# Replit Migration Service, Move Your App to a Server You Own

> Moving a Replit app onto your own server means copying the code, the database and the uploaded files to a machine in your own account, putting Cloudflare in front for security, then pointing your domain at it. Neurobird does it for a fixed $500 for a simple app, or from $1,000 for a complex one. After that most apps cost $4 to $20 a month to run. Hosting was never the expensive part of Replit: agent work is charged per attempt, so a failed try costs the same as one that worked.

Source: https://neurobird.com/replit-migration/ | Neurobird | Updated 2026-08-24

## Price

- Simple app: $500 fixed. App and database moved, your domain with the padlock, security layer, automatic backups, a one page guide.
- More moving parts: from $1,000, quoted after reading the app. Background jobs, file uploads, payments, several services, a test copy.
- Running cost afterwards: about $4 to $20 a month, paid to the provider. DigitalOcean servers start at $4.00 a month. The security layer is free.
- Replit for comparison: Core is $25 a month, or $20 billed annually, before any metered agent usage.

## Why people move

- "Between May 12 and June 5, Replit charged me $1,982.37 beyond my $100/month subscription." (r/replit, https://www.reddit.com/r/replit/comments/1ty0iti/)
- "I bought the full year thing, only to learn that within just 12 days I ran out of credits for the month." (r/replit, https://www.reddit.com/r/replit/comments/1ioanzd/)
- "I just DM'd with a CTO that's trying to do a similar project, he spend $4k in 2 weeks on Replit." (SaaStr, https://www.saastr.com/why-ill-likely-spend-8000-on-replit-this-month-alone-and-why-thats-ok/)

## The seven steps

### Step 1. I look at your app

You send me the link. I list everything it uses and come back with a fixed price.

You do: send a link. Costs you nothing.

### Step 2. I set up your own server

A computer that belongs to you, opened in your name, on your card. Around the price of a coffee a month.

You do: nothing. Your app keeps running on Replit.

### Step 3. I move your data across

Your database, your users, your uploaded files. Copied, then counted on both sides to prove nothing was lost.

You do: nothing. Still nothing has changed for your users.

### Step 4. I rebuild your app on it

Same app, same buttons, same look. It just runs on your machine now instead of theirs.

You do: click around a private link and tell me if anything looks off.

### Step 5. I put a security layer in front

Cloudflare, on its free plan. It blocks attacks, gives you the padlock in the address bar, and hides your server from the internet.

You do: nothing. This is protection most vibe coded apps never had.

### Step 6. I switch your domain over

Your web address starts pointing at your server. Visitors notice nothing at all.

You do: nothing. If anything looks wrong I switch it straight back.

### Step 7. I hand you the keys

Every login, automatic backups, and a one page guide in plain English. Then you do not need me.

You do: keep the guide. That is the whole handover.

## Before and after

| Today, on Replit | After, on your server |
|---|---|
| Billed for every attempt, including the failed ones | One fixed price, whatever the AI does |
| The bill moves on its own | The same number every month |
| No root access, no server, no copy | Root access, database, domain, backups |
| Stop paying and the app goes off | Cancel me and nothing stops working |

## Where it runs

- HETZNER: EU servers
- DIGITALOCEAN: From $4.00
- AWS: For compliance
- CLOUDFLARE: Free security
- COOLIFY: Deploy button
- POSTGRES: Your database

## Questions

### How much does it cost?

$500 for a straightforward app. From $1,000 if it has extra moving parts. You get the number before anything starts.

### What do I pay every month afterwards?

Usually $4 to $20 for the server, paid to the provider, not to me. Replit's Core plan alone is $25 a month before any usage.

### Can I still build with AI afterwards?

Yes, and that is the point. Replit charges per attempt, so a failed try costs what a good one does. Claude Pro is $20 a month, includes Claude Code, and does not charge you for retries.

### Will my app go down?

No. Your Replit version stays live until the new one is working. The switch takes minutes and I can undo it just as fast.

### Do I need to understand any of this?

No. You send a link at the start and click around once near the end. Everything else is my side.

### Do I really own it at the end?

Yes. The server is in your account, the domain stays with you, the database is on your disk. I hold nothing you would have to ask me for.

### My app was vibe coded and the code is a mess.

That is the normal case. I am moving it, not rewriting it. I will tell you what is fragile, but the job is the same app on your own machine.

### Can you move me off Lovable, Bolt.new or v0?

Yes. Same seven steps.

### Does Replit own my app?

No. The code you write, or that the agent writes for you, is yours. What belongs to Replit is the platform around it: the editor, the agent, Replit Auth, Replit's key value database and the hosting. That is the practical difference between owning your app and owning your app's home, and it is the reason a migration is possible at all.

### Do I lose my database if I cancel Replit?

If you cancel without taking a copy, yes, and that is the single most expensive mistake in this whole process. Take a dump of your Postgres database before you cancel anything. In a migration this is step three and it happens long before anything is switched off, which is the entire reason the steps run in that order.

### Can I keep my custom domain if I move off Replit?

Yes, and nothing about it is difficult. Your domain was never Replit's. It sits at your registrar and it currently points at their servers. Moving is a matter of changing where it points, and visitors see no difference at all.

### What happens to my users' logins when I leave Replit?

This is the one real casualty. If your app uses Replit Auth for sign in, that service is theirs and does not travel. Sign in has to be replaced, usually with your own email and password, a magic link, or Google sign in. Your user records and their data come across intact, so this is about how people prove who they are, not about losing them. If your app already handles its own sign in, nothing changes at all.

### Can you move a Replit app without a developer?

You personally do not need to be one, no. You send a link and you click around once near the end. But somebody has to do the work, and doing it half way is worse than not starting: an app moved without backups, without a firewall and without a rollback is more fragile than it was on Replit, not less.

### What is the hardest part of moving off Replit?

Not the code, which is the part everyone worries about. It is the managed pieces that have no obvious equivalent: authentication, object storage, scheduled jobs and anything that relied on Replit's own database. Those need decisions rather than copying, which is exactly why the inventory comes first and the price comes after it.

### Is it worth moving off Replit?

It depends entirely on your bill. Below roughly $40 a month, honestly no, and the calculator on this page will tell you the same thing. The moment agent usage pushes you into the hundreds, the arithmetic changes fast, because a server does not care how many times the model had to try.

### What exactly is a VPS?

A computer you rent, in a data centre, that only runs your things. Nobody else's app shares it, you have full access to it, and it costs a fixed amount every month whatever happens on it. DigitalOcean rents them from $4.00 a month. That is the entire concept.

### How do I export my Replit project myself?

Connect the workspace to GitHub and push, which gets the code out. That is the easy half. The harder half is everything the code assumes exists: the database, the file storage, the secrets and the run command. A Git export on its own is not a working app somewhere else, which is what surprises most people who try it.

## Get a plan

Send the link to your app through the form at https://neurobird.com/replit-migration/#start . You get a list of what it uses and a fixed price back within one business day.