TL;DR: Replit costs $0 on Starter, $20 a month on Core and $100 a month on Pro, and Enterprise is custom. Each paid plan includes its price back in monthly credits, which pay for both Agent work and hosting, and usage past them is billed on top.
- Stay on Starter to try Replit out: your one published app goes down after 30 days.
- Pick Core ($20) if you build alone and your app is quiet most of the day. A side project fits inside its credits.
- Pick Pro ($100) for more than 5 builders, up to 10 parallel agents, or credits that roll over.
- Watch the production database: awake all day, it costs $115 a month on its own, and it's why a busy app runs about $187.
- Pick your own server with Ployz, which I build, once the database is awake most of the day: that busy app costs about $19 a month on a Hetzner server in Europe.
How much does Replit cost per month?
| Plan | Monthly | Billed annually | Credits each month | Builders | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0 | Daily Agent credits, amounts not published | 1 | Trying it: 1 app, down after 30 days | |
| Core | $20 | $18 a month | $20, no rollover | Up to 5 | One person shipping a real app |
| Pro | $100 | $90 a month | $100, rolls over for two months | Up to 15 | A small team, or heavy Agent use |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | SSO/SAML, single-tenant environments |
Sources: pricing page, Starter, Core and Pro docs. Prices are before tax, which depends on where you live. Publishing an app and paid Agent work spend the credits, and usage past them is added to your bill.
What would your app cost on Replit?
Pick the app closest to yours; Customize opens five sliders. Busy hours are the hours your app spends serving requests, which is what Autoscale bills. The calculator assumes a 5 GB database and 50 KB of outbound data per request, and sizes the own-server rows to fit the same machine plus Postgres.
- Database
- $11.36
- Outbound data
- 5 GB, $0.00 past 100 GB
- Hosting on Autoscale, before credits
- $14.24
- Hosting on Reserved VM, before credits
- $26.36
- Server that fits
- Hetzner CX23 or Netcup VPS 500
- Replit Core + Autoscale$20/mo
$20 a month with $20 of credits. $2 base fee, $0.60 per million compute units, $0.40 per million requests, $0.05/GB past 100 GB, database $0.16 per active hour and $0.35/GB-month (5 GB assumed). Agent work comes out of the same credits.
- Replit Core + Reserved VM$26/mo
One always-on machine from $15 (0.5 vCPU, shared) to $520 (16 vCPU) a month, no request fee. Same database and outbound rates.
- Replit Pro (cheaper of Autoscale and Reserved VM)$100/mo
$100 a month with $100 of credits that roll over for two months, up to 15 builders. Same rates.
- Your own server + Ployz (Hetzner, EU)$7/mo
Smallest Hetzner CX23 to CX53 ($6.49 to $34.99) that fits the same machine and Postgres, about $0.60 IPv4 each, 20 TB traffic. Germany and Finland only, and listed as not available on 2026-10-08. Ployz is free, custom domains included. Any Agent budget is added as-is, for the coding agent you use instead.
- Your own server + Ployz (Netcup, EU)$9/mo
Smallest Netcup VPS 500 to 8000 (€8.26 to €67.11 incl. VAT, 12-month term, at about $1.12 a euro), traffic included. Prices for a server somewhere in Europe; the US (Manassas) costs more. Ployz is free, custom domains included. Any Agent budget is added as-is.
What is Replit's pricing model?
Replit is an online editor with an AI agent, Replit Agent, that builds apps and publishes them on Replit's cloud. You pay a plan fee, and the plan gives you the same amount back in credits each month. Paid Agent work, publishing, outbound data and databases all spend those credits. Once they run out, usage is billed on top of the plan.
I'm biased toward renting a server. My first month on Laravel Cloud was about $600, and Railway was $500+ a month and climbing, mostly from the database. Today one dedicated server at €80 a month runs everything. For an app that sits idle most of the day, though, Replit's prices are fair, and I'll say where.
What else does each plan include?
| Plan | What else you get |
|---|---|
| Starter | Lite build only, a "Made with Replit" badge on your app, a 1 GiB limit on the production database |
| Core | Full build, Plan Mode, connectors, "up to 30 hours of chat on Free Mode", 1 background task at a time, 7-day database restore, 100 GiB of outbound data |
| Pro | Up to 10 parallel agents, up to 50 viewers, 28-day database restore, priority support, more Free Mode |
| Enterprise | SSO/SAML, single-tenant environments, static outbound IPs |
Pro has no per-seat fee: up to 15 builders share one pool of credits. Its docs mention larger credit tiers with discounts, but the pricing page shows only the $100 tier.
When your credits run out, you can buy a credit pack. Larger packs come with a small discount (Managing your spend).
| Credit pack | Price |
|---|---|
| $100 of credits | $100 |
| $300 of credits | $290 |
| $500 of credits | $480 |
| $1,000 of credits | $950 |
How much does Replit Agent cost?
Free Mode costs nothing within an allowance, on Starter, Core and Pro. Power Mode and Max Mode are paid, and Replit asks you to confirm before paid work starts (AI billing). Replit doesn't publish a fixed price per task, so I can't give you one.
| How Agent bills | Detail |
|---|---|
| Free Mode | No cost within your plan's allowance. On Core and Pro it resets every five hours, with weekly limits; Starter has a daily cap (Pricing and plans). |
| Power Mode | Paid. Uses fewer credits per task. It replaced Economy Mode at the same price (Agent modes). |
| Max Mode | Paid. Uses more capable models and more credits. |
| Effort-based pricing | One charge per request, called a checkpoint. A bug fix costs less than a whole feature. |
| Plan Mode | On the paid path, it can bill for reasoning even when it doesn't change code. |
| Third-party APIs | Calls to models like Claude or ChatGPT inside your app bill at "the provider's public API rate". |
Agent and hosting spend the same credits. So every dollar of Max Mode work on Core is a dollar your app's hosting no longer has. The calculator's Agent slider shows that.
What does it cost to host an app on Replit?
Publishing an app costs a $2 monthly base fee on Autoscale plus usage, or a flat $15 to $520 a month for a Reserved VM. Agent builds full-stack apps, so they need Autoscale or a Reserved VM. Static hosting doesn't work for them (Deployment types).
| Deployment type | What you pay | Good for | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autoscale (the default) | $2 a month, $0.60 per million compute units, $0.40 per million requests | Web apps with quiet periods | Publishing costs |
| Reserved VM | $15 to $520 a month for one always-on machine | Bots, workers, busy APIs | Same |
| Scheduled | $2 a month, $0.60 per million compute units | Jobs on a cron schedule | Same |
| Static | $0.05 per GB served | Plain HTML sites, not Agent apps | Same |
| Shared usage | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Outbound data | $0.05 per GiB, after 100 GiB a month on Core | Usage billing, August 2026 update |
| Production database compute | $0.16 per compute hour | August 2026 update |
| Production database storage | $0.35 per GiB-month, 33 MB minimum per database | Same, Usage billing |
| App Storage (files) | $0.015 per GiB-month | August 2026 update |
| Development databases | Free | Usage billing |
Autoscale bills compute units for the time your app spends serving requests. One CPU-second is 18 compute units and one GB-second of RAM is 2. So a 1 vCPU, 4 GB machine costs $0.056 for every hour it's busy. When nobody visits, it scales to zero and uses no compute units.
| Reserved VM | Per hour | A month (720 hours) |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 vCPU, 2 GB (shared) | $0.0208 | $15 |
| Dedicated 1 vCPU, 4 GB | $0.0486 | $35 |
| Dedicated 2 vCPU, 8 GB | $0.0694 | $50 |
| Dedicated 4 vCPU, 16 GB | $0.1806 | $130 |
| Dedicated 8 vCPU, 32 GB | $0.3611 | about $260 |
| Dedicated 16 vCPU, 64 GB | $0.7222 | about $520 |
Hourly rates are from the August 2026 update. The first four monthly prices are on the publishing costs page, and the last two are my arithmetic.
Is Autoscale or Reserved VM cheaper on Replit?
Autoscale is cheaper until your app is busy most of the day. For a 2 vCPU, 8 GB machine, the Reserved VM wins after about 15 hours of traffic a day. For the other sizes it takes 18 to 21 hours.
| Machine | Autoscale, per busy hour | Reserved VM, a month | Reserved VM is cheaper after |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 vCPU, 2 GB | $0.028 | $15 | About 18 hours a day |
| 1 vCPU, 4 GB | $0.056 | $35 | About 21 hours a day |
| 2 vCPU, 8 GB | $0.112 | $50 | About 15 hours a day |
| 4 vCPU, 16 GB | $0.225 | $130 | About 19 hours a day |
This is my arithmetic from Replit's compute unit rates. Autoscale also adds machines when your app is busy, and each extra machine bills its own busy hours. A Reserved VM stays one machine, so it's also the predictable option. The Max machines setting caps what Autoscale can add (Machine configuration).
Did Replit's prices go up or down in 2026?
They went down. From the first billing cycle on or after 1 August 2026, Replit cut its hosting prices on every plan (August 2026 update).
| Item | Before | From August 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Autoscale compute | $3.20 per million units | $0.60 per million units |
| Autoscale requests | $1.20 per million | $0.40 per million |
| Outbound data | $0.10 per GiB | $0.05 per GiB |
| Database storage | $1.50 per GiB-month | $0.35 per GiB-month |
| Database compute | $0.16 per compute hour | $0.16 per compute hour, unchanged |
| Dedicated 2 vCPU, 8 GB Reserved VM | $0.11 per hour | $0.0694 per hour |
| Legacy 1 vCPU, 4 GB Reserved VM | $0.042 per hour | $0.0486 per hour, a rise |
A 1 vCPU, 4 GB Autoscale machine that's busy all month used to cost about $216 in compute. Now it costs about $40. Many pricing guides still show Replit's old Hacker and Teams plans, or Core at $25. Today's plans are Starter, Core, Pro and Enterprise.
What do three example apps cost on Replit?
A side project costs $20 a month on Core, because its usage fits inside the credits. A small business app costs about $75, and a busy app about $187. In the bigger two, the database is the largest line.
These are the calculator's presets: my assumptions, not measurements, with a 5 GB database and no paid Agent work.
| Line | Side project | Small business app | Busy SaaS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machine | 0.5 vCPU, 2 GB, busy 1 hour a day | 1 vCPU, 4 GB, busy 8 hours a day | 2 vCPU, 8 GB, busy all day |
| Base fee and Autoscale compute | $2.84 | $15.48 | $82.87 |
| Requests | $0.04 (100,000) | $0.40 (1 million) | $4.00 (10 million) |
| Outbound data | $0 (5 GB) | $0 (50 GB) | $20.00 (400 GB past the allowance) |
| Database | $11.36 (awake 2 hours a day) | $59.36 (12 hours a day) | $116.96 (all day) |
| Usage on Autoscale | $14.24 | $75.24 | $223.83 |
| Usage on a Reserved VM | $26.36 | $94.36 | $186.96 |
| Bill on Core | $20, inside the credits | $75.24 on Autoscale | $186.96 on a Reserved VM |
The side project leaves about $6 of credit for paid Agent work. In the small business app the database is 79% of the bill. In the busy app it's $117, more than double the $50 Reserved VM, and the Reserved VM saves about $37 a month over Autoscale.
Replit's own worked examples come to $2.39 for a small business site and $4.50 for an API. Those are real numbers, but they leave out the database.
Why is Replit so expensive?
Usually it's the production database. Replit bills it for every hour it's awake, and it stays awake for 5 minutes after each query. An app with a steady trickle of visitors keeps it awake all day, which costs 720 hours × $0.16 = $115.20 a month before storage.
| What drives the bill | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Database awake all day | $0.16 for every hour it gets queries, plus 5 minutes after each | Cache reads, batch background jobs, avoid health checks that query the database |
| Paid Agent work | Power and Max spend the same credits as hosting | Use Free Mode for small changes, and Plan Mode only when you need it |
| Autoscale adding machines | Each extra machine bills its own busy hours | Set Max machines, or switch to a Reserved VM |
| Outbound data | $0.05 per GiB past 100 GiB on Core | Compress images and responses |
| AI calls inside your app | Billed at the model provider's API rate, from your credits | Watch the usage page |
Replit lets you set a usage limit and a service shutdown limit (Managing your spend). At the usage limit, usage-based services are blocked until the next billing cycle or until you raise it. At the shutdown limit, your services are suspended. Either one stops a surprise bill and can take your app offline, so I'd set them well above a normal month.
Is Replit cheaper than your own server?
For a side project the gap is small: $20 on Core against about $7 for a server, and Core includes Agent. For an app with a busy database, a server wins clearly: the small business app costs $75 on Replit against about $11 on a server. The busy app costs $187 against about $19.
| Server | Specs | Monthly price | Traffic | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hetzner CX23 | 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB | $6.49 + about $0.60 IPv4 | 20 TB | Hetzner price list, Cost-Optimized plans |
| Hetzner CX33 | 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 80 GB | $9.99 + about $0.60 IPv4 | 20 TB | Same |
| Hetzner CX43 | 8 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, 160 GB | $18.49 + about $0.60 IPv4 | 20 TB | Same |
| Netcup VPS 500 | 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB | €8.26 incl. VAT (12-month term) | Included | Netcup VPS |
| Netcup VPS 1000 | 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB | €14.50 incl. VAT (12-month term) | Included | Same |
| Netcup VPS 2000 | 8 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB | €26.92 incl. VAT (12-month term) | Included | Same |
Hetzner's CX servers are in Germany and Finland only, and on 8 October 2026 Hetzner lists every CX plan as not available. I cover its other lines in Hetzner pricing. When CX is out of stock, Netcup is the next cheapest. Netcup's prices above are for a server somewhere in Europe. In the US, its Manassas datacenter costs €1.24 to €4.03 a month more for these three plans, incl. VAT.
| App | Replit, cheapest option | Hetzner + Ployz (EU) | Netcup + Ployz (EU) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side project | $20 (Core, Autoscale) | $7.09 (CX23) | $9.25 (VPS 500) |
| Small business app | $75.24 (Core, Autoscale) | $10.59 (CX33) | $16.24 (VPS 1000) |
| Busy SaaS | $186.96 (Core, Reserved VM) | $19.09 (CX43) | $30.15 (VPS 2000) |
The server column runs the app and Postgres on one box, sized to the same Replit machine with room to spare. Ployz adds nothing to the price, because it's free on your own servers, custom domains included. A server doesn't care how many hours your database is awake, which is why the gap grows with traffic.
What you give up:
| You give up | What it means |
|---|---|
| Agent in the browser | Replit writes, runs and publishes the app in one place. On a server you bring your own coding agent, and pay for it separately. |
| A managed database | Replit's Postgres comes with point-in-time restore, 7 days on Core. With Ployz, you keep a mirror of the database on a second server, synced when you ask, and restore from it if the first server dies. |
I compared more platforms that bill this way in the hidden costs of PaaS, and the cheapest servers in cheapest VPS.
How does Replit compare to Railway and Vercel?
Replit is built around an agent that writes your app for you. Railway and Vercel mostly host code you've already written. Like Replit, their paid plans charge a monthly fee that comes with included usage, and bill usage past it on top (Railway pricing page, Vercel pricing page). I priced them in Railway pricing and Vercel pricing.
Where Ployz fits
Ployz deploys apps from GitHub to servers you rent. It's free on your own servers, custom domains included. If you like building with an agent, ployz setup agent installs a skill so coding agents like Claude Code can deploy, and every command takes --json.
ployz up --server root@your-server
ployz setup agentThe first command installs Ployz on your server over SSH, uploads the current directory, builds it and gives it an HTTPS address. Push-to-deploy and preview environments need the app in a GitHub repository.
What Ployz does:
- Push to GitHub and Ployz builds and deploys, no Dockerfile needed for common languages.
- One-click Postgres, MySQL, Redis and MongoDB next to your app, with a mirror on another server that syncs when you ask.
- A preview environment per pull request at its own https address.
- Zero-downtime deploys when a health check is set.
It doesn't write your app for you, so use the coding agent you already have.
If your app is quiet and you build it with Replit Agent, Core at $20 is fair, and I'd stay. Once the database is awake most of the day, the same app costs a fraction on a server. Start with Ployz.
FAQ
Is Replit AI free or paid?
Both: Free Mode costs nothing within an allowance on Starter, Core and Pro, and Power and Max modes are paid. Paid work comes out of your monthly credits, at a price that depends on how much work the request takes. Replit asks before paid work starts.
Is Replit free?
Yes, the Starter plan costs $0, but its one published app goes down after 30 days. You can publish it again. Starter also caps the production database at 1 GiB, shows a "Made with Replit" badge, and only gets Lite build.
Why is my Replit bill higher than $20?
Your usage went past the $20 of credits in Core. The usual causes are a production database awake most of the day, paid Agent work, and outbound data past 100 GiB. The usage page shows which one it was.
Do Replit's credits roll over?
Core credits don't roll over: unused credits are gone at the end of the month. Pro credits roll over for two months. Credit packs you buy are separate from the plan's credits and expire six months after purchase.
Does Replit charge for databases?
Yes, for production databases: $0.16 per active hour and $0.35 per GiB-month of storage. Development databases are free. A production database that never sleeps costs about $115 a month before storage.
What are the downsides of Replit?
Agent work and hosting share one budget, so a heavy month of building can push hosting onto the bill. The production database bills by the hour. Replit doesn't publish a fixed price per Agent task, so a bill is hard to predict before you work.
Is there anything better than Replit?
It depends on what you use Replit for. For building with an agent in the browser, Replit is the simplest all-in-one option I know. For hosting an app you've already built, a server with Ployz costs $7 to $19 a month for the three apps above, against $20 to $187 on Replit.
How I checked
I checked prices on 2026-10-08, all from Replit's pricing page and docs, linked next to each number. Replit bills in USD. The break-even hours, the always-on database cost and the three app bills are my arithmetic from Replit's published rates, and the apps are my assumptions, not measurements. Replit doesn't say what a database "compute hour" measures, so I counted one per active hour. Server prices are from Hetzner's 15 June 2026 price list and Netcup's VPS page, and I converted euros at $1.12, the ECB reference rate on 7 October 2026. I build Ployz, which is mentioned in this article as one option.