Cloud · head to head
Heroku vs Netlify
The short version
- Only Netlify 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; Netlify the free tier is an individual account with 300 credits; team members require the Pro plan at $20 a month
- They diverge on capability: Heroku covers Git-based deployment, Netlify covers Continuous deployment.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Heroku and Netlify actually diverge.
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 Heroku
- Git-based deployment
- Buildpacks
- Dynos (containers)
- Add-ons marketplace
- Postgres database
- Environment variables
- Logging
- API
Only in Netlify
- Continuous deployment
- Instant rollbacks
- Deploy previews
- Split testing
- Forms handling
- Identity/Auth
- Serverless functions
- Edge handlers
Both cover
- GitHub
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Heroku
- Application hostingnot Netlify
- Database as a servicenot Netlify
- CI/CD pipelinesnot Netlify
- API deploymentnot Netlify
Netlify
- Hosting static sites and frontend frameworks with global CDN deliverynot Heroku
- Deploy previews on every pull requestnot Heroku
- Serverless functions alongside a static sitenot Heroku
- Netlify Database and Blob storage for small application statenot 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
Netlify
- The free tier is an individual account with 300 credits; team members require the Pro plan at $20 a month
- Everything is metered in credits, so bandwidth at 20 credits per GB and production deploys at 15 credits each consume the allowance in ways a bandwidth figure alone would not show
- Compute is billed at 10 credits per GB-hour, so server-rendered work costs more than static hosting
- Running past the allowance means buying credit packs, at $5 for 500 on Personal and $10 for 1,500 on Pro
- AI inference is priced by model rather than at a flat credit rate
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
Netlify
Free- Free PlanFree
- 300 credit limit
- Deploy previews, custom domains with SSL, functions, database storage
- Global CDN access
- Personal Plan$9/month
- 1000 credits
- Smart secret detection
- Extended observability 1-day
- Pro Plan$20/month
- 3000 credits
- Private repositories, shared environment variables
- Concurrent builds 3 plus
- Enterprise Plan$null/mo
- Unlimited credits
- 99.99 percent SLA guarantee
- Enterprise networking, SSO/SCIM integration
Which should you pick?
Choose Heroku if
- You need git-based deployment.
- You work on Web, Api, Workers.
- You also want buildpacks.
Choose Netlify if
- You need continuous deployment.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want instant rollbacks.
Questions people ask
- Is Heroku or Netlify better?
- Neither clearly leads. Heroku starts at $5/month and Netlify at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Heroku or Netlify?
- Netlify has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $5/month for Heroku and Free for Netlify.
- Does Heroku or Netlify run on more platforms?
- Heroku runs on Web, Api, Workers. Netlify runs on Web.
- Can I use Netlify for free?
- Yes. Netlify 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 Netlify is typically brought in for.
- What can Heroku do that Netlify cannot?
- Heroku covers Git-based deployment, Buildpacks, Dynos (containers), Add-ons marketplace. Netlify covers Continuous deployment, Instant rollbacks, Deploy previews, Split testing. Both handle GitHub.
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.
SourceNetlify: Is Netlify free?
Netlify offers a free tier with 300 credits per month, suitable for individual developers. It includes deploy previews, custom domains with SSL, functions, database storage, and global CDN access.
SourceHeroku: 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.
SourceNetlify: What is Netlify's pricing model?
Netlify charges based on credits. Production deployments cost 15 credits at 0.10 dollars each. Compute costs 10 credits per GB-hour at 0.07 dollars. Bandwidth costs 20 credits per GB at 0.13 dollars. Web requests cost 2 credits per 10000 requests at 0.01 dollars.
SourceHeroku: 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.
SourceNetlify: What does the Pro plan include?
The Pro Plan costs 20 dollars per month and includes 3000 credits, private repositories, shared environment variables, 3 plus concurrent builds, and 30-day analytics periods.
SourceRelated pages
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