DigitalOcean vs Heroku
DigitalOcean vs Heroku compared for European indie developers and small startups. Pricing, EU jurisdiction, GDPR posture, and why Runsite (an EU-registered PaaS in Frankfurt) is worth a look.
DigitalOcean vs Heroku: quick answer
DigitalOcean and Heroku both offer Git-push deploy workflows, but they differ where it counts. DigitalOcean starts around from $5/mo, Heroku around $5/mo. DigitalOcean and Heroku are both US-headquartered, so neither escapes US jurisdiction or the CLOUD Act, and neither runs EU-native infrastructure or offers hard spending caps. For European teams that need GDPR-compliant hosting in Frankfurt with predictable EUR billing and a permanent free tier, Runsite is the EU-native alternative to both.
// digitalocean problems → runsite solutions
Common DigitalOcean frustrations. Sound familiar?
Every DigitalOcean frustration, solved.
DigitalOcean problem
"I have to manage the server myself"
Droplets require SSH access, OS updates, security patches, nginx config, and manual deployment.
Runsite solution
Fully managed PaaS
Push to GitHub, auto-build, auto-deploy. SSL, scaling, and maintenance handled for you.
DigitalOcean problem
"DigitalOcean is a US company"
Your data is subject to US jurisdiction even on Amsterdam droplets.
Runsite solution
EU entity, EU law
Runsite is registered in the EU. Your data is governed by European privacy laws.
DigitalOcean problem
"$200 trial credit runs out"
DigitalOcean's trial is generous but temporary. After 60 days, you pay for everything.
Runsite solution
Permanent free tier
No trial period. No credit card. Build and deploy at zero cost, forever.
// comparison
Runsite vs DigitalOcean
Side-by-side. No marketing fluff, just facts.
| Feature | Runsite | DigitalOcean |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment Method | ✓ Git push, auto-build | Manual server setup |
| Server Management | ✓ Fully managed | ✗ You manage everything |
| EU Data Centers | ✓ Frankfurt (eu-central) | ✓ Amsterdam, Frankfurt |
| GDPR Compliance | ✓ EU entity | ✗ US company |
| Free Tier | ✓ Permanent | ✗ $200 trial credit |
| Basic Droplet | €5/mo (managed) | $6/mo (unmanaged) |
| SSL Certificates | ✓ Automatic | Manual setup |
// the other side
What about Heroku?
Heroku killed its free tier and raised prices. Runsite gives you EU hosting, transparent pricing, and a free tier that actually stays free.
// 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".
// 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, side by side
DigitalOcean vs Heroku: what each actually costs
Free tier covers static sites only (up to 3 apps). There is no always-free plan for containers or servers; new accounts get time-limited promotional credit on top.
DigitalOcean's entry prices are genuinely low, but the cheap tiers are either unmanaged (Droplets) or resource-limited, and managed databases push the real cost up quickly. There is no free tier, which makes it a poor fit for prototyping.
No free tier at all: Heroku discontinued free dynos, Postgres and Redis in November 2022.
Heroku still has the cleanest developer experience, but its pricing punishes hobbyists and small teams: no free tier, expensive production databases, and add-ons that quietly multiply the bill.
Pricing verified June 2026. Check the official pricing page of each provider for current rates.
// in-depth comparison
How DigitalOcean and Heroku each compare to Runsite
DigitalOcean vs Runsite
DigitalOcean is solid infrastructure and the wrong abstraction if you would rather write code than administer Linux. It made cloud computing accessible to individual developers at a time when AWS felt impenetrable. Droplets are straightforward, the pricing is clear, and the community tutorials cover almost every deployment scenario. For developers comfortable with Linux administration, it provides good value.
The core issue is that Droplets are unmanaged virtual machines. OS updates, security patches, firewall configuration, SSL certificates, and deployment automation are all on you. App Platform exists as a managed alternative, but it is limited in flexibility and still US-headquartered. The $200 trial credit expires after 60 days, leaving no free tier. Runsite is a fully managed PaaS: push code to GitHub, get a running app with automatic SSL, in EU data centers, from an EU entity.
Developers tired of SSH sessions, nginx configurations, and weekend maintenance windows will appreciate the managed approach. You get an EU-jurisdictional Frankfurt region (eu-central), with zero server management overhead.
Heroku vs Runsite
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 consider runsite
Beyond DigitalOcean and Heroku
EU PaaS for indie developers and small European startups. One region: Frankfurt.
EU-First Infrastructure
While DigitalOcean and Heroku default to US markets, Runsite is built exclusively for European developers. Frankfurt (eu-central) region, EU entity, EU jurisdiction, with no transatlantic transfers.
Real GDPR Compliance
EU-registered entity. Your data is governed by European law. No US jurisdiction, no CLOUD Act.
Predictable Pricing
No per-invocation charges, no surprise bills. Fixed plans with hard spending caps and Telegram alerts.
Common Questions
FAQ
Which is better for EU hosting, DigitalOcean or Heroku?
Neither DigitalOcean nor Heroku is EU-native. Both are US-based (DigitalOcean: US-headquartered; Heroku: US-headquartered (Salesforce)) and route most traffic through US regions, with EU availability that is usually limited or gated behind higher tiers. Even when you can select a European region, the parent company stays subject to the US CLOUD Act, which can compel disclosure of EU customer data. For genuine EU data residency, an EU-registered platform is the safer choice: Runsite runs exclusively in Frankfurt (eu-central) under EU jurisdiction, with no transatlantic transfers and no CLOUD Act exposure — the kind of guarantee neither US provider can make.
Which has the better free tier, DigitalOcean or Heroku?
Free tiers on both DigitalOcean and Heroku change frequently and tend to share the same catch: compute that sleeps after inactivity, bandwidth or build-minute caps, or trial credits that expire after a fixed window. They are fine for quick experiments but rarely sustainable for an always-on hobby project. If a permanent free tier matters, read the current terms carefully. Limits are often buried in the pricing footnotes. Runsite takes the opposite approach: a free tier with no credit card and no expiry, designed to keep small projects online indefinitely rather than nudging you onto a paid plan.
Is DigitalOcean or Heroku GDPR-compliant?
Both DigitalOcean and Heroku can be configured to support GDPR-compliant workloads through a signed Data Processing Agreement (DPA) and EU region selection where available. However, as US-incorporated entities they remain subject to the US CLOUD Act regardless of where the data physically sits, which is a documented sticking point for European compliance and DPO review. For workloads where US jurisdiction is a hard blocker (public-sector, healthcare, or privacy-sensitive consumer apps), an EU-headquartered provider removes the ambiguity entirely. Runsite is EU-registered with data kept inside the EU, so GDPR posture is the default rather than a configuration exercise.
What is the cheapest way to deploy a side project, DigitalOcean or Heroku?
For a single small service, both DigitalOcean and Heroku can look inexpensive on paper. Published entry prices sit at roughly DigitalOcean from $5/mo and Heroku $5/mo, but the headline price rarely matches the real bill. Per-service billing, metered bandwidth, build minutes, and add-ons for databases or key-value stores stack up quickly, and neither platform offers a hard spending cap to stop a surprise invoice. The cheapest predictable option is one with fixed monthly pricing and an enforced ceiling. Runsite bills in EUR from €5/month with hard spending caps and Telegram alerts, plus a permanent free tier, so a side project stays cheap by design, not by careful monitoring.
// explore alternatives
Try the European Alternative
Skip the DigitalOcean vs Heroku debate. Deploy on Runsite.
Start Free on Runsite →