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Railway vs GitLab: Is EU's Security the Better Choice?

Discover why developers are considering GitLab from the Netherlands as a secure alternative to US-based Railway for enhanced data privacy.

Last updated: February 1, 2026Reviewed by Built in EU Team

Should You Switch to GitLab?

What You Gain

Gain GDPR compliance and better data protection with GitLab.

Privacy advantage
Trade-offs

Lose advanced deployment features; CI/CD focus is different.

Railway has more features
Bottom Line

Switch if privacy is a priority; stay if deployment features are crucial.

At a Glance

Data Location
🇺🇸US

US data laws

🇳🇱NL

GDPR protected

Pricing

Railway

freemium

GitLab

freemium

Migration
Medium difficulty~2-4 hours

Privacy & Compliance Comparison

Critical data sovereignty factors at a glance

CriteriaRailwayGitLab
Server Location
US (AWS)EU
GDPR Compliance
UnknownFull
Open Source
E2E Encryption
UnknownOptional
Data Portability
UnknownFull export

CLOUD Act Notice

Railway is a US company and must comply with CLOUD Act data requests, even for data stored in EU data centers. GitLab is not subject to US jurisdiction.

Switching from
Railway logo

Railway

🇺🇸

Railway Corp

VS
Switching to
GitLab logo

GitLab

🇳🇱

GitLab B.V.

US Data Storage

Data subject to US CLOUD Act and may be accessed by US authorities

EU Data Protection

Data protected under GDPR with EU-only data residency

Certifications & Compliance

No certifications listed

GDPR Compliant
EU-Based
ISO 27001
SOC 2
Open Source
Self-Hostable

Reasons to Switch

  • GitLab offers integrated CI/CD pipelines for automated deployments.
  • GitLab's issue tracking supports Agile methodologies with sprints.
  • GitLab is GDPR compliant, ensuring data protection for EU users.
  • Self-hosting option allows for full control over your code and data.

Things to Consider

  • !Migration from Railway may require data transfer and setup time.
  • !GitLab's learning curve may slow down teams used to Railway's UI.
  • !Some Railway features like one-click deploy may be less intuitive.
Migration difficulty:
Medium
~2-4 hours

Migration Overview

Full guide
Difficulty
Medium
Time Estimate
~2-4 hours

Depends on data size and complexity

Quick Steps

1

Create GitLab account and configure settings

2

Export and prepare data from Railway

3

Import data, test integrations, and migrate users

Note: GitLab provides a comprehensive DevOps platform with CI/CD capabilities, suitable for teams looking to manage code repositories and deployments.

Other alternatives to Railway

Ready to make the switch?

Start using GitLab today and take control of your data privacy.