Summary: As the demand for robust and cost-effective cloud platforms continues to rise, developers are seeking viable alternatives of Heroku for deploying their applications. In this article, we will explore some of the best free alternatives to Heroku that offer insight into the top cloud platforms.
In the dynamically evolving landscape of cloud platforms, the search for suitable alternatives to Heroku is becoming increasingly relevant for developers. This article will help you explore some of the best free Heroku alternatives and competitors.
It will offer insights into cost-effective and user-friendly options aiming to empower developers with streamlined deployment, scalable architecture, and efficient application management.
Whether it’s Railway software’s focus on efficiency, Porter’s modern app delivery solution, or Firebase’s comprehensive mobile and web development tools, this article will help provide valuable recommendations catering to the diverse needs of app development in 2024. Let’s hunt through some of the popular Heroku alternatives below.
What is Heroku?
Heroku has emerged as a highly favored platform for developers seeking to effortlessly deploy their applications at no cost. It is a cloud-based platform that allows developers to build, deliver, monitor, as well as scale applications. It was one of the first cloud platforms, and Salesforce owns it.
Heroku supports several programming languages such as Node.js, Ruby, Java, PHP, Python, Go, Scala, and Clojure. It offers a variety of services, including database management, background jobs, data caching, and more.
Apart from that, it facilitates rapid deployment of application backends via Git or Heroku CLI, eliminating the requirement to configure personal servers (serverless). Additionally, Heroku offers a complimentary Postgres database and free dynos, accommodating divese application stacks including PHP, node.js, ruby, and python.
It thus helps establish itself as an ideal platform for a wide range of users. One of its key features is the ease of deployment, as it allows developers to simply push their code to a Git repository and Heroku takes care of the rest, handling the deployment and scaling of applications.
Why Use Free Alternatives of Heroku?
Even though Heroku is popular amongst developers, they are still searching for alternatives due to several reasons. Some of the potential reasons include delayed performance because of going into Sleep mode, and discontinuation of its free trial. Let’s read them in detail below:
- Discontinuation of Free Trial & Limited Features: In a recent statement, Heroku revealed its decision to discontinue the free tier in favor of paid plans, prompting developers to seek alternative platforms for free application deployment. The free tier of Heroku has notable limitations, such as the absence of SSL certificates and restricted 5MB MySQL database options.
- Delay in performance due to frequent ‘Sleep’ mode: Another consideration is the behavior of Heroku dynos, as they tend to enter a “sleep” mode during inactivity, resulting in a brief delay when users attempt to access applications in this state. This dysfunctionality has presented challenges, prompting individuals to search for alternatives.
7 Best Free Heroku Alternatives & Competitors
Here is a curated list of Best Free Heroku Alternatives & Competitors that offer comparable features to Heroku for application deployment and hosting.
These alternatives aim to provide developers with options for streamlined development, scalability, and efficient management of web applications. Let’s read about them in detail below:
1. Railway
Railway is a cloud-based platform designed to simplify the process of application deployment and hosting. It is a free deployment server like Heroku that aims to provide a user-friendly interface for developers, focusing on efficiency and ease of use.
Features of Railway Software
- Streamlined deployment process
- Support for various programming languages and frameworks
- Integration capabilities with version control systems like Git
Pricing: Railway offers three different plans, with its most basic plan, i.e. Hobby starting at $5/month, and its professional plan i.e., Pro at $20/month/seat.
2. Porter
Porter is a modern application delivery platform designed to streamline the deployment and management of containerized applications. It offers a simple and intuitive approach to cloud-native application deployment.
Features of Porter
- Seamless management of containerized applications
- Support for Kubernetes-based infrastructure
- Monitoring and debugging tools
- Built-in version control and continuous delivery workflows
Pricing: Porter offers two different pricing options, namely, Standard and Enterprise. The Standard plan starts at $6 per month, while pricing for the Enterprise plan is available on request.
3. Firebase
Firebase is a comprehensive mobile and web application development platform offered by Google. It provides a wide range of tools and services to help developers build, improve, as well as scale up their applications.
Features of Firebase
- Real-time database
- Authentication services
- Hosting and cloud functions
- Analytics and performance monitoring
Pricing: The pricing strategy of Firebase is focused on letting its users start at zero cost. Further, enabling them to pay as per their usage.
4. Netlify
Netlify is a free server like Heroku and offers a cloud computing platform for continuously deploying and hosting static websites and web applications. It simplifies the deployment process for developers through its powerful and user-friendly features like Global CDN, automated builds, and more.
Features of Netlify
- Continuous deployment and automated builds
- Serverless functions for dynamic functionality
- Global CDN for fast content delivery
- Analytics and monitoring tools
Pricing: Netlify offers a free trial, and its minimum pricing starts at $19/member per month.
5. Render
Render is a modern cloud platform that offers a unified solution for deploying and running web applications and backend services. It emphasizes a developer-friendly approach and simplified infrastructure management. It also offers custom domains as well as Git-based integrations and deployments.
Top Features of Render
- Automatic SSL certificates
- Horizontal scaling with seamless load balancing
- PostgreSQL databases and other managed services
- Version control and project management
Pricing: Render offers its users a free trial. Apart from that, the minimum pricing of Render starts at $19 USD, per user, per month.
6. Kubernetes
Kubernetes or K8 is an open-source container orchestration platform offered by Google. It provides automated container deployment, scaling, and management, offering a robust solution for container-based infrastructure.
Top Features of Kubernetes
- Container orchestration and management
- Automated scaling and load balancing
- Service discovery and rollouts
- Infrastructure as a code with YAML-based configuration
Pricing: Kubernetes is open-source and is available for free to be downloaded from the GitHub repository.
7. Vercel
Vercel is a cloud-based platform designed for static as well as Jamstack deployment. It offers a seamless experience for deploying and managing web projects with its intuitive features and robust infrastructure. Apart from that, it offers powerful collaboration as well as team management tools.
Top Features of Vercel
- Instant global deployment with automatic scaling
- Serverless functions for dynamic functionality
- Built-in CI/CD workflows
- Real-time collaborative coding environment
Pricing: Vercel offers a free trial to its users. Apart from that, its basic plan i.e., ‘Pro’ starts at $20 per user, per month.
Conclusion: Which Heroku Alternative is Best to Use?
After exploring the best Heroku alternatives and Heroku competitor, it’s clear that each platform offers unique features and capabilities catering to different application deployment and hosting needs. While Railway stands out for its streamlined deployment process and versatile language support, Porter excels in cloud-native application management with its intuitive approach.
On the other hand, Firebase offers a comprehensive suite of tools for mobile and web application development, including real-time database and analytics services. Netlify, Render, Kubernetes, and Vercel, each bring their own strengths, ranging from continuous deployment of static websites, container orchestration, static and Jamstack deployment, to serverless application hosting respectively.
Therefore, the best alternative to Heroku depends on the specific requirements of an application, project scope, and the developer’s preferred workflow. Factors such as language support, scalability, database options, collaboration tools, and infrastructure management would help in the selection process.
Alternatives to Heroku FAQs
What is Heroku?
Heroku is a cloud-based platform that enables developers to build, deploy, and manage applications seamlessly. It supports various programming languages and offers a range of services including database management, background job processing, and data caching. It is owned by Salesforce and is known for its simplicity and ease of deployment, making it popular for hosting web applications.
Does Heroku use AWS?
Yes, Heroku runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure. It utilizes its resources to provide cloud-based platform services to developers. Heroku leverages the AWS infrastructure to allow developers to focus on app development and deployment.
Is Heroku open source?
No, Heroku is not open source. It is a cloud platform as a service (PaaS) that allows developers to build, deliver, monitor, and scale applications using its proprietary platform and services.
Who uses Heroku?
Multiple companies and developers, including large enterprises and startups, use Heroku for deploying and managing their web applications. Its ease of use and range of language support make it a popular choice for a wide range of tech-savvy users.
Why use Heroku?
Heroku offers streamlined deployment, scaling, and management of applications across various programming languages, making it an optimum choice for developers. Its simplicity, robust database services, and seamless integration with Git repositories simplify the app development process. This attracts users seeking efficient and hassle-free deployment solutions.
Google News
Written by
Namrata Samal 
Namrata is a skilled content writer with an expertise in writing marketing, tech, business-related topics, and more. She has been writing since 2021 and has written several write-ups. With her journey with Techjockey, she has worked on different genres of content like product descriptions, tech articles, alternate pages,... Read more
Previous 
