Appliku vs Heroku (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Appliku grades higher than Heroku: 2.2 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Appliku grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. Heroku grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Appliku
Django deployment dashboard that runs apps on servers you own
Which one is for you
Pick Appliku if
- Fits if you build Django apps and want to host on your own cloud account
- Works for developers who want a CLI or API driving the deploys
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't use Django, as the product is built for it
- Tight if you stay free: 1 app and 3 successful deploys a week
- Watch out: servers are billed separately by the cloud provider you connect
- Watch out: cron jobs and database backups start at Growth, $18 a month
- Watch out: orders go through Paddle, and refunds are given only for a technical problem Appliku cannot resolve
Pick Heroku if
- Fits if you are a developer who wants to push code and not run servers
- Makes sense if you want managed Postgres next to your app
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as the lowest tier is $5 a month
- Tight if you need an app awake, because Eco dynos sleep after 30 minutes and are for personal accounts only
- Pricey as you scale, since prices are per dyno and the database is billed separately
- Watch out: Eco charges the $5 in full even if you subscribe mid-month
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAApplikuFair | 1.8GPAHerokuWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CHobby is $10 a month ($100 a year), level with the $10.99 middle of hosting. That is Appliku's fee only; the server is billed by your cloud provider on top. | CEco is $5 a month and Basic $7, but always-on scaling and metrics start at $25 per dyno, and a Postgres database is billed separately from $5. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree plan: 1 server, 1 application and 3 successful deployments a week, with community support. You will hit the deploy cap. | FNo free plan and no trial are listed anywhere on the pages read. |
| Features | CGit deploys, Celery workers, cron jobs, PostgreSQL, Redis and RabbitMQ, a CLI and an API. It targets Django only, and cron and database backups start at Growth. | BDynos, managed Postgres and key-value, an add-ons marketplace, many languages, zero-downtime deploys and AI inference. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You connect a Git host and a cloud account or SSH server before the first deploy. | DNo store rating on record. You deploy with Git or Docker and a command line, which puts it below 3.8 on our ladder. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb dashboard with GitHub, GitLab, DigitalOcean, AWS and Hetzner, plus a CLI and API. No desktop or phone apps. | BA web platform with a Git and Docker workflow and a large add-on marketplace. No desktop or phone apps. |
| Best for | deploying Django apps to your own servers | developers deploying apps without managing servers |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Appliku and Heroku. How we grade
Price against what you get
Appliku starts at $8.33 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Heroku starts at $5 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Heroku starts $3.33 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 2 score higher than Appliku for less, and 1 scores higher than Heroku for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
At a glance
| Appliku | Heroku | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $10 per month, or $100 a year (Hobby) | $5 per month for an Eco dyno plan |
| Free plan | 1 server, 1 application and 3 successful deployments per week, with unlimited databases and community support. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Appliku | Salesforce |
| Price read from | appliku.com | heroku.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Appliku
- Built for Django; other frameworks are not what the product page describes.
- The server itself is billed separately by the cloud provider you connect; the plans here cover Appliku's fee only.
- The Free plan allows 1 application and 3 successful deployments a week, and cron jobs and database backups start at Growth.
- Orders are handled by Paddle as merchant of record; refunds are given only for a technical problem Appliku cannot resolve.
Heroku
- No free plan is listed on the pricing page; the lowest dyno price is $5 a month.
- Eco dynos are for personal accounts only and sleep after 30 minutes without traffic.
- Databases are priced separately from dynos: Postgres Essential-0 is $5 a month for 1 GB of storage.
- Dyno prices are per dyno, so running several dynos multiplies the monthly cost.
Key features
Appliku
- Git-based deployments
- Code is deployed from GitHub, GitLab or a custom Git server, and each push can start a repeatable release.
- Your own servers
- Apps run on servers in a cloud account you connect, such as DigitalOcean, AWS or Hetzner, or on any Ubuntu or Debian machine reachable by SSH.
- Django process types
- Web processes (Gunicorn or Uvicorn), Celery workers and beat, release commands and cron jobs are run from one dashboard.
- Databases and queues
- PostgreSQL, Redis and RabbitMQ can be created beside the app, with credentials managed and scheduled backups on paid plans.
- CLI, API and AI agents
- A CLI and API cover the same tasks as the dashboard, and an Appliku skill is offered so AI coding agents can deploy and read logs.
- Free migration
- Every paid plan includes a done-for-you migration of an existing app onto a server you own.
Heroku
- Dynos
- Apps run in managed containers deployed with Git or Docker. The Cedar generation is the full-integration option and Fir is the Kubernetes-based one.
- Managed data services
- Heroku Postgres, Key-Value Store and Apache Kafka run as managed services, with Postgres plans starting at $5 a month.
- Language support
- The site lists Python, .NET, Java, Node.js, Go, PHP, Ruby, Scala and Clojure.
- Add-ons marketplace
- Heroku Elements lists add-ons, integrations and buildpacks that extend an app.
- Zero-downtime deploys and scaling
- Standard dynos add preboot, horizontal scaling and metrics, and Performance dynos add dedicated compute and autoscaling.
- Heroku AI
- Managed inference and agents, with MCP support, for building AI features into apps.
Plans
Appliku
Free$0
1 server, 1 application, 3 successful deployments a week, unlimited databases, Celery and other queue workers, community support.
Hobby$10
per month, or $100 a year
1 server, unlimited applications and deployments, cluster deployment, custom domains, unlimited team members and email support.
Growth$18
per month, or $180 a year
Everything in Hobby, plus 3 servers, cron jobs and database backups.
Business$39
per month, or $390 a year
Everything in Growth, plus 6 servers.
Enterprise$159
per month, or $1590 a year
Everything in Business, plus unlimited servers and priority support with a 24-hour first response.
Heroku
Eco$5
per month, a shared pool of 1,000 dyno hours
0.5 GB RAM, personal accounts only, two process types. Dynos sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity. The $5 is charged in full for the month even if you subscribe late.
Basic$7
per dyno / month
0.5 GB RAM, always on, free SSL and up to 10 process types.
Standard-1X$25
per dyno / month
0.5 GB RAM with horizontal scaling, app metrics and alerts, preboot and zero-downtime deploys.
Standard-2X$50
per dyno / month
1 GB RAM with the Standard-1X features.
Performance-M$250
per dyno / month
2.5 GB RAM on dedicated compute with autoscaling.
Performance-L$500
per dyno / month
14 GB RAM on dedicated compute with autoscaling. Performance-XL is $750 with 62 GB RAM.
Ways to pay less
Appliku
- Annual discount
Two months free on yearly billing
Yearly prices are ten times the monthly price, for example Hobby at $100 a year against $10 a month.
Heroku
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Appliku or Heroku?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Heroku is cheaper to start with: $5 a month, against $8.33 a month when paid by the year for Appliku. Appliku starts at $10 per month, or $100 a year (Hobby), and Heroku starts at $5 per month for an Eco dyno plan.
Which has a free plan, Appliku or Heroku?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Appliku has a free plan. Heroku does not.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.