Heroku vs AWS | Code Boost
Description: The world of cloud computing is vast and ever-expanding, offering businesses of all sizes a powerful way to scale their operations, reduce infrastructure costs, and streamline development processes. T

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# Heroku vs AWS

By Matt · Jul 2, 2024

The world of cloud computing is vast and ever-expanding, offering businesses of all sizes a powerful way to scale their operations, reduce infrastructure costs, and streamline development processes. Two of the most discussed cloud platforms are Heroku and Amazon Web Services (AWS). While both offer robust cloud solutions, they serve fundamentally different needs. This guide covers everything from pricing to architecture to help you choose the right platform.

## Understanding the Basics

Before diving into the comparison, it helps to understand what each platform actually is:

### What Is Heroku?

Heroku is a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution that prioritizes simplicity and developer experience. It abstracts away infrastructure management so developers can focus on writing and deploying code. Heroku handles servers, OS updates, load balancing, and most of the DevOps work automatically. It supports Ruby, Python, Node.js, Java, PHP, Go, Scala, and Clojure out of the box.

### What Is AWS?

AWS is an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and cloud platform that provides over 200 services — from raw compute (EC2) and storage (S3) to machine learning (SageMaker), databases (RDS, DynamoDB), and serverless compute (Lambda). AWS gives you immense flexibility at the cost of greater complexity and management overhead.

### The Core Difference

- Heroku: Opinionated, fast to deploy, minimal infrastructure knowledge required
- AWS: Highly flexible, scales to any complexity, requires (or benefits greatly from) dedicated DevOps resources

## Side-by-Side Comparison

Category | Heroku | AWS
--- | --- | ---
Type | PaaS | IaaS + PaaS + SaaS
Setup Complexity | Low — deploy in minutes | High — significant configuration required
Free Tier | None (removed Nov 2022) | 12-month free tier on select services
Pricing Model | Fixed dyno pricing + add-ons | Pay-as-you-go across services
Entry Price | $5/mo (Eco dyno) | ~$0–$10/mo for small EC2 instances
Auto-Scaling | Yes (dyno-based) | Yes (Auto Scaling Groups, Lambda)
Language Support | Ruby, Python, Node.js, Java, PHP, Go, Scala, Clojure | Virtually any language
Managed Databases | Heroku Postgres, Redis, Kafka | RDS (Postgres, MySQL, Aurora), DynamoDB, ElastiCache
DevOps Required | Minimal | Significant
Global Infrastructure | Limited regions (runs on AWS) | 33+ regions, 105+ availability zones
Vendor Lock-In Risk | High (proprietary buildpacks, dynos) | Moderate (open standards available)

## Pricing Comparison

### Heroku Pricing (2026)

Heroku charges per dyno (a virtualized compute container). Pricing is predictable but can escalate with add-ons.

Dyno Type | Price/Month | RAM | Notes
--- | --- | --- | ---
Eco | $5 (shared pool) | 512 MB | Sleeps after 30 min inactivity
Basic | $7 | 512 MB | Never sleeps
Standard-1X | $25 | 512 MB | Production-grade
Standard-2X | $50 | 1 GB | More RAM for heavier apps
Performance-M | $250 | 2.5 GB | Dedicated compute
Performance-L | $500 | 14 GB | High-memory workloads

Add-ons (Heroku Postgres, Redis, SSL, etc.) layer on top of dyno costs. A production app with a managed database can easily run $50–$150/month before traffic-based scaling.

### AWS Pricing (2026)

AWS uses pay-as-you-go across hundreds of services. For a basic web application comparison:

Service | Comparable Heroku Tier | AWS Monthly Cost (approx.)
--- | --- | ---
EC2 t3.micro | Basic dyno | ~$8.50/mo
EC2 t3.small | Standard-1X | ~$17/mo
RDS db.t3.micro (Postgres) | Heroku Postgres Mini | ~$15/mo
Elastic Beanstalk (managed) | Standard dyno | EC2 cost + no platform fee

AWS is generally cheaper for equivalent raw compute, but billing complexity and egress fees can make the final number surprising. Use the AWS Cost Calculator and set up billing alerts before deploying production workloads.

## AWS Elastic Beanstalk: AWS's Answer to Heroku

If you want Heroku-like simplicity on AWS infrastructure, Elastic Beanstalk is worth evaluating. It handles deployment, capacity provisioning, load balancing, and auto-scaling automatically — similar to Heroku's dyno model. You pay only for the underlying EC2 and RDS resources, not a platform surcharge.

Elastic Beanstalk supports Node.js, Python, Ruby, Java, PHP, Go, and Docker. The main trade-off is a more complex configuration experience than Heroku, but with much more flexibility and lower cost at scale.

## Ease of Use and Management

Heroku wins decisively on ease of use. Deploying to Heroku is as simple as `git push heroku main`. Environment variables, SSL certificates, and database provisioning are handled through a clean dashboard or CLI. For a developer who just wants to ship an app, Heroku removes significant friction.

AWS requires substantially more configuration — VPCs, security groups, IAM roles, load balancers, and instance sizing decisions all need attention before your app is production-ready. This is where DevOps expertise pays dividends. AWS's managed services (Fargate, App Runner, Amplify) have narrowed the gap for simpler deployments.

## Scalability and Performance

Both platforms offer automatic scaling, but they do it differently:

- Heroku: Scales by adding dyno instances horizontally. Simple to configure but the dyno-based model means cost scales linearly with load. Dynos run on AWS infrastructure under the hood.
- AWS: Auto Scaling Groups handle EC2 instances, while Lambda and Fargate handle serverless and container workloads. AWS can scale to virtually any load across its global infrastructure — used by Netflix, Airbnb, and thousands of enterprises.

For most startups and medium-sized apps, Heroku's scaling is sufficient and far easier to manage. For high-traffic production systems, AWS's flexibility and global footprint are hard to beat.

## Database Options

### Heroku

- Heroku Postgres: Managed PostgreSQL with automated backups, follower databases, and a dataclips feature. Starts at $5/mo (Mini).
- Heroku Redis: Managed Redis for caching and queues
- Heroku Kafka: Managed Apache Kafka for event streaming
- Additional databases available via the add-on marketplace (MongoDB Atlas, ClearDB MySQL, etc.)

### AWS

- RDS: Managed relational databases — Postgres, MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server
- Aurora: MySQL/Postgres-compatible with 5x MySQL performance at scale
- DynamoDB: Serverless NoSQL at any scale
- ElastiCache: Managed Redis and Memcached
- DocumentDB: MongoDB-compatible managed database

AWS's database portfolio is considerably deeper, particularly for enterprises with diverse data requirements.

## Deployment and CI/CD

Heroku integrates directly with GitHub for automatic deploys on push and has a built-in pipeline feature (Heroku Pipelines) for staging → production promotion. For simple Git-based workflows, it's excellent.

AWS offers CodePipeline, CodeBuild, and CodeDeploy as a complete CI/CD suite. These are more powerful but require more setup. Most teams using AWS integrate third-party CI/CD tools (GitHub Actions, CircleCI, Jenkins) instead.

## Use Cases: When to Choose Each

### Heroku Is the Right Choice When:

- You're a small team or solo developer shipping an MVP quickly
- You don't have DevOps resources to manage infrastructure
- Predictable monthly billing matters more than lowest cost
- You're building a startup and want to move fast before optimizing
- Your app is in one of Heroku's supported language stacks

### AWS Is the Right Choice When:

- You have or plan to hire DevOps/SRE engineers
- You need global infrastructure across multiple regions
- Cost optimization at scale is a priority
- You need services Heroku doesn't offer (ML, media processing, IoT, etc.)
- Your application requires complex networking or compliance requirements

## Additional Considerations

- Support: Heroku offers tiered support plans starting at $25/mo. AWS offers their own support plans ranging from free Developer support to enterprise-grade.
- Security: Heroku provides built-in security (SSL, DDoS protection). AWS offers more granular control through IAM, Security Groups, VPC, Shield, and WAF — but requires more configuration.
- Lock-In: Heroku's buildpacks and dyno model create significant lock-in. AWS services vary — EC2 and S3 are portable; highly managed services like DynamoDB or Aurora require more effort to migrate away from.
- Community: AWS has a larger and more active community, vastly more documentation, and a broader training ecosystem (AWS certifications are widely recognized).

You can also check out our other comparisons here:
Netlify vs Heroku
Render vs Heroku
Heroku vs DigitalOcean
Heroku vs Azure

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Does Heroku still have a free tier?

No. Heroku removed its free tier in November 2022. The cheapest option is the Eco dyno at $5/month (shared pool, sleeps after inactivity) or Basic dyno at $7/month (always on).

### Is Heroku built on AWS?

Yes. Heroku runs on top of AWS infrastructure. You're paying a premium for the platform abstraction and management Heroku provides on top of the underlying AWS compute.

### Can I migrate from Heroku to AWS?

Yes, and many companies do this as they scale. The most common migration path is to AWS Elastic Beanstalk (similar PaaS experience) or to raw EC2 with a CI/CD pipeline. Heroku's containerized Procfile-based apps can often be migrated to Fargate or App Runner with moderate effort.

### Which is cheaper at scale?

AWS is generally cheaper at scale. Heroku's dyno pricing means you pay a platform premium on top of the underlying compute. At small scales the difference is negligible; at large scales (dozens of dynos), migrating to AWS can yield significant savings.

### Is AWS too complex for a solo developer?

AWS has a steeper learning curve, but services like AWS Amplify and AWS App Runner have significantly reduced the barrier for individual developers. For a simple web app, Heroku remains easier. For someone willing to invest time learning AWS, the flexibility and cost benefits are substantial.

### What's a good alternative to Heroku that's cheaper?

DigitalOcean App Platform and Render are frequently cited as Heroku alternatives with simpler pricing. A DigitalOcean Droplet at $6/month can run a Node.js or Python app with full control.