Software · head to head
Render vs Heroku
The short version
- Only Render has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Render the free Hobby workspace is limited to 25 services and 5 GB of bandwidth; Heroku there is no free dyno tier; the cheapest Eco dyno is $5 per month
- They diverge on capability: Render covers Web services, Heroku covers Git-based deployment.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Render and Heroku actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Render
- Web services
- Static sites
- Background workers
- Redis database
- Scheduled jobs
- Custom domains
- GitLab
- Bitbucket
Only in Heroku
- Git-based deployment
- Buildpacks
- Dynos (containers)
- Add-ons marketplace
- Logging
- API
- Slack
- Datadog
Both cover
- Postgres database
- Environment variables
- GitHub
- HTTPS
- Cloud deployment
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Render
- Deploying web services, static sites and cron jobs from a Git repository without managing serversnot Heroku
- Running managed Postgres and Redis alongside application servicesnot Heroku
- Preview environments per pull request for small teamsnot Heroku
Heroku
- Deploying and scaling web applications with git push and no server administrationnot Render
- Running managed Postgres, Redis and Kafka as attached data servicesnot Render
- Isolated production environments in a Private Space for regulated workloadsnot Render
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Render
- The free Hobby workspace is limited to 25 services and 5 GB of bandwidth
- Every paid plan charges the workspace fee plus compute on top, so $25 per month for Pro is a floor rather than a total
- SAML SSO and SCIM require the Scale plan at $499 per month
- HIPAA-compliant workspaces, inbound IP rules and advanced RBAC roles are Scale plan features
- Organization-level audit logs require Scale; Pro provides only workspace audit logs
- Contractual uptime SLAs, support response SLAs and a technical account manager are Enterprise only, and Enterprise is custom priced with no published rate
- Included bandwidth is 25 GB on Pro and 1 TB on Scale, with usage beyond that billed separately
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
Render
Free- FreeFree
- 1 web service
- 1 static site
- Shared CPU
- Starter$7/month
- Unlimited services
- Dedicated CPU
- 2GB RAM
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 Render if
- You need web services.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want static sites.
Choose Heroku if
- You need git-based deployment.
- You work on Web, Api, Workers.
- You also want buildpacks.
Questions people ask
- Is Render or Heroku better?
- Neither clearly leads. Render 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, Render or Heroku?
- Render has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Render and $7/month for Heroku.
- Does Render or Heroku run on more platforms?
- Render runs on Web, Api. Heroku runs on Web, Api, Workers.
- Can I use Render for free?
- Yes. Render has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Heroku starts at $7/month.
- What is Render best used for?
- Render is most often used for deploying web services, static sites and cron jobs from a git repository without managing servers, running managed postgres and redis alongside application services, preview environments per pull request for small teams. Of those, deploying web services, static sites and cron jobs from a git repository without managing servers and running managed postgres and redis alongside application services are not what Heroku is typically brought in for.
- What can Render do that Heroku cannot?
- Render covers Web services, Static sites, Background workers, Redis database. Heroku covers Git-based deployment, Buildpacks, Dynos (containers), Add-ons marketplace. Both handle Postgres database, Environment variables, GitHub, HTTPS.