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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Fastly vs Heroku

Fastly logo

Fastly

Cloud & Infrastructure

High performance edge computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Heroku logo

Heroku

Cloud & Infrastructure

Cloud Application Platform

From
$7/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Fastly has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Fastly bandwidth is priced per region, and delivery to India, Africa and South Korea is $0.28 per GB against $0.12 in North America and Europe; Heroku there is no free dyno tier; the cheapest Eco dyno is $5 per month
  • They diverge on capability: Fastly covers Edge Compute, Heroku covers Git-based deployment.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fastly and Heroku actually diverge.

Attributes where Fastly and Heroku differ
AttributeFastlyHeroku
Starting priceFree$7/month
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb, Api, Workers
Founded20112007

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud & Infrastructure).

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 Fastly

  • Edge Compute
  • CDN
  • DDoS Protection
  • Real-time Analytics
  • Image Optimization
  • Video Streaming
  • Instant Purge
  • Terraform

Only in Heroku

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

Both cover

  • API
  • GitHub
  • Datadog
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support
  • Api support

What people use each for

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

Fastly

  • Serving static and dynamic content through a global CDNnot Heroku
  • Running edge logic and caching in front of an origin applicationnot Heroku

Heroku

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

Where each one falls short

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

Fastly

  • Bandwidth is priced per region, and delivery to India, Africa and South Korea is $0.28 per GB against $0.12 in North America and Europe
  • The same traffic therefore costs more than twice as much depending on where the audience is, which is invisible until the bill arrives
  • The free allowance is 100 GB of bandwidth and 1M requests a month
  • Requests are billed separately from bandwidth, at $0.01 per 10,000 above the first million
  • High volume rates past 50 TB are not published and require contacting sales

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

Fastly

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • CDN
    • DDoS protection
    • Real-time analytics
  • Pay-As-You-GoFree
    • Usage-based pricing
    • Advanced features
    • Priority support

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 Fastly if

  • You need edge compute.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want cdn.
Fastly 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 Fastly or Heroku better?
Neither clearly leads. Fastly 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, Fastly or Heroku?
Fastly has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Fastly and $7/month for Heroku.
Does Fastly or Heroku run on more platforms?
Fastly runs on Web, Api. Heroku runs on Web, Api, Workers.
Can I use Fastly for free?
Yes. Fastly has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Heroku starts at $7/month.
What is Fastly best used for?
Fastly is most often used for serving static and dynamic content through a global cdn, running edge logic and caching in front of an origin application. Of those, serving static and dynamic content through a global cdn and running edge logic and caching in front of an origin application are not what Heroku is typically brought in for.
What can Fastly do that Heroku cannot?
Fastly covers Edge Compute, CDN, DDoS Protection, Real-time Analytics. Heroku covers Git-based deployment, Buildpacks, Dynos (containers), Add-ons marketplace. Both handle API, GitHub, Datadog, Cloud deployment.
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