Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Heroku vs Sourcegraph

Heroku logo

Heroku

Cloud

Cloud Application Platform

From
$5/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Sourcegraph logo

Sourcegraph

Developer Tools

Code search and intelligence platform for large codebases with Cody AI assistant

From
$16000/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Heroku there is no free dyno tier; the cheapest Eco dyno is $5 per month; Sourcegraph enterprise pricing starting at $16k annually creates significant barrier for small teams
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Heroku and Sourcegraph actually diverge.

Attributes where Heroku and Sourcegraph differ
AttributeHerokuSourcegraph
Starting price$5/month$16000/year
PlatformsWeb, Api, WorkersCloud, Self-hosted
CategoryCloudDeveloper Tools
Founded2007Unknown

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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 Sourcegraph

Nothing recorded that Heroku does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Heroku

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

Sourcegraph

  • Large-scale code migrations across hundreds of repositoriesnot Heroku
  • Enterprise governance and code ownership trackingnot Heroku
  • AI-assisted bug hunting and security pattern detectionnot Heroku
  • Onboarding engineers into large unfamiliar codebasesnot Heroku
  • Regulatory compliance and code audit trailsnot 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

Sourcegraph

  • Enterprise pricing starting at $16k annually creates significant barrier for small teams
  • No free tier or standard plan published; all options require custom sales engagement
  • Complex enterprise-only positioning limits adoption compared to GitHub Copilot's pervasiveness
  • Requires indexing entire codebase; not suitable for small or ephemeral projects

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

Sourcegraph

$16000/year
  • Enterprise$16000/year
    • Scales with team size
    • Credits for AI features per user
    • Deep Search

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 Sourcegraph if

  • You work on Cloud, Self-hosted.
Sourcegraph review

Questions people ask

Is Heroku or Sourcegraph better?
Neither clearly leads. Heroku starts at $5/month and Sourcegraph at $16000/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Heroku or Sourcegraph?
Heroku starts at $5/month and Sourcegraph at $16000/year.
Does Heroku or Sourcegraph run on more platforms?
Heroku runs on Web, Api, Workers. Sourcegraph runs on Cloud, Self-hosted.
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 Sourcegraph is typically brought in for.
What can Heroku do that Sourcegraph cannot?
Heroku covers Git-based deployment, Buildpacks, Dynos (containers), Add-ons marketplace.

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
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
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
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