AWS vs Heroku: Pricing Comparison 2026
Side-by-side pricing comparison of AWS and Heroku. See all plans, features, and costs at a glance.
Bottom line: Heroku starts at $5/mo, making it $2015/mo cheaper than AWS ($2020/mo). Neither offers a free plan.
Last updated: June 15, 2026
AWS vs Heroku: Quick Pricing Facts
| Feature | AWS | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $2020/mo | $5/mo |
| Number of Plans | 4 | 4 |
| Free Tier | No | No |
| Pricing Model | usage-based | usage-based |
| Annual Discount | N/A | N/A |
Heroku is the more affordable option, starting at $5/mo compared to AWS' $2020/mo. Both are Hosting & Infra tools with 8 combined pricing plans and 14 features compared.
Review the detailed tier-by-tier comparison above to see exactly which features are included at each price point and find the best fit for your Hosting & Infra needs.
| Pricing Plans | AWS Try free | Heroku Try free |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | How does AWS pricing work? Custom pricing | |
| Tier 2 | How do you pay for AWS? Custom pricing | |
| Tier 3 | Is AWS Private Pricing right for you? Custom pricing | Standard 1xPopular $25/monthCheapest Includes
|
| Tier 4 | Pricing for AWS products $2020/month | Performance M $250/monthCheapest Includes
|
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Which Should You Choose?
Choose AWS if:
- •You need enterprise-grade cloud with deep managed services - RDS, Lambda, EKS, SageMaker
- •Your architecture requires fine-grained control over infrastructure and advanced AWS services
- •Compliance, networking, and enterprise support requirements necessitate AWS
Choose Heroku if:
- •You want simple PaaS deployment without managing servers - git push to deploy
- •Heroku handles all infrastructure complexity and charges from $5-7/month for basic dynos
- •Small teams or individual developers want to ship quickly without infrastructure overhead
Heroku is built on top of AWS and provides a simpler deployment experience at a premium. Heroku's simplicity - git push to deploy, managed SSL, automatic scaling - costs more than running directly on AWS EC2 or ECS. For teams prioritizing developer experience over infrastructure control, Heroku (or modern alternatives like Render and Railway) saves significant engineering time. For teams that need AWS-specific managed services or have cost-optimized workloads, running directly on AWS is more efficient.
Frequently Asked Questions: AWS vs Heroku
Which is cheaper, AWS or Heroku?
How many pricing plans does AWS have vs Heroku?
What is the most popular Heroku plan?
Does AWS or Heroku offer custom enterprise pricing?
How do AWS and Heroku compare for Hosting & Infra?
Sources
- AWS Official Pricing- Vendor pricing page
- Heroku Official Pricing- Vendor pricing page
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