Redmine is the project tracker that engineering firms keep for a decade, and the reason its installation page is so exact about versions is that a decade is long enough for Ruby and Rails to move several times. This guide reads the requirements for Redmine 7.0 as checked on 1 November 2026, adds the sizing the page leaves out, and prices three configurations of the Redmine package on MassiveGRID PaaS, built on Virtuozzo Application Platform (formerly Jelastic).
What Redmine requires
For Redmine 7.0 (7.0.2 being the latest at the time), the install page lists Ruby 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 or 4.0, with the recommendation to run Ruby 4.0.4 or later because 4.0.0 to 4.0.3 has a wiki rendering slowdown, and Rails 8.1. Databases: PostgreSQL 14; MySQL 8.0 to 8.4, which must have transaction_isolation set to READ COMMITTED to work properly; Microsoft SQL Server 2012 or higher; and SQLite 3, marked "not for multi-user production use". JRuby is not supported. ImageMagick is optional, for Gantt export to PNG and thumbnail generation. No memory figure is given.
Redmine on MassiveGRID PaaS: one-click install, about $29.52 a month for the Starter configuration (Ruby on Rails application server, 1 GiB; Database, 512 MiB) at $0.003372 per cloudlet-hour, before volume discounts, in New York, London, Frankfurt or Singapore. 14-day free trial, no credit card. See the sizing table.
Sizing a Redmine for a firm
Redmine is a Rails application served by Puma, and a Rails process with Redmine's plugins loaded is a few hundred megabytes; a Puma with two or three workers is therefore about 1 GiB, which serves a firm of twenty to sixty people comfortably because project trackers are read far more than written. The database holds issues, journals and wiki pages and stays small for years; attachments are the disk line and belong on persistent storage with a retention policy. The things that push Redmine up a size are many plugins (each loaded into every worker), repository browsing of large Git or Subversion repositories, and the full-text searches a large firm runs across years of issues.
The three configurations on PaaS and their cost
The Redmine package installs a Ruby on Rails application server, a database node and persistent file storage, with a certificate. Cloudlets are 128 MiB RAM plus 400 MHz CPU, billed at $0.003372 per cloudlet-hour, $2.46 per cloudlet-month; Redmine is GPL with no per-user fee.
| Configuration | Rails node | Database | Cloudlets | Per month (730 h) | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 1 GiB | 512 MiB | 12 | $29.52 | A team of up to a few dozen |
| Standard | 2 GiB | 1 GiB | 24 | $59.04 | A firm with plugins and repositories |
| Production | Load balancer, 2 × 2 GiB | 2 GiB | 52 | $127.92 | Hundreds of users, many projects |
Beside Jira's per-user pricing the Starter row is the entire argument, which the Redmine versus Jira post makes for a 60-person firm. The figures are ceilings before volume discounts; attachments are per gigabyte on top. The PaaS pricing calculator prices other layouts.
The Ruby version question
Redmine's recommendation of Ruby 4.0.4 or later is the kind of detail that decides whether an upgrade goes well, and on a traditional server it means building Ruby or trusting a distribution package. On the platform the Ruby version is a property of the container: the node is redeployed to a newer Ruby tag with the data volume kept, which takes minutes and is best rehearsed on a clone, as with any Redmine upgrade. Keep the database on PostgreSQL where the choice is open, because Redmine's MySQL support carries the READ COMMITTED caveat and PostgreSQL carries none.
Plugins, email and backups
Plugins are the operational cost of Redmine: install them from the node over SSH with Bundler, test them on a clone, and expect a few to lag each Redmine release. Email in both directions is configured in configuration.yml (SMTP out, IMAP or a mail handler in) and is the first thing to test on the trial environment. Back up the database nightly with the Database Backup/Restore add-on and include the files directory in the environment clone before upgrades; the small-team tools post shows the wiki and Git tools a firm usually runs beside it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Ruby and Rails versions does Redmine need?
Redmine 7.0 runs on Ruby 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 or 4.0, with Ruby 4.0.4 or later recommended, and Rails 8.1, per the Redmine install page checked on 1 November 2026. JRuby is not supported. The package on MassiveGRID PaaS installs a Ruby on Rails node whose Ruby version is a redeployable container tag.
Which database should Redmine use?
PostgreSQL 14 or MySQL 8.0 to 8.4; MySQL needs transaction_isolation set to READ COMMITTED, PostgreSQL has no such caveat. SQLite is for single-user use only and Microsoft SQL Server 2012 or higher is also supported.
What does self-hosted Redmine cost?
About $29.52 for the Starter configuration, $59.04 for Standard and $127.92 for Production on MassiveGRID PaaS, at $0.003372 per cloudlet-hour before volume discounts, plus attachment storage per gigabyte. There is no per-user fee.
Redmine on the Ruby it recommends
The Redmine package on MassiveGRID PaaS installs the Rails node, database and file storage with a certificate in one click, from about $29.52 a month for a team, with no per-user fee. 14-day free trial, no credit card.
Redmine on PaaS