Heroku →
Modern Deploys, No Legacy Baggage
Heroku killed its free tier and raised prices. Runsite gives you EU hosting, transparent pricing, and a free tier that actually stays free.
Best Heroku alternative: quick answer
The best Heroku alternative depends on your stack, but for EU-based indie developers and small startups, Runsite is the strongest option: GDPR-compliant hosting in Frankfurt (eu-central), predictable EUR pricing with hard spending caps, and a permanent free tier that needs no credit card. Unlike Heroku, your data never leaves the EU or falls under the US CLOUD Act, so compliance is the default rather than a configuration step.
// comparison
Runsite vs Heroku
Side-by-side. No marketing fluff, just facts.
| Feature | Runsite | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | ✓ Permanent | ✗ Removed in 2022 |
| Basic Web Service | €5/mo | $7.00/mo |
| Web Standard (1 vCPU, 1GB) | €12/mo | $25/mo |
| Managed PostgreSQL | €5/mo | $9/mo |
| Data Region | ✓ EU only (Frankfurt, eu-central) | US default, EU = Enterprise only |
| GDPR Compliance | ✓ EU entity, full compliance | ✗ US company (Salesforce) |
| Spending Limits | ✓ Hard cap + alerts | ✗ No built-in limits |
| Sleep / Cold Starts | ✓ Always-on | Eco dynos sleep after 30min |
Pricing and feature details verified June 2026. Always confirm current rates on Heroku’s official pricing page.
// in-depth comparison
Heroku vs Runsite: What You Need to Know
Heroku is still the best-known name in deployment and one of the worst values for an indie developer. Both things are true at once. It pioneered the PaaS category and defined what developer-friendly deployment looks like: the git-push workflow, the add-on marketplace, and the buildpack system influenced every platform that followed, and the name survived even Salesforce's acquisition.
The problem is the trajectory. Free dynos were eliminated in 2022, Eco dynos sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity, and pricing has steadily increased, so a basic app with a database now costs $16+/mo minimum. Heroku is also a US company with EU data residency available only on enterprise plans. Runsite keeps always-on containers even on its free tier, runs EU-only infrastructure in Frankfurt (eu-central), and enforces hard spending limits with Telegram alerts.
If you learned to deploy on Heroku and want the same git-push simplicity with lower costs, EU data residency, and a free tier that actually persists, Runsite preserves that workflow while fixing the pain points Heroku introduced over the past few years.
// why switch
Built for European Developers
Everything you need, nothing you don't. Hosted where your users are.
No Cold Starts
Your containers run continuously. No 30-second spin-up delays. Your users get instant responses, always.
Spending Caps
Set a hard monthly limit. Receive Telegram alerts at 80%. Never wake up to a surprise $2,000 invoice again.
Git Push Deploy
Same workflow you love from Heroku. Push to main, auto-build, auto-deploy. Zero config migration for most apps.
// heroku problems → runsite solutions
Common Heroku frustrations. Sound familiar?
Every Heroku frustration, solved.
Heroku problem
"My $7/mo dyno sleeps after 30 min"
Eco dynos spin down constantly. Cold starts kill your API response times and user experience.
Runsite solution
Always-on containers, even on free tier
No sleep. No cold starts. Your app runs 24/7 on dedicated resources in EU data centers.
Heroku problem
"I got a $2,400 bill I didn't expect"
Heroku's autoscaling and add-on pricing is opaque. Surprise invoices are a rite of passage.
Runsite solution
Hard spending limits + alerts
Set a monthly cap. Get Telegram alerts at 80%. We physically cannot charge you more than your limit.
Heroku problem
"Free tier is gone. Hobby is $7/mo per app"
Heroku removed free dynos in 2022. A simple side project now costs $7+/mo minimum.
Runsite solution
Permanent free tier, no credit card
Run side projects, prototypes, and demos forever. Free means free: not "free for 90 days".
// getting started
Deploy in 3 Steps
From git push to live, in under 2 minutes.
curl -fsSL https://runsite.app/install | sh runsite init --from github runsite deploy --region eu-central // same platform, other angles
Keep exploring
Migrate from Heroku in 2 Minutes
Same git-push workflow. Better pricing. European servers.
Start Free on Runsite →