Compare · Rails
Unstale vs FastRuby.io
A long-established Rails specialist team versus a fixed-price upgrade service. Both upgrade Rails apps; they price and scope the work very differently.
FastRuby.io is a specialist Ruby and Rails team that reports over 100 apps upgraded since 2012. Most projects start with The Roadmap, a $12,000 audit that takes two to three weeks, and ongoing work runs on monthly plans from $1,950. Unstale gives you a free scan and one fixed price for the whole upgrade within one business day, with the largest codebases at $12,000. If you want a deep Rails track record and a detailed written plan for a big monolith, FastRuby.io is a strong choice. If you want the upgrade itself done at a fixed price, without paying for an audit first, Unstale fits.
Side by side
| FastRuby.io | Unstale | |
|---|---|---|
| Stacks | Ruby and Rails only | PHP and Laravel, Node.js, Python and Django, Ruby and Rails |
| Before you commit | The Roadmap: $12,000, two to three weeks, a 15 to 50 page report with best- and worst-case estimates per version jump. No obligation to hire them afterwards | Free scan: what breaks and a fixed price within one business day, no sales call |
| Price of the upgrade | Not published; discussed after the Roadmap | $1,500, $4,500 or $12,000 by code size, up to 1.5× for higher-risk upgrades, fixed once you accept |
| Ongoing | Monthly plans: $1,950, $2,950 or $3,950 for about 2, 3 or 4 to 5 days of work a month; month to month, 30 days' notice | Keep Current plan: $400 a month for codebases up to 100,000 lines, next major upgrade each year included |
| Guarantee | The Roadmap page shows a money-back badge; its terms aren't described there | Full refund if the pull request fails your tests or build, or you reject it within 14 days. Regressions fixed free for 30 days after merging |
| How they work with you | Engineers who integrate with your team, rebase the upgrade branch as you go, and advise your developers | Async: one pull request (or a series for large jumps) with plain-English notes. No meetings needed |
| Size of apps | From MVPs to 500,000-line monoliths | Up to 250,000 lines at listed prices; larger by custom quote |
Which one to choose
Choose FastRuby.io if
- You run a large Rails monolith several major versions behind
- You need a detailed written plan to get budget approved
- You want engineers working alongside your team for months
- A long, public Rails track record matters most to you
Choose Unstale if
- You want a fixed price for the upgrade itself, not for an audit first
- Your app is under 250,000 lines and has a test suite
- You'd rather review a pull request than join meetings
- You also run PHP, Node.js or Python apps that need upgrading
Rails 8.0 loses security support on 7 November 2026, so if you're on it, either route is worth starting this month.
Competitor prices and details checked 23 October 2026 from their public pages, linked above. They can change; if you spot something out of date, tell us at hello@unstale.dev and we'll fix it.
Find out what your upgrade will take
A free report on what breaks, and a fixed price, within one business day. No sales call.
Get a free upgrade scan