What is the Heroku vs Render score?

Heroku scores 66/100 and Render scores 79/100 on PromptToProd's evidence-based ranking. Scores are never for sale.

Is Heroku shutting down?

No. In February 2026 Heroku said it is moving to a sustaining engineering model focused on stability, security, reliability and support. Existing and new customers who pay by card keep the same pricing and service; only new Enterprise contracts stopped.

Is Render cheaper than Heroku?

At the low end, yes: Render has free web services and a free Postgres, while Heroku’s cheapest plan is Eco at $5/mo. Always-on, both start at $7/mo (Heroku Basic, Render’s 512 MB instance).

← Hosting & deploy

Heroku vs Render (2026)

Head-to-head comparison for vibe coders: scores, free tiers, pricing and best-for, using the same evidence-based methodology. Rankings are never for sale.

Heroku

The original git-push PaaS, now in sustaining-engineering mode

Render

Cloud hosting for apps, databases and workers

Side-by-side comparison

Criterion	Heroku	Render
Score	66/100	79/100
Free tier	No: no free dynos; Eco is the cheapest plan at $5/mo	Yes: free web services (sleep after 15 min idle, 750 hrs/mo)
Open source	No	No
Pricing	Eco $5/mo (1,000 shared dyno hours, sleeps after 30 min idle, personal apps only); Basic $7/mo per dyno (always on); Standard-1X $25/mo; Postgres Essential-0 $5/mo (1 GB)	Paid instances from $7/mo; Pro workspace $25/mo
Best for	Existing Heroku apps and teams that value a mature, stable platform over new features	Heroku-style hosting for backends and full-stack apps
Category	Hosting & deploy	Hosting & deploy

Score breakdown

Criterion	Heroku	Render
Fit for the use case /25	18	21
Vibe-coder friendliness /15	11	13
Output quality & reliability /15	12	12
Pricing & free tier /15	8	12
Ecosystem & integrations /10	9	8
Momentum /10	2	7
Code ownership & lock-in /10	6	6

Based on desk research of official pricing pages and docs; see methodology.

The short version

Both run web services, workers and Postgres from a git push. Render is the newer platform with a free tier and active development. Heroku has no free plan, and since February 2026 it runs on a sustaining engineering model: Salesforce keeps it stable, secure and supported, with no change to pricing for card-paying customers, but new features are no longer the focus.

Prices compared

Heroku Eco is $5/mo for a shared pool of 1,000 dyno hours, but Eco dynos sleep after 30 minutes idle and work only for personal apps. An always-on Basic dyno is $7/mo and Standard-1X $25/mo. Heroku Postgres Essential-0 is $5/mo for 1 GB. Render has free web services (they sleep after 15 minutes idle, 750 hours a month) plus a free Postgres, and its smallest always-on instance is $7/mo with 512 MB RAM. A Pro workspace is $25/mo plus compute.

Which to pick

For a new app, Render: you can start free and pay the same $7/mo as a Heroku Basic dyno when you need it always on. Stay on Heroku if your app already runs well there and you rely on its add-on marketplace; there is no forced migration.

Who wins: Heroku or Render?

By score, Render wins Heroku vs Render at 79/100 vs 66/100. Render: Real free tier and simple pricing. Free instances sleep. Heroku: Still one of the simplest git-push platforms with a huge add-on ecosystem, but there is no free plan, Eco dynos sleep, and Salesforce has stopped adding features, so newer hosts give more for the same money. Momentum is scored low for that reason. Render is best for Heroku-style hosting for backends and full-stack apps. Heroku is best for Existing Heroku apps and teams that value a mature, stable platform over new features.

FAQ

Which is better, Heroku or Render?: By our score, Render (79/100) ranks above Heroku (66/100). Render is best for Heroku-style hosting for backends and full-stack apps. The right pick still depends on your workflow; see the side-by-side table.
What is the Heroku vs Render score?: Heroku scores 66/100 and Render scores 79/100 on PromptToProd's evidence-based ranking. Scores are never for sale.
Is Heroku shutting down?: No. In February 2026 Heroku said it is moving to a sustaining engineering model focused on stability, security, reliability and support. Existing and new customers who pay by card keep the same pricing and service; only new Enterprise contracts stopped.
Is Render cheaper than Heroku?: At the low end, yes: Render has free web services and a free Postgres, while Heroku’s cheapest plan is Eco at $5/mo. Always-on, both start at $7/mo (Heroku Basic, Render’s 512 MB instance).