Last updated: February 2026
The 10 Best Heroku Alternatives in 2026
This guide compares the best Heroku alternatives in 2026. Top options include Back4App, Sevalla, Render, Fly.io, DigitalOcean App Platform, Railway, Vercel, Upsun, Coolify, and AWS Elastic Beanstalk — compared below with pricing, free tiers, and migration notes. Heroku is now in sustaining mode with no new Enterprise contracts.
Key Takeaways
Heroku alternatives are cloud platforms that offer similar or better capabilities to Heroku for deploying, managing, and scaling applications — often with more competitive pricing, Docker support, or self-hosting options.
- According to Heroku's February 2026 announcement, Heroku entered a sustaining engineering model — no new features, no new Enterprise contracts for new customers.
- Key migration drivers include cost (free tier removed in 2022), limited control (AWS-only, restricted regions), and operational limits (30s timeout, daily restarts).
- This guide compares 10 platforms: Back4App, Sevalla, Render, Fly.io, DigitalOcean, Railway, Vercel, Upsun, Coolify, and AWS Elastic Beanstalk.
- Many alternatives offer free tiers, Docker support, and usage-based or predictable pricing — addressing Heroku's most common pain points.
What is Heroku?
Heroku is a cloud Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) that enables developers to build, run, and manage applications without worrying about infrastructure. Founded in 2007 and acquired by Salesforce in 2010, Heroku supports Node.js, Ruby, Java, PHP, Python, Go, Scala, Clojure, and .NET.
It pioneered Git-based deployment, Dyno containers, and an add-on marketplace that made it the default choice for developers who wanted to focus on code, not servers.
According to Heroku's February 2026 announcement, Heroku is transitioning to a sustaining engineering model — focused on stability, security, and reliability rather than building new features. Enterprise Account contracts are no longer offered to new customers, though existing subscriptions continue to be honored.
For teams planning new projects or long-term commitments, a platform that is no longer actively evolving may not be the best fit. Below are the key reasons developers are evaluating alternatives.
Why Look for Alternatives?
While Heroku remains a stable platform, several recurring concerns are driving developers and teams toward alternatives. These are the most common pain points cited in community forums, developer reviews, and industry discussions.
Sustaining Model & No New Enterprise Contracts
According to Heroku's February 2026 announcement, Heroku moved to a sustaining engineering model — stability and security over new features. Enterprise Account contracts are no longer offered to new customers. Teams planning multi-year investments need a platform with an active roadmap.
Rising Costs & Removed Free Tier
Heroku removed its free tier in November 2022. Paid Dynos start at $5/month, but costs escalate quickly with scaling — a Standard 1x Dyno with 512MB RAM costs $25/month. Enterprise and Private Spaces require contacting sales and can run into thousands per month.
Limited Control & Single Cloud
Heroku runs exclusively on AWS. Common Runtime is limited to US and Europe; Private Spaces offer additional regions (e.g. Tokyo, Singapore, Mumbai, Sydney). Developers who need multi-cloud deployment or custom networking still face constraints without expensive Private Spaces.
The "Graduation" Problem
As applications grow, teams often need to migrate from Heroku to AWS, GCP, or Azure for deeper infrastructure control and cost optimization. This transition requires significant architectural changes. Alternatives that scale with you reduce this friction.
Operational Limits
Heroku enforces a 30-second HTTP request timeout on Common Runtime; Eco and some tiers experience daily Dyno restarts. Ephemeral storage means data is lost on restart. Features like DDoS protection, static IPs, and advanced compliance often require third-party add-ons at additional cost.
Developer Sentiment
Community discussions frequently cite concerns about Heroku's billing practices, support response times, and the perception that innovation slowed after the Salesforce acquisition. Many developers feel the platform stopped keeping pace with modern cloud-native tooling. See the next section for more.
Community Sentiment
Real feedback from developer communities about Heroku and its alternatives.
“Goodbye, Heroku. We're Breaking Up. The pricing got out of hand for what we were getting, and the platform felt like it stopped evolving years ago.”
“I use Heroku for an internal app and found their hobby Postgres sufficiently flaky that I now use RDS in the same region. For $20/mo on RDS, we get more than the $50/mo tier on Heroku Postgres.”
“Heroku solved a lot of problems incredibly well but they seemed to lose any ambition to be more than a salesforce deployment platform a few years after the acquisition. I still use them to spin up side projects though as they still provide the best completely out-of-the-box experience.”
“Heroku quickly gets expensive, so I came across render.com. Any other services that are easy to use and not too expensive to run that Indie Hackers can recommend?”
How These Alternatives Were Evaluated
Each platform was assessed based on publicly available documentation, pricing pages, and developer community feedback. The following criteria were used:
Ease of Deployment
Git-push workflows, Docker support, and CI/CD integration
Pricing Transparency
Free tiers, predictable plans, and cost at scale
Developer Experience
CLI tooling, dashboard quality, and documentation
Language & Framework Support
Native runtimes, buildpacks, and Docker compatibility
Scalability & Performance
Auto-scaling, global regions, and resource flexibility
Security & Compliance
SOC 2, HIPAA, ISO certifications, and DDoS protection
Top 10 Heroku Alternatives (2026)
Each platform is evaluated with features, pricing, pros, and best-fit use cases. Click any card to expand the full breakdown.
Back4App
AI-powered cloud platform combining Container-as-a-Service with integrated backend tools and predictable pricing.
Sevalla
Cloud application platform by Kinsta with Kubernetes-powered hosting, Cloudflare integration, and usage-based pricing.
Render
Modern cloud platform with zero-DevOps deployment, managed databases, preview environments, and Cloudflare DDoS protection.
Fly.io
Global edge cloud running apps on Firecracker microVMs close to users for ultra-low latency across 30+ regions.
DigitalOcean App Platform
Developer-friendly PaaS with buildpack compatibility, managed databases, and autoscaling on DigitalOcean infrastructure.
Railway
Developer-first cloud platform with usage-based pricing, visual infrastructure canvas, and AI-powered debugging.
Vercel
Frontend-optimized deployment platform with global edge network, serverless functions, and native Next.js support.
Upsun
Enterprise application platform with Git-driven automation, instant preview environments, and multi-cloud deployment.
Coolify
Open SourceOpen-source PaaS you can self-host on your own servers or run on Coolify Cloud, with a modern GUI for deploying apps, databases, and services.
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
Managed deployment service wrapping AWS infrastructure with automated provisioning, scaling, and deep ecosystem integration.
Comparison Table
Filter and sort to find the cloud platform that matches your requirements.
| Platform | Free Tier | Pricing From | Deploy Model | Type | Docker | Managed DB | Auto-scaling | Self-Hosted | Workers/Cron | Auto-generated APIs | Compliance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Back4App★ | $5/mo | Git + Docker | CaaS + BaaS | GDPR, ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA | |||||||
| Sevalla | $5/mo | Git + Docker | PaaS | SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 | |||||||
| Render | $7/mo | Git + Docker | PaaS | SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 | |||||||
| Fly.io | from ~$5/mo | Docker + CLI | Edge Cloud | SOC 2 Type 2 | |||||||
| DigitalOcean App Platform | $5/mo | Git + Docker | PaaS | SOC 2 Type 2 | |||||||
| Railway | $1/mo | Git + Docker | PaaS | SOC 2 Type 1 | |||||||
| Vercel | $20/user/mo | Git + CLI | Frontend PaaS | SOC 2 | |||||||
| Upsun | €9/mo | Git-driven | Enterprise PaaS | SOC 2 Type 2, PCI DSS L1, ISO 27001, HIPAA | |||||||
| Coolify | $5/mo (cloud) | Git + Docker | PaaS (self-hosted or cloud) | Self-managed | |||||||
| AWS Elastic Beanstalk | Pay for resources | CLI + Docker | Enterprise PaaS | SOC 1/2/3, HIPAA, ISO, PCI DSS |
10 of 10 platforms shown
Which Heroku Alternative Is Right for You?
Answer 4 quick questions about control, budget, workload, and priorities (simplicity, global performance, control, or enterprise compliance) to get a personalized recommendation.
Question 1 of 4
How much infrastructure control do you need?
Migration Guide
Migrating from Heroku requires careful planning, but most modern alternatives provide tools and documentation to simplify the process. Here is a general migration approach:
Export Configuration
Export your Procfile, environment variables (heroku config), add-on list, and build settings. Document your Dyno types and scaling configuration for reference.
Export Data
Create a PostgreSQL dump using pg_dump from your Heroku Postgres instance. Export any Redis or Valkey data if applicable. Download files from connected storage services like S3.
Choose Platform and Map Architecture
Select your target platform and map Heroku Dynos to equivalent service types. Web Dynos become web services, worker Dynos become background workers, and Heroku Scheduler jobs become cron jobs.
Deploy Application
Push your code via Git or Docker to the new platform. Configure environment variables, build settings, and runtime versions. Most alternatives support Procfile-style or Dockerfile deployments.
Migrate Database
Import your PostgreSQL dump into the new managed database using pg_restore or psql. Alternatively, point your application to a dedicated database provider like Crunchy Data or Supabase.
DNS Cutover and Testing
Update DNS records to point to the new platform. Run smoke tests to verify all endpoints, background jobs, and integrations work correctly. Monitor logs and error rates closely for the first 48 hours.
Back4App migration support: Back4App provides Docker-based container hosting with GitHub CI/CD integration, making it straightforward to migrate Heroku applications. The platform includes migration documentation and an AI Agent to assist with deployment configuration.
FAQ
Common questions about Heroku alternatives, migration, and choosing the right cloud platform.
What are the best Heroku alternatives in 2026?
Is Heroku shutting down?
What is the best free alternative to Heroku?
Why did Heroku stop new Enterprise contracts?
How do I migrate from Heroku to another platform?
Which Heroku alternative is best for startups?
Which Heroku alternative is best for enterprise?
Which Heroku alternative is best for self-hosting?
Is there a cheaper alternative to Heroku?
What is the difference between Heroku and Back4App?
Ready to Move Off Heroku?
Start building with Back4App — Docker hosting, integrated backend, AI agent, and predictable pricing.
Disclosure: This guide is published by Back4App, one of the platforms featured in this comparison. All platforms listed are established options in the cloud hosting and PaaS space, and there is no single “best” option — the right choice is ultimately subjective and depends on your project requirements, budget, and the technical preferences of your team. Although we made every effort to ensure accuracy using publicly available documentation and pricing, details may have changed since publication or may not be fully accurate. We recommend verifying information on each vendor’s official website before making a final decision.