Clever Cloud vs Heroku (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Clever Cloud grades higher than Heroku: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Clever Cloud grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
Pick Clever Cloud if
- Fits if you want a European host with Git-based deploys
- Works for teams that need certifications and sovereignty claims
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price before you sign up, as none is published
- Tight if you want a lasting free tier, as the sign-up credits are a one-time grant
- Watch out: billing runs on funds paid monthly in advance against your expected usage
- Not for you if you need the site in another language, as it is only in English and French
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
| 2.4GPAClever CloudFair | 1.8GPAHerokuWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo plan prices are published as text. Cost comes from an online estimator, billed per second against funds paid monthly in advance. | 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 | CSign-up credits need no card, but they are a one-time grant and larger programs go through sales. | FNo free plan and no trial are listed anywhere on the pages read. |
| Features | BGit deploys, many runtimes, managed databases, autoscaling with a cap and certifications. The listing names no gap in the core hosting job. | BDynos, managed Postgres and key-value, an add-ons marketplace, many languages, zero-downtime deploys and AI inference. |
| Ease of use | CPick runtimes, instance sizes and databases yourself. The site and docs are only in English and French, and there is no store rating. | 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 console and Git workflow with a handful of integrations. No phone or desktop app. | BA web platform with a Git and Docker workflow and a large add-on marketplace. No desktop or phone apps. |
| Best for | git-push deploys with European hosting | 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: Clever Cloud and Heroku. How we grade
Where they differ
- Clever Cloud also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Clever Cloud | Heroku | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | $5 per month for an Eco dyno plan |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free credits on sign-up, no payment card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Clever Cloud | Salesforce |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | heroku.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Clever Cloud
- No plan prices are published as text: pricing depends on the instance size and count chosen in an online estimator.
- Billing is per second on resources funded monthly in advance against your expected usage, with an itemised bill.
- The free credits on sign-up are a one-time grant, and larger credit programs go through the sales team.
- The site and its documentation are available in English and French.
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
Clever Cloud
- Git-push deployment
- A git push triggers a full deployment, and the platform handles monitoring, updates and restarts for the application.
- Many runtimes
- Runtime pages cover Node.js, PHP, Python, Ruby, Java, Go, Rust, Elixir, .NET Core, Docker, static sites and more.
- Managed databases
- Offers PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis and Elasticsearch as managed services, with daily backups on PostgreSQL.
- Autoscaling with a cap
- Resources adapt automatically within the limits you set, so you choose the maximum you are willing to pay.
- Sovereignty and certifications
- Says it runs its own datacenters in France, and is certified ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and Health Data Hosting (HDS).
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
Clever Cloud
Pricing could not be confirmed. See clever.cloud.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Clever Cloud or Heroku?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Clever Cloud has no price we could confirm, and Heroku starts at $5 per month for an Eco dyno plan.
Which has a free plan, Clever Cloud or Heroku?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Clever Cloud nor Heroku has a free plan. Clever Cloud has a free trial.
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.