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Network & Connectivity · head to head

Consul vs Heroku

Consul logo

Consul

Network & Connectivity

Service discovery, networking, and security

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Heroku logo

Heroku

Cloud & Infrastructure

Cloud Application Platform

From
$7/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Consul has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Consul namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only; Heroku there is no free dyno tier; the cheapest Eco dyno is $5 per month
  • They diverge on capability: Consul covers Service discovery, Heroku covers Git-based deployment.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Consul and Heroku actually diverge.

Attributes where Consul and Heroku differ
AttributeConsulHeroku
Starting priceFree$7/month
Pricing modelopen-sourcesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, CloudWeb, Api, Workers
CategoryNetwork & ConnectivityCloud & Infrastructure
Founded20142007

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Consul

  • Service discovery
  • Health checking
  • Key/value store
  • Multi-datacenter
  • DNS interface
  • Service mesh
  • Load balancing
  • Configuration management

Only in Heroku

  • Git-based deployment
  • Buildpacks
  • Dynos (containers)
  • Add-ons marketplace
  • Postgres database
  • Environment variables
  • Logging
  • API

Both cover

  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Consul

  • Service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructurenot Heroku
  • Running a service mesh with mutual TLS between servicesnot Heroku
  • Distributed key value configuration storage for applicationsnot Heroku

Heroku

  • Deploying and scaling web applications with git push and no server administrationnot Consul
  • Running managed Postgres, Redis and Kafka as attached data servicesnot Consul
  • Isolated production environments in a Private Space for regulated workloadsnot Consul

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Consul

  • Namespaces, admin partitions and other multi tenancy controls are Consul Enterprise only
  • Audit logging, OIDC authentication and FIPS 140-2 builds require Consul Enterprise, so compliance driven deployments cannot use the free edition
  • Automated backups, redundancy zones, read replicas and automated server upgrades are Enterprise only
  • Long Term Support releases are Enterprise only, so community users must upgrade to stay supported
  • Service mesh and advanced traffic management sit in the Premium Enterprise tier above Standard Enterprise
  • HashiCorp does not publish a Consul rate on its pricing page, which lists per resource prices for Terraform instead

Heroku

  • There is no free dyno tier; the cheapest Eco dyno is $5 per month
  • Eco dynos sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity, are restricted to personal accounts and allow only 2 process types
  • Free SSL and 10 process types start at the Basic dyno at $7 per month
  • Private and Shield dyno types require a Private Space, which is billed on top of the dynos
  • Private Space dynos start at $250 per month for Private-M and $500 per month for Private-L
  • Dyno prices are per dyno per month, so an app with several process types multiplies the bill

Pricing, plan by plan

Consul

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Service discovery
    • Health checking
    • KV store

Heroku

$7/month
  • Hobby$7/month
    • 512MB RAM
    • Shared CPU
    • 1 web dyno
  • Standard$50/month
    • 512MB RAM
    • Dedicated CPU
    • Automatic scaling

Which should you pick?

Choose Consul if

  • You need service discovery.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want health checking.
Consul review

Choose Heroku if

  • You need git-based deployment.
  • You work on Web, Api, Workers.
  • You also want buildpacks.
Heroku review

Questions people ask

Is Consul or Heroku better?
Neither clearly leads. Consul starts at Free and Heroku at $7/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Consul or Heroku?
Consul has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Consul and $7/month for Heroku.
Does Consul or Heroku run on more platforms?
Consul runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud. Heroku runs on Web, Api, Workers.
Can I use Consul for free?
Yes. Consul has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Heroku starts at $7/month.
What is Consul best used for?
Consul is most often used for service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructure, running a service mesh with mutual tls between services, distributed key value configuration storage for applications. Of those, service discovery and health checking across dynamic infrastructure and running a service mesh with mutual tls between services are not what Heroku is typically brought in for.
What can Consul do that Heroku cannot?
Consul covers Service discovery, Health checking, Key/value store, Multi-datacenter. Heroku covers Git-based deployment, Buildpacks, Dynos (containers), Add-ons marketplace. Both handle Cloud deployment.
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