Heroku
Heroku: A mature managed PaaS with low-cost deployment workflows, pipelines, and operational tooling. Ranked #8 of 34 in Deployment Automation Software by our editors (8.5/10); pricing: Paid; best for teams wanting a mature managed PaaS.
At a glance
- Editor score8.5 / 10
- PricingPaid
- Best forTeams wanting a mature managed PaaS
- Free planNo
- Paid from$5/unit/mo
- Rollout strategiesRolling
- Founded2007
- Facts checked22 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Git, GitHub, Docker, and CI-based deployment workflows
- Pipelines, Review Apps, release history, and rollback
- Managed data services, add-ons, APIs, and extensive logging
Where it doesn't
- No free plan is available
- Eco dynos sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity
- The platform is not self-hosted and uses rolling deployments
Our verdict on Heroku
Heroku is a managed platform as a service for developers and teams building, deploying, running, and scaling cloud applications. Managed dynos provide the application runtime, while Git, GitHub, Docker, and CI workflows support deployment. Its Pipelines organize development, review, staging, and production environments, making it a strong fit for teams that want a managed deployment platform rather than infrastructure to operate themselves.
Pricing starts with the Eco plan at $5 per month. Eco includes deployment with Git and Docker, custom domains, and unified logs, but applications sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity. The Basic plan costs $7 per month and adds free SSL and always-on operation while retaining Git and Docker deployment and custom domains. Both plans are paid monthly, and there is no free plan. The difference is meaningful for applications that need to remain available instead of pausing during inactivity.
Heroku’s ecosystem covers Git, GitHub, Docker, Terraform, Heroku CI, Heroku Postgres, Heroku Key-Value Store, Apache Kafka, and Salesforce. Review Apps provide pull-request environments, while managed data services, add-ons, the Platform API, and application, system, API, build, and add-on logging extend the operational model. Private Spaces support rolling deployments, and the platform includes release rollback and audit trails for Enterprise accounts. Choose Heroku when managed runtime operations and a broad deployment workflow matter more than self-hosting or a non-rolling rollout model. Teams needing a self-hosted platform should choose an alternative.
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Heroku pricing
All 9 Heroku plans and prices →
Heroku fact sheet
| Free plan | No |
|---|---|
| Paid from | $5/unit/mo |
| Deployment targets | managed dynos, Common Runtime, Private Spaces, Shield Private Spaces, Fir |
| Rollout strategies | Rolling |
| Deployment rollback | Yes |
| Approval gates | Not verified |
| Concurrent deployments | Not verified |
| Self-hosted option | No |
| Deployment audit log | Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud |
| Platforms | Web |
| Compliance & security | SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS |
| Support | Email, Tickets, Community, Docs |
| Built for | Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate) |
| Integrations | 200+ integrations: GitHub, Docker, Salesforce See all → |
| Pricing | Paid (source) |
| Website | heroku.com |
| Facts checked | 22 Sep 2026 |
Heroku integrations
Heroku lists 200+ integrations on its own site — the 3 named here are the ones its pages call out.
- GitHub
- Docker
- Salesforce
Alternatives to Heroku
- IBM DevOps DeployA governance-focused deployment automation solution for hybrid application estates.9.3
- AWS CodeDeployA capable AWS deployment service with low usage pricing and limited platform breadth.9.2
- Google Cloud DeployA focused, managed delivery service for Google Cloud deployment pipelines.9.1
Heroku vs the competition
- Heroku vs IBM DevOps Deploy
- Heroku vs AWS CodeDeploy
- Heroku vs Google Cloud Deploy
- Heroku vs Harness Continuous Delivery
- Heroku vs Octopus Deploy
- Heroku vs Vercel
Compare Heroku with any tool side by side →
Also Ranked In
Heroku is ranked in 32 of our directories; the 6 strongest besides Deployment Automation Software.
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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