Is Heroku or Linode better?

Neither clearly leads. Heroku starts at $5/month and Linode at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Heroku or Linode?

Linode has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $5/month for Heroku and Free for Linode.

Does Heroku or Linode run on more platforms?

Heroku runs on Web, Api, Workers. Linode runs on Web, Api, Cli.

Can I use Linode for free?

Yes. Linode has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Heroku starts at $5/month.

What is Heroku best used for?

Heroku is most often used for application hosting, database as a service, ci/cd pipelines, api deployment. Of those, application hosting and database as a service are not what Linode is typically brought in for.

What can Heroku do that Linode cannot?

Heroku covers Git-based deployment, Buildpacks, Dynos (containers), Add-ons marketplace. Linode covers Compute instances, Object storage, Block storage, Kubernetes. Both handle Cloud deployment, Web support, Api support.

Cloud · head to head

Heroku vs Linode

Heroku

Cloud

Cloud Application Platform

From: $5/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Linode

Cloud

Affordable cloud hosting and infrastructure

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Linode has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Heroku there is no free dyno tier; the cheapest Eco dyno is $5 per month; Linode linode.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to akamai.com/cloud/pricing; the service is now sold as Akamai Cloud
They diverge on capability: Heroku covers Git-based deployment, Linode covers Compute instances.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Heroku and Linode actually diverge.

Attributes where Heroku and Linode differ
Attribute	Heroku	Linode
Starting price	$5/month	Free
Pricing model	subscription	usage-based
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Web, Api, Workers	Web, Api, Cli
Founded	2007	2003

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

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 Heroku

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

Only in Linode

Compute instances
Object storage
Block storage
Kubernetes
Managed database
Load balancers
Firewalls
Private networks

Both cover

Cloud deployment
Web support
Api support

What people use each for

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

Heroku

Application hostingnot Linode
Database as a servicenot Linode
CI/CD pipelinesnot Linode
API deploymentnot Linode

Linode

Running Linux virtual machines on hourly billed shared or dedicated CPU plansnot Heroku
Managed Kubernetes, block storage and object storage on a single cloud accountnot Heroku
Hosting workloads in a specific one of the listed global regionsnot Heroku

Where each one falls short

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

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

Linode

linode.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to akamai.com/cloud/pricing; the service is now sold as Akamai Cloud
Charges accrue for any service on the account even when it is powered off, because RAM and network capacity stay reserved; only deleting the service stops billing
Network transfer beyond the monthly allotment is billed from $0.005 per GB and the rate varies by region
The Akamai Cloud pricing landing page shows no rates and directs visitors to regional pricing pages or sales

Pricing, plan by plan

Heroku

$5/month

Eco Dyno$5/month
- 0.5 GB RAM
- Git/Docker deploy
- Custom domains
Basic Dyno$7/month
- 0.5 GB RAM
- Always-on
- Free SSL
Standard-1X Dyno$25/month
- 0.5 GB RAM
- Horizontal scaling
- App metrics
Standard-2X Dyno$50/month
- 1 GB RAM
- Horizontal scaling
- App metrics

Linode

Free

Nanode 1GB$5/month
- 1GB RAM
- 1 vCPU
- 25GB SSD
Linode 4GB$20/month
- 4GB RAM
- 2 vCPU
- 80GB SSD

Which should you pick?

Choose Heroku if

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

Heroku review

Choose Linode if

You need compute instances.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Api, Cli.
You also want object storage.

Linode review

Questions people ask

Is Heroku or Linode better?: Neither clearly leads. Heroku starts at $5/month and Linode at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Heroku or Linode?: Linode has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $5/month for Heroku and Free for Linode.
Does Heroku or Linode run on more platforms?: Heroku runs on Web, Api, Workers. Linode runs on Web, Api, Cli.
Can I use Linode for free?: Yes. Linode has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Heroku starts at $5/month.
What is Heroku best used for?: Heroku is most often used for application hosting, database as a service, ci/cd pipelines, api deployment. Of those, application hosting and database as a service are not what Linode is typically brought in for.
What can Heroku do that Linode cannot?: Heroku covers Git-based deployment, Buildpacks, Dynos (containers), Add-ons marketplace. Linode covers Compute instances, Object storage, Block storage, Kubernetes. Both handle Cloud deployment, Web support, Api support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Heroku: How much does Heroku cost?

Heroku dyno pricing starts at $5 per month USD for the Eco tier (with 30-minute inactivity sleep), $7 per month for Basic (always-on), and scales up to $1,500 per month for Performance-2XL with 126 GB RAM.

Source

Linode: Does Linode charge for data egress?

Linode emphasizes transparent pricing with no egress surprises and a free egress allowance included in the service. The pricing is described as straightforward with no hidden fees and no vendor lock-in.

Source

Heroku: What is the cheapest always-on Heroku plan?

The Basic Dyno at $7 per month USD is Heroku's cheapest always-on container option. It provides 0.5 GB RAM, free SSL, and support for 10 process types.

Source

Linode: What is the free trial credit amount?

New and existing enterprise customers can receive up to $5,000 in cloud credits through promotional offers.

Source

Heroku: How is Heroku Postgres priced?

Heroku Postgres Essential tier (shared resources) starts at $5-$20 per month for 1-32 GB disk. Standard tier (dedicated) ranges $50-$12,000 per month. Premium, Private, Shield, and Advanced tiers offer higher performance at corresponding prices.

Source

Linode: Is there vendor lock-in with Linode's pricing model?

No. Linode explicitly states there is no vendor lock-in as part of their transparent pricing approach.

Source

Heroku vs Linode

Heroku

Linode

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Heroku

Only in Linode

Both cover

What people use each for

Heroku

Linode

Where each one falls short

Heroku

Linode

Pricing, plan by plan

Heroku

Linode

Which should you pick?

Choose Heroku if

Choose Linode if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Heroku

More on Linode

Keep looking

Other head to heads