Does Heroku have a free plan?

No free plan is listed on the vendor's pricing page. Heroku is sold on usage-based pricing.

What are the main drawbacks of Heroku?

The trade-offs we noted: No general free compute tier: Eco costs $5 monthly, is personal-app only and can exhaust its shared hour pool.; Eco cold starts: Inactive web dynos sleep after 30 minutes and wake with a delay.; Ephemeral local disk: Files written at runtime disappear across restarts, deploys or dyno replacement..

When should you not use Heroku?

Skip Heroku if: The application needs persistent local disk, privileged host access or unusual infrastructure control; Cold starts, a single Eco dyno per process type or hour exhaustion are unacceptable; Data residency is assumed from the app region without reviewing control-plane and add-on behavior.

Hosting

Heroku

Managed application platform built around deployable dynos, data services, pipelines and add-ons.

What it is

Heroku is a proprietary platform as a service that builds and runs applications in managed dyno containers, with pipelines, logs, data products and marketplace add-ons. Eco provides 1,000 shared personal-account dyno hours for $5 monthly and sleeps inactive web apps; Basic and larger dynos are usage-prorated up to published monthly caps. Dyno filesystems are ephemeral, so durable state belongs in databases or object storage. Compute, data services, add-ons, CI, support and private networking must be costed together.

Heroku pricing

Heroku does not publish a plan ladder we could verify. Usage-based pricing.

Prices read from the vendor's own pricing page on 2026-08-24. Vendors change plans without notice — check the source before you budget. Price verification log.

Key features

Managed dynos
Runs isolated application processes with platform-managed cycling and replacement.
Release workflow
Builds deployable releases and supports pipelines, review apps and one-off administrative processes.
Data and add-ons
Attaches Heroku data products and third-party marketplace services to applications.
Runtime tiers
Offers sleeping personal Eco dynos through always-on production and isolated Private/Shield options.

Strengths and trade-offs

What works well

Managed runtime: Heroku handles container placement, restarts and underlying operating-system administration.
Simple release model: Source or container deployments, configuration variables and one-off commands support repeatable application delivery.
Integrated ecosystem: Pipelines, review apps, Postgres, Key-Value Store and marketplace add-ons reduce integration work.
Granular billing: Most dynos and data add-ons are prorated to the second up to a monthly maximum.

Where it falls short

No general free compute tier: Eco costs $5 monthly, is personal-app only and can exhaust its shared hour pool.
Eco cold starts: Inactive web dynos sleep after 30 minutes and wake with a delay.
Ephemeral local disk: Files written at runtime disappear across restarts, deploys or dyno replacement.
Stacked cost: Production dynos, databases, add-ons, CI, teams and support can materially exceed the headline compute price.

Who it is for

Application teams willing to pay for managed delivery and operations instead of controlling raw servers.

Pick it or skip it

Pick Heroku if

Conventional stateless web and worker applications needing fast deployment and managed runtime operations
Small experiments on Eco where sleep and the shared 1,000-hour pool are acceptable
Production services after sizing dynos, databases, add-ons, regions and support as one bill

Skip it if

The application needs persistent local disk, privileged host access or unusual infrastructure control
Cold starts, a single Eco dyno per process type or hour exhaustion are unacceptable
Data residency is assumed from the app region without reviewing control-plane and add-on behavior

Our verdict

Heroku remains useful when reduced platform work is worth the premium; validate build/runtime compatibility, externalize every durable file, load-test the chosen dynos and database, and model the complete monthly stack before production.

Frequently asked questions

Does Heroku have a free plan?: No free plan is listed on the vendor's pricing page. Heroku is sold on usage-based pricing.
Who is Heroku best for?: Application teams willing to pay for managed delivery and operations instead of controlling raw servers.
What are the main drawbacks of Heroku?: The trade-offs we noted: No general free compute tier: Eco costs $5 monthly, is personal-app only and can exhaust its shared hour pool.; Eco cold starts: Inactive web dynos sleep after 30 minutes and wake with a delay.; Ephemeral local disk: Files written at runtime disappear across restarts, deploys or dyno replacement..
When should you not use Heroku?: Skip Heroku if: The application needs persistent local disk, privileged host access or unusual infrastructure control; Cold starts, a single Eco dyno per process type or hour exhaustion are unacceptable; Data residency is assumed from the app region without reviewing control-plane and add-on behavior.

What we checked

Public APIOffers a documented API you can build against.Yes
Mobile appHas a native app for iOS or Android, not just a mobile website.No
Open source / self-hostableSource is open and the tool can be run on your own infrastructure.No
SSO (SAML)Supports SAML single sign-on on at least one plan.Yes

“Not checked” means exactly that — we have not verified it, and we do not guess.

Evidence and freshness

Status: Official sources reviewedReviewed: 2026-08-24

Heroku — Dynos ↗
Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: managed application containers, current Eco Basic Standard and Performance prices, sleep behavior, production positioning, Private and Shield availability
Heroku Dev Center — Eco hours ↗
Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: $5 monthly plan, 1,000 shared hours, personal-app restriction, 30-minute inactivity sleep, worker behavior, hour exhaustion, no extra-hour purchase, review-app and CI consumption
Heroku Dev Center — How Heroku works ↗
Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: dyno manager, container cycling, one-off dynos, ephemeral filesystem, stateless architecture, shared durable services
Heroku Dev Center — Usage and billing ↗
Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: per-second proration, monthly price caps, current dyno prices, data add-on billing, review-app usage, resource deletion risk
Heroku Dev Center — Platform limits ↗
Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: dyno scaling limits, Eco concurrency, API limits, log-history boundary, memory enforcement
Heroku Dev Center — Regions ↗
Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: Common Runtime and Private Space regions, single-region app placement, add-on region dependency, control-plane residency caveat

Limit: Official Heroku product and Dev Center pages were reviewed; ToolCompare did not create an account, deploy an app, benchmark cold starts or dynos, inspect every buildpack and stack, run a database, test backups or failover, calculate add-on/support/Enterprise quotes, validate SSO configuration, or audit compliance and residency. Prices and limits may change after the review date.

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