Deploy and Host self hosted Postiz (Open-Source Social Media Scheduler) on Railway

This template runs Postiz v2.25.1 with Temporal, Postgres 18, and Redis 8.2 on Railway volumes. No deploy-time input. You get the full scheduler: frontend, API, workers, and uploads in one container, ready for your first admin sign-up.

About Hosting Postiz open-source software on Railway (self hosted Postiz template)

This template runs Postiz v2.25.1 with Temporal 1.28.1, Postgres 18, and Redis 8.2. The postiz service serves the frontend, API under /api, and workers in one container.

Why Deploy Postiz, the Buffer and Hootsuite alternative on Railway (Railway Free Trial)

Buffer and Hootsuite bill per channel and per user, so costs climb fast.

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.

By deploying Postiz on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.

Railway vs Other Hosting Providers and VPS for Postiz self hosting

How Railway compares with common VPS and cloud options for Postiz.

Provider	What You Get with Railway	What You Get with the Other Provider
DigitalOcean	A single template that starts Postiz, Temporal, Postgres 18, and Redis 8.2 with volumes and generated secrets, plus a $5 trial credit.	A Droplet you configure manually with Docker Compose, DNS, TLS, and your own database backups.
AWS	One deploy from a Git repo or template with no IAM work, and logs plus health checks in the Railway dashboard.	ECS, RDS, and ElastiCache services you wire together yourself, with more control but more setup.
Hetzner	Automatic TLS and a public domain on the up.railway.app subdomain, with the option to add a custom domain later.	Cheap raw compute on a VPS or dedicated server, but you handle the OS, reverse proxy, and uptime yourself.

Common Use Cases for hosted Postiz

Agencies: Manage client social accounts from one Railway-hosted dashboard, with team approvals and separate workspaces for each client without shared credentials.
Marketing teams: Schedule posts across X, LinkedIn, and Instagram, then track analytics without paying per-channel SaaS fees, all on your own infrastructure.
Creators and founders: Batch content weekly, use the AI assistant for captions, and keep all media on your own volume, with no upload limits from a third party.
Nonprofits and communities: Coordinate volunteer announcements across Mastodon, Discord, and Telegram, with no per-seat cost and full data control.
E-commerce brands: Plan product launches and promotions, and connect n8n or Make for automated posting workflows that fire from your own domain.

Dependencies for Postiz Docker hosted on Railway

Railway wires four services together so Postiz, Temporal, Postgres, and Redis start without deploy-time input. The app container runs the UI, API under /api, and workers.

Deployment Dependencies for Managed Postiz Service (Social Media Scheduler)

Postiz: official ghcr.io/gitroomhq/postiz-app image pinned by digest at v2.25.1, public port 5000, health check /, volume /uploads.
Temporal 1.28.1 workflow engine on private port 7233, storing data in Postgres.
Postgres 18 and Redis 8.2: volume-backed database and cache, providing DATABASE_URL and REDIS_URL.
Env vars: MAIN_URL, FRONTEND_URL, NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL, DATABASE_URL, REDIS_URL, TEMPORAL_ADDRESS, STORAGE_PROVIDER, UPLOAD_DIRECTORY, NOT_SECURED, DISABLE_REGISTRATION, and a generated JWT_SECRET.

Implementation Details for Postiz (Using the official Postiz v2.25.1 image)

The Postiz container serves the UI, API, and workers on port 5000. NOT_SECURED=true is needed for logins on the up.railway.app domain. Add social network credentials like X_API_KEY after signing up.

How does Postiz compare against other social media schedulers

Postiz vs Buffer (Buffer Alternative)

Cost: Postiz is free to self-host; Buffer starts with paid per-channel plans.
Control: Postiz gives you full data ownership and custom OAuth apps; Buffer handles OAuth for you.
Features: Postiz includes AI, approvals, and 20+ networks; Buffer wins on onboarding polish and mobile apps.

Postiz vs Hootsuite (Hootsuite Alternative)

Pricing: Postiz has no per-user fees; Hootsuite charges per seat and gets expensive at team scale.
Flexibility: Postiz is open-source and hackable; Hootsuite is closed but offers deeper enterprise analytics and support.
Channels: Postiz supports 20+ networks including Bluesky and Mastodon; Hootsuite covers mainstream platforms well but fewer niche ones.

Postiz vs Later (Later Alternative)

Focus: Postiz is a general scheduler with AI and team workflows; Later wins for visual Instagram and TikTok planning with its media-first UI.
Cost: Postiz self-hosting is free beyond hosting; Later has a limited free tier then paid plans.
Ownership: Postiz runs on your infrastructure; Later is SaaS with no self-host option.

Postiz vs Mixpost (Mixpost Alternative)

Stack: Postiz is TypeScript/Node with Temporal; Mixpost is Laravel/PHP and easier to run for PHP shops.
Features: Postiz covers 20+ networks and built-in AI; Mixpost Pro adds white-label but costs money.
License: Both are open-source, but Postiz is AGPL-3.0 with all features free; Mixpost has a paid Pro and Enterprise tier.

How to use Postiz (the OSS social media scheduler)?

Open your Railway public domain; it redirects to /auth. Sign up with any email; that first account becomes the admin, so keep it secure. You can later set DISABLE_REGISTRATION=true to block public sign-ups.
Add channels by creating developer app credentials for each network (X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and others) and setting them as env vars on the postiz service, like X_API_KEY and X_API_SECRET. Point each OAuth callback to your domain. Postiz supports 20+ networks, so repeat this for every channel you plan to schedule.
Compose posts, schedule them on the calendar, and invite team members with approval workflows for collaborative publishing. You can also create separate customer workspaces when managing social accounts for agency clients.
Set OPENAI_API_KEY to enable the built-in AI writing and image assistant, then review analytics after posts go live. Use the browser extension or n8n and Make integrations to automate recurring content workflows.

How to self host Postiz on other VPS Services (Postiz self hosting guide)

Clone the Repository

Clone the official Docker Compose setup to your VPS.

git clone https://github.com/gitroomhq/postiz-docker-compose.git
cd postiz-docker-compose

Install Dependencies

Install Docker Engine and the Compose plugin. The compose file pulls the postiz-app image plus Postgres, Redis and Temporal, so there is nothing to build.

Configure Environment Variables

Edit the environment block in the compose file: set MAIN_URL and FRONTEND_URL to https://your-domain, NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL to https://your-domain/api, and a long random JWT_SECRET. Add OAuth credentials for each social network.

Start the Postiz Application

Bring up the stack with Docker Compose behind an HTTPS reverse proxy.

docker compose up -d

Then open https://your-domain and sign up.

Official Pricing of Postiz (Postiz pricing)

Postiz is free to self host under the AGPL-3.0 license. There is no per-seat or per-channel fee for self hosting. Postiz also offers a hosted cloud with paid monthly plans; check postiz.com for current prices.

Postiz cloud vs self hosted comparison (Pricing, features, costs, and more)

Self hosting Postiz gives you the same scheduler as the cloud, but you run the containers, database, queue, and Temporal worker yourself. The cloud removes that upkeep for a monthly fee.

Monthly cost of self hosting Postiz on Railway

Expect about $10-25/mo for the app, Temporal, Postgres and Redis at light use. The software itself is free under AGPL-3.0, so you only pay for infrastructure. The $5 trial can cover your first experiments.

System Requirements for Hosting Postiz on a VPS

Plan for roughly 2 GB of RAM or more on a VPS, plus enough disk for Postgres and uploaded media. You also need a public domain with HTTPS, since social network OAuth callbacks will not accept a bare IP.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do I need separate developer app credentials for each social network?

Yes. Create an app on each platform's developer portal, then set env vars like X_API_KEY and LINKEDIN_CLIENT_ID on the postiz service. Point OAuth callbacks at your Railway domain.

Can I turn off public signups after creating my admin account?

Set DISABLE_REGISTRATION=true after your first signup. That account becomes admin, public signups stop, and you invite team members from inside Postiz.

Why does the Railway template include Temporal?

Temporal runs scheduled posts and background jobs. The template runs Temporal 1.28.1 privately, storing state in Postgres, so scheduling works without extra setup.

Is NOT_SECURED=true safe for production?

It is needed for login cookies on the default up.railway.app domain. On a custom domain with HTTPS you can revisit it; leaving it true on Railway's subdomain is generally fine.

How do I move Postiz to a custom domain?

Add the domain in Railway, update MAIN_URL, FRONTEND_URL, and NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL (append /api), then redeploy so OAuth callbacks and cookies match.

Can I use the AI assistant without an OpenAI key?

No. AI writing and image help only activate with OPENAI_API_KEY. Scheduling and analytics work without it.