Heroku vs Render: Pricing Comparison 2026
Side-by-side pricing comparison of Heroku and Render. See all plans, features, and costs at a glance.
Bottom line: Heroku starts at $5/mo, making it $14/mo cheaper than Render ($19/mo). Render offers a free plan.
Last updated: March 16, 2026
Render — Render offers a free tier, lower prices, and more built-in features than Heroku. For new projects, Render is the better choice. Heroku remains viable for existing applications where migration cost exceeds savings.
Heroku vs Render: Quick Pricing Facts
| Feature | Heroku | Render |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $5/mo | $19/mo |
| Number of Plans | 4 | 4 |
| Free Tier | No | Yes |
| Pricing Model | usage-based | usage-based |
| Annual Discount | N/A | N/A |
Heroku is the more affordable option, starting at $5/mo compared to Render's $19/mo. Both are Hosting & Infra tools with 8 combined pricing plans and 40 features compared.
Render stands out with a free plan for getting started.
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 |  Heroku Try it free |  Render Try it free |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Hobby $0/monthCheapest Includes
| |
| Tier 2 | Professional $19/month $19 / year Includes
| |
| Tier 3 | Standard 1xPopular $25/monthCheapest Includes
| Organization $29/month $29 / year Includes
|
| Tier 4 | Performance M $250/monthCheapest Includes
| Enterprise Custom pricing Includes
|
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Render
Render offers a free tier, lower prices, and more built-in features than Heroku. For new projects, Render is the better choice. Heroku remains viable for existing applications where migration cost exceeds savings.
Based on pricing data only. Review the full comparison below for your specific needs.
Best value: Render
Try Render freeWhich Should You Choose?
Choose Heroku if:
- •You want the original PaaS experience — git push to deploy with the simplest possible workflow for web applications
- •Heroku's add-on marketplace provides one-click provisioning for databases, caches, monitoring, and dozens of other services
- •Your team uses Ruby on Rails, Python/Django, or Node.js — Heroku's buildpack ecosystem handles these stacks with zero configuration
- •Heroku's review apps create temporary environments for every pull request, streamlining code review for teams
Choose Render if:
- •Render's free tier includes web services, PostgreSQL databases, Redis instances, and cron jobs — covering full-stack deployments at zero cost
- •Transparent, predictable pricing with no surprise charges — Render publishes prices per service type without metered add-on complexity
- •Native support for Docker, background workers, static sites, and private services in addition to web apps — broader deployment options than Heroku
- •Render's infrastructure is newer and faster — automatic HTTPS, global CDN, and managed PostgreSQL with daily backups included by default
Heroku pioneered platform-as-a-service, and Render is the modern challenger that learned from Heroku's strengths and weaknesses. Both let you deploy applications without managing infrastructure, but their pricing and feature sets have diverged significantly. Heroku eliminated its free tier in November 2022. Heroku Eco dynos start at $5/month for lightweight apps. Heroku Basic at $7/month provides always-on dynos. Heroku Standard at $25/month adds horizontal scaling and metrics. Heroku Postgres starts at $5/month for Hobby and $50/month for Standard. Add-ons (Redis, monitoring, logging) add to the total. A typical small application on Heroku costs $30-80/month. Render offers a free tier that includes web services (with sleep on inactivity), PostgreSQL databases, Redis, and cron jobs. Render Starter web services begin at $7/month for always-on instances. Render Pro at $25/month adds auto-scaling. Render PostgreSQL starts at $7/month with daily backups included. A comparable application on Render typically costs $15-40/month — roughly half of Heroku's pricing. For developers with existing Heroku applications and no cost pressure, staying on Heroku avoids migration work. For new projects and cost-conscious teams, Render offers more features at lower prices with a free tier for experimentation. Render's infrastructure is also newer — faster deploys, better dashboard UX, and built-in features (managed TLS, preview environments, instant rollbacks) that Heroku charges add-on fees for.
Frequently Asked Questions: Heroku vs Render
Which is cheaper, Heroku or Render?
How many pricing plans does Heroku have vs Render?
Does Heroku or Render offer a free plan?
Can I save money by paying annually for Heroku or Render?
What is the most popular Heroku plan?
Does Heroku or Render offer custom enterprise pricing?
How do Heroku and Render compare for Hosting & Infra?
Sources
- Heroku Official Pricing— Vendor pricing page
- Render Official Pricing— Vendor pricing page
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