EthioDeploy/Docs

EthioDeploy vs Heroku

Heroku runs apps on dynos and sells Postgres and Key-Value Store as separate add-ons. EthioDeploy deploys the same kind of apps from GitHub into containers, with a free plan, a database included in every plan and an AI coding agent built in. Here is where each one fits.

Last checked October 21, 2026

Competitor details were checked against Heroku's official pages on 2026-10-21. Plans and prices change, so confirm on their site before you decide.

Which should you pick?

Pick Heroku if

You need enterprise network isolation through Heroku Private Spaces.
Your team already runs on Heroku pipelines and its add-ons, and moving would cost more than it saves.
You're adding AI features to your app and want Heroku's Managed Inference API next to your dynos.

Pick EthioDeploy if

You want a free plan to start. Heroku's cheapest dyno is Eco at $5 a month.
You want more memory for the money: 1 GB per container on Pro at $10/month, where Heroku's 1 GB dyno starts at $50/month.
You want Postgres or Redis included in your plan instead of billed as a separate add-on.
You want an AI coding agent that edits and runs your repo in a sandbox, then opens a pull request.
You want to buy your domain in the same dashboard, or pay in Birr by bank transfer.

Side by side

	EthioDeploy	Heroku
Free plan	1 project, sleeps after 30 minutes idle	No free dyno tier on the pricing page. Eco is $5/month and also sleeps after 30 minutes without traffic
Entry paid price	Pro $10/month flat, always-on, no fixed project cap	Basic $7/month per always-on dyno; Standard-1X $25/month per dyno
Memory	1 GB per container on Pro ($10), 2 GB on Business ($30)	0.5 GB on Eco, Basic and Standard-1X; 1 GB from Standard-2X at $50/month
Managed database	Postgres or Redis addon included in the plan: 512 MB on Free, 5 GB on Pro, 20 GB on Business	Paid add-ons: Postgres Essential-0 $5/month for 1 GB; Key-Value Store mini has 25 MB and no persistence
Background workers	Background Worker service type	Worker dynos, scaled separately from web dynos
Built-in AI	Coding agent in a live sandbox: diff, apply, PR and branch preview. Plans from $5/month	Managed Inference and Agents API for using AI models in your app, plus an MCP server in early development
Domains	Buy domains in the dashboard	Bring your own: no domain registration or DNS service. Custom domains are free, up to 1,000 per app

Questions

Does Heroku have a free plan?

Heroku's pricing page doesn't list a free dyno tier. The cheapest option is Eco at $5 a month for a pool of 1,000 dyno hours shared across your account, and Eco dynos sleep after 30 minutes without traffic. EthioDeploy's Free plan runs one project at no cost and sleeps after 30 minutes idle.

Is EthioDeploy a Heroku alternative?

For web apps, APIs and background workers deployed from GitHub with a managed Postgres or Redis, yes. If you depend on Private Spaces or a large set of Heroku add-ons, Heroku remains the better fit.

How do I move an app from Heroku to EthioDeploy?

Connect the same GitHub repository and EthioDeploy detects your stack and builds it. Copy your config vars into environment variables, add a Postgres or Redis addon, and load your data with pg_dump and pg_restore. Then point your domain at EthioDeploy.

Sources

Heroku facts come from these official pages, read on 2026-10-21:

EthioDeploy details are on our pricing and docs pages. Spot a mistake? Tell us via Contactand we'll fix it.

Try EthioDeploy on the Free plan. Push a repo and see it live.

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