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Cloud · head to head

Heroku vs Northflank

Heroku logo

Heroku

Cloud

Cloud Application Platform

From
$5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Northflank logo

Northflank

Cloud

The runtime platform for AI-native companies

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Northflank 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; Northflank pricing complexity with multiple rate dimensions
  • They diverge on capability: Heroku covers Git-based deployment, Northflank covers Application deployments.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Heroku and Northflank actually diverge.

Attributes where Heroku and Northflank differ
AttributeHerokuNorthflank
Starting price$5/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Api, WorkersAWS, GCP, Azure, On-premises
Founded2007Unknown

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 Northflank

  • Application deployments
  • GPU support
  • Preview environments
  • Database management
  • Multi-cloud support
  • GitOps integration

What people use each for

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

Heroku

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

Northflank

  • Deploying AI inference models with GPU accelerationnot Heroku
  • Running training workloads on distributed GPUsnot Heroku
  • Building microservices with multi-cloud reliabilitynot 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

Northflank

  • Pricing complexity with multiple rate dimensions
  • GPU costs can be expensive for large-scale deployments
  • Learning curve for Kubernetes concepts

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

Northflank

Free
  • Sandbox (Free)Free
    • Always-on compute with no sleeping
    • 2 free services
    • 1 free database
  • Pay-as-you-go$undefined/usage
    • CPU: $0.01667 per vCPU per hour
    • Memory: $0.00833 per GB per hour
    • Network egress: $0.06 per GB
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Custom pricing with volume discounts
    • Invoice-based billing
    • Annual commitments

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 Northflank if

  • You need application deployments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS, GCP, Azure, On-premises.
  • You also want gpu support.
Northflank review

Questions people ask

Is Heroku or Northflank better?
Neither clearly leads. Heroku starts at $5/month and Northflank at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Heroku or Northflank?
Northflank has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $5/month for Heroku and Free for Northflank.
Does Heroku or Northflank run on more platforms?
Heroku runs on Web, Api, Workers. Northflank runs on AWS, GCP, Azure, On-premises.
Can I use Northflank for free?
Yes. Northflank 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 Northflank is typically brought in for.
What can Heroku do that Northflank cannot?
Heroku covers Git-based deployment, Buildpacks, Dynos (containers), Add-ons marketplace. Northflank covers Application deployments, GPU support, Preview environments, Database management.

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
Northflank: What is included in the free Sandbox tier?

The Sandbox includes always-on compute, 2 free services, 1 free database, 2 free cron jobs, and is perfect for testing applications.

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
Northflank: How much does CPU cost on Northflank?

CPU costs $0.01667 per vCPU per hour on pay-as-you-go pricing.

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
Northflank: What GPUs are available?

GPU options include NVIDIA L4 at $0.80/hr through H100 at $2.74/hr.

Source
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