location by default. Its App Runtime also has regions in the US and Singapore, so pick a European one when you create the server if your data has to stay in Europe.

## 5. Eurobase

Eurobase is a partial fit for Rails. It builds Ruby apps from your Git repository with the Paketo Ruby buildpack, which Paketo documents for Rails 5 and later with asset compilation. Your Dockerfile isn't used. Put `web: bundle exec puma -C config/puma.rb` in a `Procfile` and that line becomes the start command. A deployment goes live only once your health path answers, and an idle container scales to zero. The company is registered in Warsaw, Poland, and hosts apps on European infrastructure run by Scaleway, a French provider. Coding agents can deploy through its MCP server and CLI.

- **Best for:** a small Rails API or Rack app that reads a database you already host elsewhere, at a flat monthly price.
- **Price:** Free, then Starter at €10 or Pro at €20 a month + VAT for the whole workspace. Container sizes go from 0.1 vCPU with 256 MB up to 1 vCPU with 2 GB on paid plans. There are no usage charges today: work over a limit is refused, and containers keep serving.
- **What it lacks:** managed Postgres, MySQL or Redis, a separate worker process for Sidekiq, Dockerfile builds and preview deployments. ISO 27001 and SOC 2 are still in progress, so neither certificate is held yet.

## 6. Heroku

Heroku's Common Runtime offers an `eu` region next to the US one. Heroku belongs to Salesforce, so choosing that region moves where the app runs, not who you contract with.

- **Best for:** apps that already run there and only need to stay in a Europe region.
- **Price:** an Eco dyno is $5 a month and sleeps after 30 minutes of inactivity. Basic is $7 a month and always on. Heroku Postgres Essential 1 is $9 a month.
- **What it lacks:** an EU-based provider. See [European Heroku alternatives](/i/european-heroku-alternatives) and the [Heroku migration guide](/docs/guides/migrate-from-heroku).

## How to choose

1. **Rails with Postgres and Sidekiq, no servers to manage:** Scalingo or Clever Cloud.
2. **You want the Rails defaults, Dockerfile and Kamal, at the lowest cost:** a Hetzner server, with your own backups.
3. **Several containers on one fixed bill:** Sliplane.
4. **A stateless Rails API whose database lives elsewhere:** Eurobase.
5. **Leaving Heroku's Europe region:** Scalingo keeps the Procfile and buildpack habits closest.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I host Ruby on Rails in the EU for free?

Not with a managed database included. Eurobase's Free plan can run a Rails container but offers no database, Scalingo gives a 30-day trial, and Clever Cloud starts you with free credits. A real Rails app with Postgres will cost something every month.

### Which European PaaS is closest to Heroku for Rails?

Scalingo. It uses a Procfile, buildpacks, worker containers and a scheduler, and its docs include a guide for moving from Heroku. Clever Cloud also builds from Git without a Dockerfile, with its own environment variables for rake tasks and Sidekiq.

### Do I need Kamal to deploy Rails 8?

No. Rails generates Kamal configuration and a Dockerfile, but Scalingo and Clever Cloud build from your `Gemfile` with their own buildpacks, and Eurobase uses the Paketo Ruby buildpack. Kamal is the tool when you rent your own servers.

### How do I run Rails migrations on a PaaS in Europe?

On Scalingo, put the migration in a post-deployment hook, which runs after the new version starts. On Clever Cloud, list `db:migrate` in `CC_RAKEGOALS` so it runs during each build. With Kamal, run it as part of your deploy.

## Sources

- [Scalingo Ruby documentation](https://doc.scalingo.com/languages/ruby/start), [Scalingo Rails guide](https://doc.scalingo.com/languages/ruby/rails/start), [Scalingo Solid Queue guide](https://doc.scalingo.com/languages/ruby/rails/solid-queue), [Scalingo Review Apps](https://doc.scalingo.com/platform/app/review-apps) and [Scalingo pricing](https://scalingo.com/pricing)
- [Clever Cloud Ruby documentation](https://www.clever.cloud/developers/doc/deploy/applications/ruby/) and [Clever Cloud pricing](https://www.clever.cloud/pricing/)
- [Kamal](https://kamal-deploy.org/), [Kamal proxy configuration](https://kamal-deploy.org/docs/configuration/proxy/) and [Rails getting started guide](https://guides.rubyonrails.org/getting_started.html)
- [Hetzner cloud](https://www.hetzner.com/cloud/)
- [Sliplane](https://sliplane.io/) and [Sliplane pricing](https://sliplane.io/pricing)
- [Paketo Ruby buildpack how-to](https://paketo.io/docs/howto/ruby/)
- [Heroku pricing](https://www.heroku.com/pricing), [Heroku Postgres plans](https://elements.heroku.com/addons/heroku-postgresql) and [Heroku regions](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/regions)
- [Eurobase containers](/docs/containers), [Plans and limits](/docs/plans), [Eurobase pricing](/pricing) and [Eurobase subprocessors](/legal/subprocessors)