Still the simplest git-push platform with a mature add-on marketplace, but there has been no free tier since November 2022, always-on dynos cost more than on newer hosts, and since February 2026 the platform is in sustaining engineering mode with no new Enterprise contracts.
What it is
Heroku runs apps as dynos (containers) deployed with git push or Docker, with buildpacks for Node, Python, Ruby, Java, PHP, Go and more, managed Postgres and Key-Value Store, scheduled jobs and the Elements add-on marketplace. Free dynos, Postgres and Redis plans ended on November 28, 2022. Cedar dynos today: Eco $5 a month for a 1,000-hour pool shared by all Eco dynos on a personal account (they sleep after 30 minutes without traffic), Basic $7 a month per always-on 512 MB dyno, Standard-1X $25 and Standard-2X $50 with horizontal scaling and zero-downtime deploys, Performance-M $250 and Performance-L $500. Postgres Essential plans start at $5 a month (1 GB) and Key-Value Mini at $3. The newer Kubernetes-based Fir generation runs only in Private Spaces. On February 6, 2026 Heroku moved to a sustaining engineering model focused on stability, security and support rather than new features; card-paying customers, existing and new, keep the same pricing and service, but Enterprise Account contracts are no longer offered to new customers. Checked on heroku.com November 13, 2026.
Best for
- Teams already on Heroku that value stability over new features
- Salesforce shops using Heroku Connect or AppLink
- Small apps that want git push and add-ons with zero ops
What we like
- git push deploys with buildpacks for most languages, no Dockerfile needed
- Large add-on marketplace for databases, logging, email and monitoring
- Managed Postgres with rollback, followers and high availability on higher plans
What to watch
- No free tier since November 2022: the cheapest always-on dyno is $7 a month, and Eco dynos sleep after 30 minutes
- Sustaining engineering mode since February 2026: no new features planned and no Enterprise contracts for new customers
- Scaling gets expensive: Standard-2X is $50 a month for 1 GB of RAM
- Fir, the Kubernetes-based generation, requires a Private Space
Alternatives and head-to-heads
Best Heroku alternatives
The best Heroku alternative for most apps is Render: the same model of web services, background workers, cron jobs and managed Postgres deployed from Git, with paid instances from $7 a month and a free tier that Heroku no longer has. Railway is the best for usage-based pricing and one-click databases, from $5 a month including $5 of usage. Netlify is the best if your app is mostly a frontend, and Cloudflare Workers the best for lightweight APIs with no egress fees.
Netlify
Cloudflare Workers
Render
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