---
title: "Heroku Pricing, Features & Alternatives (2026)"
description: "Heroku review: Hosting tool — From $5/mo, plans, pros & cons, and the best Heroku alternatives compared for startups in 2026."
source: https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/heroku
retrieved: 2026-09-21
---

![Heroku logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=heroku.com&sz=128)

[Hosting](https://appstackbuilder.com/categories/hosting)

# Heroku: Pricing, Features & Alternatives

Heroku is the classic platform-as-a-service that popularized \`git push heroku main\` deploys, buildpacks, and add-ons. It removed its free tier in late 2022; today the cheapest options are Eco dynos ($5/mo, shared 1,000 hours, sleeps) and Basic dynos ($7/mo, always-on). Still a fast, batteries-included way to ship without managing servers.

Category

Hosting

Pricing

From $5/mo

Free tier

No

Best for

Hosting — paas, deploy

[Visit Heroku official site](https://www.heroku.com/)

## Heroku Pricing Plans (2026)

| Plan                   | Price               | Highlights                                                                             |
| ---------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| EcoPopular             | $5 / month          | 1,000 dyno hours/mo (shared) · Sleeps after 30 min idle · All languages via buildpacks |
| Basic                  | $7 / month per dyno | Never sleeps · Custom domains + SSL · Per-dyno pricing                                 |
| Standard / Performance | From $25 / month    | Horizontal scaling · Metrics & autoscaling · Higher-memory dynos                       |

Pricing summary: From $5/mo. Always confirm current pricing on the official site.

## Key Heroku Features

* ✓1,000 dyno hours/mo (shared)
* ✓Sleeps after 30 min idle
* ✓All languages via buildpacks
* ✓Add-on marketplace

### ✓ Pros

* +Dead-simple git-push deploys
* +Language-agnostic buildpacks
* +Rich add-on marketplace
* +Mature and reliable

### ✗ Cons

* −No free tier since 2022
* −Expensive at scale
* −Eco dynos sleep when idle
* −Slower innovation under Salesforce

## Best Heroku Alternatives

[Compare all ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tool-alternatives/heroku)

[![Vercel logo](https://appstackbuilder.com/vercel.svg)VercelFree · paid from $20/mo](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/vercel)[![Railway logo](https://appstackbuilder.com/railway.svg)RailwayFree · paid from $5/mo](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/railway)[![Render logo](https://appstackbuilder.com/render.svg)RenderFree · paid from $19/mo](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/render)[![Cloudflare Pages & Workers logo](https://appstackbuilder.com/cloudflare.svg)Cloudflare Pages & WorkersFree · paid from $5/mo](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/cloudflare-pages-workers)[![Netlify logo](https://appstackbuilder.com/netlify.svg)NetlifyFree · paid from $9/mo](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/netlify)[![Fly.io logo](https://appstackbuilder.com/flyio.svg)Fly.ioUsage-based](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/flyio)

## Heroku Compared

[Heroku vs Amazon Web Services (AWS)](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/aws-vs-heroku)[Heroku vs Google Cloud Platform (GCP)](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/gcp-vs-heroku)[Heroku vs Vercel](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/heroku-vs-vercel)[Heroku vs Fly.io](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/flyio-vs-heroku)[Heroku vs Railway](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/heroku-vs-railway)[Heroku vs DigitalOcean App Platform](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/digitalocean-app-platform-vs-heroku)

## Heroku FAQ

What is Heroku used for?⌄

Heroku is a hosting tool. The original git-push PaaS — deploy apps in any language with zero infra, now Salesforce-owned (no free tier).

Is Heroku free?⌄

Heroku does not offer a permanent free tier; paid plans start at $5/month.

How much does Heroku cost?⌄

Heroku plans start at $5/month.

What are the best Heroku alternatives?⌄

Popular Heroku alternatives include Vercel, Railway, Render, Cloudflare Pages & Workers, Netlify. Compare pricing and features on our Heroku alternatives page.

## Not sure if Heroku fits your stack?

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[Build my stack free ](https://appstackbuilder.com/)