Managed self-host vendors
6 operators that run open-source apps for you, side-by-side. Curated 2026-05-10.
You decided you wanted to self-host. You don't want to run apt-get update every Sunday. These six vendors operate the open-source software in our directory for you — you bring a credit card, they bring the babysitting. Pricing model, free tier, what they support, and EU residency in one row each.
Sort by any column. Outbound clicks go through /go/<vendor> — a 302 redirect with a UTM tag, swappable to an affiliate URL by editing one JSON field. Want raw control instead? See /vps/ — cheap VPS comparison.
| Vendor | Pricing model | Starts at | Free tier | Supported tools | Regions | Best for | Go |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northflank pitch sent | Pay-per-resource (compute + storage + addons billed separately) | free | Free developer plan (1 service + addon, limited resources) | any · any container + managed databases | 4 regions · EU | control between Vercel and Kubernetes (BYO cluster supported) | → |
| PikaPods pitch sent | Pay-as-you-go per pod (~$0.40/mo per 256MB RAM) | $1.20/mo | $5 signup credit (~3 months on a small pod) | 100+ · 1-click curated catalog | 3 regions · EU | cheapest one-click managed pod | → |
| Coolify Cloud | Subscription for the hosted control plane ($5/mo) + you bring your own servers | $5/mo | Open-source Coolify self-host is free; Cloud is paid | 50+ · 1-click templates + any Dockerfile / Compose | control plane in EU; servers anywhere you point Coolify at · EU | you keep your servers, they manage the orchestration | → |
| Railway | Usage-based (pay-per-second compute + RAM + egress) | $5/mo | $5/mo execution credit on Hobby plan | 100+ · template marketplace (100+) + any Dockerfile | 4 regions · EU | git-push deploy + biggest OSS template marketplace | → |
| Sliplane pitch sent | Per-service monthly ($9/mo per service) | $9/mo | 7-day free trial | any · any Docker container (no curated catalog) | 2 regions · EU | Container-as-a-Service for OSS images, EU-only | → |
| Elest.io pitch sent | Per-service monthly (entry tier ≈ $20/mo) | $20/mo | 7-day free trial per service | 400+ · 1-click curated catalog (DevOps-grade) | 5 regions · EU | compliance-grade managed open-source (largest catalog) | → |
Notes per vendor
- Northflank — Multi-region; bring-your-own GKE/EKS/AKS cluster supported on team plans. Backups, secrets, preview envs built in. Closest experience to a real PaaS without writing YAML.
- PikaPods — Pay-per-resource pricing makes hobby/low-traffic apps shockingly cheap; 100+ curated apps in a catalog, no Dockerfile required. EU residency in Frankfurt.
- Coolify Cloud — Hybrid model: Coolify runs the control plane (UI, deploys, backups) and you connect any VPS (Hetzner, DO, OVH, your homelab). Cheapest if you already have hardware sitting around.
- Railway — Per-second usage billing gets cheap if your service idles, expensive if it doesn't. Templates marketplace makes one-click deploy of common OSS apps trivial. Hobby plan caps at $5/mo execution.
- Sliplane — Deploy any Docker image or push from git. Predictable per-service pricing — closest to 'a Hetzner box with the babysitting outsourced'. Germany-only datacenters.
- Elest.io — Runs services on top of DigitalOcean / Hetzner / Linode / AWS / Scaleway with hand-built upgrade + backup automation. SOC 2 / GDPR posture; full-CI auto-update flow per service.
Pricing models, free tiers, and supported tools as listed publicly on each vendor's site on 2026-05-10. We don't run a price-feed against managed vendors — entry tiers and trial terms change without warning. Confirm current pricing with the vendor before paying. Outbound through /go/<vendor> is a 302 with a UTM tag; some links may convert to affiliate URLs as we sign up. None today.
Going further: prefer raw control? compare cheap VPS · size your stack to know what to ask for · browse pre-built self-host stacks · check the OSS you'd run on it is alive.