Heroku Alternative: Where to Host Node, Laravel and Django Apps in 2026
Heroku made deploying apps simple, and its developer experience is still good. Most people searching for a Heroku alternative are reacting to cost: there has been no free tier for years, RAM per dollar is low, and the database is a separate bill. Here is how Heroku's current pricing compares and what to move to depending on your app.
Heroku Pricing in 2026 (Checked 8 October 2026)
| Dyno | Price per month | RAM |
|---|
| Eco | $5 | 0.5 GB (sleeps after 30 minutes idle) |
| Basic | $7 | 0.5 GB |
| Standard-1X | $25 | 0.5 GB |
| Standard-2X | $50 | 1 GB |
| Performance-M | $250 | 2.5 GB |
Heroku Postgres starts at $5 per month for the Essential-0 plan, billed in addition to dynos. Source: Heroku pricing; prices change, so check before deciding.
What Heroku Still Does Well
- Git-based deploys with very little configuration.
- A large add-on marketplace (databases, logging, monitoring).
- Review apps and pipelines for team workflows.
If those features save your team real time and the bill is small, staying is reasonable.
Three Kinds of Heroku Alternatives
Services such as Render and Railway offer a similar push-to-deploy experience with their own pricing models. They are worth comparing if you want to stay on a fully managed platform.
2. Container app hosting
You bring your code or a Dockerfile and the host builds and runs it, usually with a database alongside. This keeps most of the Heroku convenience while running any stack that fits in a container. RackUp's Cloud App plans work this way:
- Run MERN, Laravel, Django, .NET or your own Dockerfile.
- A private database (MongoDB, MySQL or Postgres) on the Starter and Pro plans.
- An AI workspace in the browser (VS Code with Claude Code, Codex or Gemini CLI).
- Free SSL on your own domain. Like Heroku Eco, the entry Starter plan sleeps when idle and wakes on the next visit; the Pro and Business plans stay on.
3. A VPS
The best RAM per dollar if you or your team are comfortable with a Linux server. For comparison, Heroku Standard-2X is $50 a month for 1 GB of RAM, while RackUp's Developer VPS 1 is $34.95 a month (billed annually) for 8 vCPU and 12 GB of RAM with full root access, a managed setup, free migration and servers in 9 regions.
Moving an App Off Heroku
- Export the database: take a Heroku Postgres backup and restore it into the new database.
- Copy config vars into environment variables on the new host (
heroku config lists them). - Replace the Procfile: on a VPS, run the web process with a process manager or systemd; on container hosting, the Dockerfile command does the job.
- Put a web server in front for HTTPS on a VPS: see deploying Django with Gunicorn and Nginx or Nginx with free SSL.
- Switch DNS after testing, then remove the Heroku app.
New to containers? Start with why use Docker.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Heroku still have a free tier?
No. The cheapest option is the $5 Eco dyno, which sleeps after 30 minutes of inactivity.
What is the cheapest Heroku alternative?
For small apps, container app hosting is usually cheapest. For apps that need more memory, a VPS gives the most RAM per dollar.
Can I host Laravel or Django like Heroku?
Yes. Container app hosting runs them from your code or a Dockerfile, and a VPS runs them with Nginx and a process manager.
How hard is it to migrate off Heroku?
For most apps it is a database export, copying config vars and replacing the Procfile, usually a few hours of work.
Bring Your App to RackUp
Compare the Cloud App and Developer VPS plans. We can help you move your app and database across.
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