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Heroku Logo

Container-based PaaS to build, deliver, monitor & scale apps

Table of Contents

Heroku - 2026 Pricing, Features, Reviews & Alternatives

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All user reviews are verified by in-house moderators and provider data by our software research team.  Learn more

Heroku overview

What is Heroku?

Heroku is a cloud platform as a service (PaaS) designed for developers and teams to build, deliver, monitor, and scale modern apps. The container-based platform gives developers more time to focus on the core product without having to worry about maintaining app infrastructure. Heroku offers integrated tools, services, and workflows to help organizations of all sizes to maximize individual and team productivity, and deliver apps to market more quickly. Heroku comes with integrated data services and an ecosystem for deploying and running modern apps, while providing developers with an app-centric approach integrated with the most favored developer tools and workflows. The solution supports each step of the app development lifecycle, allowing users to build, run, manage and scale projects. Heroku Postgres provides database options at terabyte scale, with dynos (smart containers) to suit each team’s needs, accommodating even the highest traffic apps. Developers can customize their app stacks with buildpacks and add-ons with various features such as logging, monitoring, data stores, and more. Users can deploy apps directly from tools such as GitHub, Git, or CI (continuous integration) systems. Heroku’s web-based dashboard enables users to manage their apps and gain clear visibility into performance. The Heroku Operational Experience (OpEx) tool helps users to quickly identify negative trends in the app’s health, and guides them through troubleshooting and remediation of any common issues. A set of tools alerts developers of existing errors, and automatically scale dynos if response times for web requests exceed a specific threshold. Features such as application metrics, autoscaling, and threshold alerting are all included in the Heroku platform.

Who uses Heroku?

By industry, Heroku reviewers are most commonly professionals in computer software (41%). The most frequent use case for Heroku cited by reviewers is application development (70% of reviewers).

What do users say about Heroku pricing?

Some users report that Heroku's scalable pricing and free version make it cost-efficient for small apps, and they appreciate the clear structure. However, some reviewers feel it becomes expensive when scaling, with confusing tiers and costly advanced features.

What are the most popular integrations for Heroku?

The Heroku integration most frequently cited by reviewers is GitHub, an application development product rated 4.8 out of 5 for its integration with Heroku.

Starting price

7 /
per month

Alternatives

with better value for money


Pros & Cons

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Verified reviewer profile picture
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Simplicity

Productivity

Deployment

Affordability

Collaboration

Provisioning

Heroku’s user interface

Ease of use rating:

Heroku pros, cons and reviews insights

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Verified reviewer profile picture
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To determine these pros and cons insights, we analyzed responses from 

Overall rating

Reviews sentiment

 
 
 
1-2(6)
3-4(102)
5(196)

What do users say about Heroku?

Users say Heroku makes deploying and managing web applications fast and straightforward, with simple integration to GitHub and a wide range of add-ons for databases and third-party services. They appreciate the ease of scaling, minimal infrastructure management, and the supportive environment for both beginners and small teams, especially for prototyping and side projects. They find the developer experience smooth, with helpful documentation and a user-friendly CLI. Hosting is reliable and accessible, with free and paid tiers that lower the entry barrier for students and startups.

Reviewers report that costs can rise quickly as projects grow, and some feel limited by the platform’s customization and control compared to alternatives like AWS. They mention that advanced configurations, region availability, and resource management can be restrictive, and add-ons or scaling often increase expenses. Some note that free tier apps experience slow startups or downtime, and that debugging and advanced team management features could be improved.

Select to learn more


Who uses Heroku?

Based on 304 verified user reviews.

Company size

Small Businesses

Enterprises

Midsize Businesses

Top industries

Computer Software
Information Technology and Services
Internet
Higher Education
Others

Use cases

Application Development
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Container Security
Continuous Integration
DevOps

Heroku's key features

Most critical features, based on insights from Heroku users:

Deployment management
API
Source control
For developers
Multiple programming languages supported
Cloud computing

All Heroku features

Features rating:

Web app development
Reporting/Analytics
Monitoring
Access controls/permissions
Debugging
Data security
Graphical user interface
Compatibility testing
Collaboration tools
Integrated development environment
Load testing
Dashboard
Custom development
Continuous integration
Continuous delivery
Mobile development
Projections
Activity dashboard
Single sign on
Software development
Third-Party integrations
Version control

Heroku alternatives

Heroku logo

Starting from

7

Per month

Free trial
Free version
Ease of Use
Features
Value for Money
Customer Support
Jira logo
visit website

Starting from

7.91

Per month

Free trial
Free version
Ease of Use
Features
Value for Money
Customer Support
Caspio logo
visit website

Starting from

540

Per month

Free trial
Free version
Ease of Use
Features
Value for Money
Customer Support
GitHub logo

Starting from

4

Per month

Free trial
Free version
Ease of Use
Features
Value for Money
Customer Support

Heroku pricing

Pricing plans

Pricing details:

Free plan
Free trial
Subscription

Free

0.00

Features included:

  • Automatic OS Patching
  • Container Orchestration
  • Custom Domains
  • Deploy With Git & Docker

Hobby

7

Per month

Features included:

  • Always-on
  • Automated Certificate Management
  • Automatic OS Patching
  • Container Orchestration
  • Custom Domains
  • Deploy With Git & Docker
  • SSL

Standard

25

Per month

Features included:

  • App Metrics
  • Automated Certificate Management
  • Automatic OS Patching
  • Background Workers
  • Container Orchestration
  • Custom Domains
  • Deploy With Git & Docker
  • Horizontal Scalability
  • Preboot
  • SSL
  • Threshold Alerts
  • Zero-Downtime Deploys

Performance

250

Per month

Features included:

  • App Metrics
  • Automated Certificate Management
  • Automatic OS Patching
  • Autoscaling
  • Background Workers
  • Container Orchestration
  • Custom Domains
  • Dedicated Resources
  • Deploy With Git & Docker
  • Horizontal Scalability
  • Preboot
  • Predictable App Performance
  • SSL
  • Threshold Alerts
  • Zero-Downtime Deploys

Private

Empty state illustration for "No pricing info"

No pricing info

Features included:

  • App Metrics
  • Automated Certificate Management
  • Automatic OS Patching
  • Autoscaling
  • Background Workers
  • Container Orchestration
  • Custom Domains
  • Dedicated Resources
  • Deploy With Git & Docker
  • Full Network Isolation
  • Horizontal Scalability
  • Preboot
  • Predictable App Performance
  • SSL
  • Threshold Alerts
  • Zero-Downtime Deploys

Shield

Empty state illustration for "No pricing info"

No pricing info

Features included:

  • App Metrics
  • Automated Certificate Management
  • Automatic OS Patching
  • Background Workers
  • Container Orchestration
  • Custom Domains
  • Dedicated Resources
  • Deploy With Git & Docker
  • Horizontal Scalability
  • Preboot
  • SSL
  • Threshold Alerts
  • Zero-Downtime Deploys

User opinions about Heroku price and value

Value for money rating:

Of 96 reviews that provide robust commentary on Heroku's price and value, 50% mention it in a positive light.

Some users report that Heroku offers a range of third-party extensions and a scalable pricing model, making it cost-efficient for various needs. They appreciate the free version for small apps and the clear pricing structure, which helps beginners and small startups get started without significant costs. Reviewers find the platform developer-friendly, with affordable plans and free add-ons, making it easy to scale as needed. They also value the intuitive UI and the simplicity of adding services, which enhances productivity without hidden costs.

However, some reviewers feel that Heroku can become expensive quickly, especially for larger applications or when scaling up. They mention that the pricing structure can be confusing, with significant gaps between tiers and potential hidden costs. Users also indicate that the free tier has limitations, such as slower performance and a "sleeping" policy that can be inconvenient. Additionally, some features like database backups and monitoring can be costly, and the overall expense may not be ideal for small businesses or startups.

, and

To see what individual users think of Heroku's cost and value, check out the review excerpts below.

“Heroku is a good option for those looking a potential hosting service for their apps, and not only are the base and free options well-fleshed out, and the pricing is not egregious. While one has to be sure to take the time to learn Heroku, not only their web app but also their CLI, that's expected, and they make sure they provide a lot of resources for newcomers.”
GS

Gerson S.

Software Developer

“For hosting needs for a website, we found Heroku to be easy to understand upfront, with clear info on pricing and costs and how it is structured and can be deployed for use on your site. ”
DS

Derek S.

Founder

“Pricing is not so clear and can vary from 2 to 4 figures in the same pricing plan, which makes me concerned about opting in to a paid tier in the first hand.”
RM

Ricardo M.

Software Developer

Heroku integrations (51)

Integrations rated by users

We looked at 304 user reviews to identify which products are mentioned as Heroku integrations and how users feel about them.

GitHub logo
GitHub

Integration rating: 4.9 (14)

GitHub and Heroku are a power couple I could not live without. Both platforms are super accessible for users of all levels of experience while still providing the functionality necessary for heavier users. I use GitHub to track and store my code and Heroku to deploy it. GitHub Actions also work extremely well to enhance the DevOps workflow.

Linking it with github helps me to set up a CI/CD pipeline with ease without use of any other tools like fastlane. Hence I can keep everything I need on one singular console for better management

Review Apps let us review and demo PRs on live servers without having to pull the code. And CI/CD is effortless with their automatic deploys.

It is easy to upload code on Heroku by first uploading it on GitHub. We can make changes whenever we want.

It integrates with your PR Review process and git flow approving new changes in the repos.

Code living on GitHub can be deployed to Heroku apps using Heroku's GitHub integration.

CC

Carter C.

Consultant

1/6
SendGrid logo
SendGrid

Integration rating: 5.0 (1)

SendGrid comes as an add-on with Heroku. It provides best in class email delivery service and it's really easy to configure and use.

AD

Ashutosh D.

Software Developer

Mailtrap logo
Mailtrap

Integration rating: 4.0 (1)

Strapi logo
Strapi

Integration rating: 5.0 (1)

Integration rating: 4.0 (1)

Slack logo
Slack

Integration rating: 4.0 (1)

Heroku support options

Typical customers

Freelancers
Small businesses
Mid size businesses
Large enterprises

Platforms supported

Web
Android
iPhone/iPad

Support options

24/7 (Live rep)
Email/Help Desk
Chat
Phone Support

Training options

Documentation
Webinars

Heroku FAQs

Q. What type of pricing plans does Heroku offer?

Heroku has the following pricing plans:
Starting from: $7.00/month
Pricing model: Free, Subscription
Free Trial: Available

These products have better value for money


Q. What are the benefits of using Heroku?

  • Heroku’s built-in flexibility supports developers and their team’s preferred development style, while helping users to stay productive and focused on building apps.

  • Heroku provides seamless Salesforce integration which enables bi-directional synchronization, allowing users to build apps in Heroku and have all app data exposed in Salesforce for a single point of view.

  • Heroku Enterprise provides support for a wide range of top, open source languages such as Ruby Java, Node, Python, Clojure, Scala, Go, and PHP all from a single platform.

  • Developers can deploy directly from external tools such as GitHub, Git, or CI (continuous Integration) systems, or using an API.

  • Compose apps with add-ons, customize language stacks with Buildpacks and jumpstart projects with Buttons, all available within the Heroku Elements marketplace.


  • Q. Who are the typical users of Heroku?

    Heroku has the following typical customers:
    Freelancers, Large Enterprises, Mid Size Business, Small Business


    Q. What languages does Heroku support?

    Heroku supports the following languages:
    English


    Q. Does Heroku offer an API?

    Yes, Heroku has an API available for use.


    Q. What other apps does Heroku integrate with?

    Heroku integrates with the following applications:
    GitHub, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Slack


    Q. What level of support does Heroku offer?

    Heroku offers the following support options:
    24/7 (Live rep), Email/Help Desk, Chat, Phone Support

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