Dokku vs Heroku
Dokku 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.
Dokku vs Heroku: quick answer
Dokku and Heroku both offer Git-push deploy workflows, but they differ where it counts. Heroku starts around $5/mo. Dokku (self-hosted) and Heroku (US-headquartered (Salesforce)) sit on different sides of the data-residency question. 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.
// dokku problems → runsite solutions
Common Dokku frustrations. Sound familiar?
Every Dokku frustration, solved.
Dokku problem
"My Dokku server rebooted and everything went down"
Dokku is single-node. One VPS failure takes all your apps, databases, and SSL certificates offline.
Runsite solution
Managed multi-node infrastructure
Your apps run on redundant infrastructure with auto-failover. No single machine can take everything down.
Dokku problem
"I spend weekends patching the OS"
Self-hosting means you're responsible for security patches, kernel updates, and disk space monitoring.
Runsite solution
Fully managed: we handle the ops
Push code, get a URL. OS updates, security patches, and monitoring are our problem, not yours.
Dokku problem
"Database backups? I forgot to set those up"
Dokku databases are plugins running on the same host. Backups require manual cron setup.
Runsite solution
Auto-backups on managed PostgreSQL
Automated daily backups with point-in-time recovery. Your data is safe without any setup on your part.
// comparison
Runsite vs Dokku
Side-by-side. No marketing fluff, just facts.
| Feature | Runsite | Dokku |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | ✓ Fully managed, multi-node | Single VPS, you manage |
| High Availability | ✓ Multi-node, auto-failover | ✗ Single node = single point of failure |
| Managed PostgreSQL | ✓ From €5/mo, auto-backups | ✗ Runs on same host, manual backups |
| SSL Certificates | ✓ Automatic | Via plugin (dokku-letsencrypt) |
| Spending Limits | ✓ Hard cap + Telegram alerts | ✗ VPS bill can spike |
| Deploy from Git | ✓ | ✓ (Buildpacks) |
| Docker Support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Total Cost (small app) | €5/mo | $5-10/mo VPS + your time |
// 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
Dokku vs Heroku: what each actually costs
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 Dokku and Heroku each compare to Runsite
Dokku vs Runsite
For over a decade, one tool has been the default answer for developers who wanted Heroku ergonomics on their own hardware: Dokku. It was the original open-source Heroku alternative, running on a single VPS with buildpack and Dockerfile support and the familiar git-push deployment workflow, no PaaS bill attached.
Here is the catch. Dokku is single-node. Your apps, databases, SSL certificates, and routing all live on one machine. Reboot that VPS and everything goes offline at once. Backups mean hand-writing cron jobs. Every OS patch and security update is on you.
Runsite keeps the same git-push workflow but moves it onto managed multi-node infrastructure with automatic failover, isolated managed PostgreSQL with daily backups, and automatic SSL, all in EU data centers. Developers who have felt the stress of a single-node failure, or who are done spending weekends on server maintenance, get that deployment simplicity back with managed reliability and a permanent free tier.
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 Dokku and Heroku
EU PaaS for indie developers and small European startups. One region: Frankfurt.
EU-First Infrastructure
While Dokku 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, Dokku or Heroku?
Dokku (self-hosted) has the stronger EU-residency story here, while Heroku is US-headquartered (Salesforce) and stays subject to the US CLOUD Act even in its European regions. If jurisdiction is your deciding factor, that gap matters. Runsite is EU-native as well, running exclusively in Frankfurt (eu-central) under an EU entity, and adds fully managed deploys, predictable EUR billing, and a permanent free tier — so you get European residency without giving up developer experience.
Which has the better free tier, Dokku or Heroku?
Free tiers on both Dokku 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 Dokku or Heroku GDPR-compliant?
Dokku (self-hosted) can keep data under European jurisdiction, whereas Heroku, as a US-incorporated provider, remains subject to the US CLOUD Act regardless of the region you pick — a common sticking point in DPO review. For workloads where EU jurisdiction is a hard requirement, an EU-registered provider removes the ambiguity. Runsite keeps data in Frankfurt under an EU entity, so GDPR posture is the default rather than a per-region configuration exercise.
What is the cheapest way to deploy a side project, Dokku or Heroku?
For a single small service, both Dokku and Heroku can look inexpensive on paper. 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 Dokku vs Heroku debate. Deploy on Runsite.
Start Free on Runsite →