Heroku vs Scalingo (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Scalingo 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
Heroku grades higher on features. Scalingo grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. 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.
Scalingo
European PaaS and managed databases billed by the minute
Which one is for you
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
Pick Scalingo if
- Fits if you want Heroku-style Git deploys and European regions
- Works for small apps that need a managed database
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: prices are in euros, exclude VAT and are on a 30-day basis
- Tight if uptime matters, as the 99.96% SLA is on the Business plan and starter databases are 98%
- Pricey if you add extras: a Docker image download costs €50 and OpenVPN €30 a month, both ex. VAT
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as it has only a 30-day trial
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAHerokuWeak | 2.2GPAScalingoFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CA container starts at €7.20 a month and a starter database at €7.20, ex. VAT, in the ordinary range. Dollar prices are not shown. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial are listed anywhere on the pages read. | C30 days free per the pricing page. The page does not say here whether a card is needed. |
| Features | BDynos, managed Postgres and key-value, an add-ons marketplace, many languages, zero-downtime deploys and AI inference. | CGit deploys, managed databases and vector search. Starter databases run on one node with a 98% SLA, a gap, as the 99.96% SLA is on Business. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. You deploy with Git or Docker and a command line, which puts it below 3.8 on our ladder. | CDeploys follow a Git workflow and databases need setting up, with no store rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web platform with a Git and Docker workflow and a large add-on marketplace. No desktop or phone apps. | BWeb dashboard with a few integrations. No phone or desktop app. |
| Best for | developers deploying apps without managing servers | Git-deployed apps with European hosting |
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: Heroku and Scalingo. How we grade
Price against what you get
Heroku starts at $5 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Scalingo starts at about $8.04 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Heroku starts $3.04 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 1 scores higher than Heroku for less, and 2 score higher than Scalingo 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
| Heroku | Scalingo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $5 per month for an Eco dyno plan | €7.20 per month ex. VAT (smallest container or database) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free for 30 days, per the pricing page description |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Salesforce | Scalingo SAS |
| Price read from | heroku.com | scalingo.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Scalingo
- Prices are in euros, exclude VAT and are estimated on a 30-day basis; the page shows no dollar prices.
- Starter databases run on a single node with a 98% SLA; the 99.96% SLA is on the Business plan.
- Extra database storage is charged on top of the storage included in each plan.
- A Docker image download costs €50 and an OpenVPN option €30 per month, both ex. VAT.
Key features
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.
Scalingo
- Git-based deploys
- Connect a Git repository for deploys, with autoscaling on metrics and zero-downtime rolling deploys.
- Managed databases
- Offers PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, caching, Elasticsearch, OpenSearch and InfluxDB, with daily backups and PostgreSQL point-in-time recovery.
- Always-included extras
- Custom domains, Let's Encrypt SSL, metrics, unlimited collaborators and log archives come with every container.
- Sovereign and health regions
- A SecNumCloud region built on Outscale costs 20% more, and HDS plans exist for health data hosting.
- Vector search for AI apps
- Pgvector on PostgreSQL, plus ML and KNN features on OpenSearch, for semantic search and LLM applications.
Plans
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.
Scalingo
Container S€7.20
per month, ex. VAT, 30-day basis
256 MB RAM at low CPU priority. Sizes run to 3XL (8 GB RAM) at €230.40.
Container M€14.40
per month, ex. VAT, 30-day basis
512 MB RAM at standard CPU priority; L (1 GB) is €28.80 and XL (2 GB) is €57.60.
PostgreSQL Starter 512M€7.20
per month, ex. VAT, 30-day basis
512 MB RAM, 10 GB storage and 30 connections on a single node with a 98% SLA.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Heroku or Scalingo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Heroku is cheaper to start with: $5 a month, against about $8.04 a month for Scalingo. Heroku starts at $5 per month for an Eco dyno plan, and Scalingo starts at €7.20 per month ex. VAT (smallest container or database).
Which has a free plan, Heroku or Scalingo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Heroku nor Scalingo has a free plan. Scalingo 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.