---
title: "Ample vs Heroku: where should a Heroku app move in 2026?"
description: "Ample and Heroku compared on free plans, databases, storage, spending limits and agent access, with sourced limits and steps to move a Heroku app."
canonical_url: "https://ample.computer/compare/heroku"
last_updated: "2026-10-14"
author: "Ample Computer"
---

# Ample vs Heroku: where should a Heroku app move in 2026?

Ample and Heroku compared on free plans, databases, storage, spending limits and agent access, with sourced limits and steps to move a Heroku app.

## The short version

Heroku is the safer choice for teams already invested in its add-ons, pipelines and Salesforce ties. For a new app, or a Heroku app a coding agent will look after, Ample is the better fit: a free plan with no card and a hard cap, persistent volumes and buckets, and deploys an agent can run alone.

## Who this is for

Heroku moved to a sustaining engineering model in February 2026, so many teams are deciding where their apps go next. Ample runs the same kind of app, a web process plus workers with Postgres and Redis, and adds volumes, buckets and agent access.

## Ample and Heroku side by side

|  | Ample | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | $0 with no card. 2 apps running at once, 2 vCPU, 2 GB memory, 3 GB volumes, 1 GB bucket storage, 2 buckets. | None. A payment method is required to create apps; the cheapest dyno plan is Eco at $5 a month. |
| Paid plans | Custom plans priced on volume (number of apps, limits, spending caps). No public list price; see [pricing](https://ample.computer/pricing). | Eco $5 a month (1,000 shared dyno hours), Basic $7, Standard-1X $25, Standard-2X $50 per dyno. |
| Spending limit | Free has a hard budget ($5 a month, $2 a day). At the cap, apps stop serving until the account is back under budget; nothing is deleted and nothing is billed. | No spending cap or alert found; usage is billed in arrears. |
| How apps run | Each app runs as a normal long-running process in its own microVM with its own kernel. | Dynos: hardened Linux containers with an ephemeral filesystem, restarted every 24 hours. |
| Long-running servers and workers | Yes. Web services and background workers (`--kind worker`) run as ordinary processes. | Yes. Procfile process types run web and worker dynos; the router needs a first response within 30 seconds. |
| Languages | Node, Python, Go, Ruby, PHP, Java, .NET, Elixir, Rust and static sites, detected from the repository. | Ruby, Python, Java, Clojure, Node.js, Scala, Go, PHP and .NET buildpacks. |
| Docker images | No. Ample builds from source; Dockerfile build steps are not run. | Yes on the Cedar generation through the container registry. |
| Databases | Managed Postgres, MySQL, Redis and MongoDB, each in its own microVM, created automatically when the code needs one. | Heroku Postgres from $5 a month and Key-Value Store (Valkey) from $3; other databases through add-ons. |
| Object storage | S3-compatible buckets, optionally published through Ample's CDN. | None first-party; add-ons or external S3. |
| Persistent disk | Persistent volumes attached to the app. | None; the filesystem is wiped on every restart. |
| Custom domains and TLS | Custom domains with automatic TLS. | Custom domains with automatic certificates, included on all plans. |
| Regions | No region choice. | US and EU on the Common Runtime; more regions only in Private Spaces. |
| Scheduled jobs | Scheduled jobs: a command or HTTP request on a cron schedule (any time zone) or interval, with retries and run history (`ample job create`). | Heroku Scheduler add-on: every 10 minutes, hourly or daily, best effort. |
| Agent access | CLI, remote MCP server (OAuth), A2A endpoint and agent skills. Deploys are synchronous and return JSON with an exit code: 0 live, 1 failed, 2 needs input. | Remote MCP server at mcp.heroku.com with OAuth, and a local MCP server in early development. |
| Agent signup without a person | Yes. `ample auth signup` creates an account with no browser, card or CAPTCHA; a person claims it by email within 48 hours. | No. Account verification with a card is required to create apps. |

Competitor facts come from that company's own pricing pages and documentation, checked on the date shown in the sources. Plans change; follow the source links for current numbers. Heroku announced its sustaining engineering model on February 6, 2026.

## Choose Ample when

- You want a free plan with no card and a hard cap instead of a bill in arrears.
- Your files should survive a restart, and dynos restarting every 24 hours is a problem.
- You need S3-compatible buckets or MySQL and MongoDB without another vendor.
- You want a coding agent to move and redeploy the app on its own.

## Choose Heroku when

- You depend on Heroku add-ons, pipelines, review apps or Salesforce integration.
- You deploy Docker images or rely on specific buildpacks.
- You need Private Spaces, compliance programs or Heroku Scheduler as is.

## Move a Heroku app to Ample

1. **Export config vars.** Save them to a file kept out of git. Drop Heroku-managed ones such as DATABASE_URL and REDIS_URL; Ample creates and injects its own.

   ```sh
   heroku config -s -a <app> > .env.production
   ```

2. **Translate the Procfile.** The `web:` line becomes the start command, each other process becomes a worker service (`--kind worker`), `release:` becomes `--release-command`, and Heroku Scheduler jobs become Ample jobs (`ample job create`).

3. **Deploy.** Ample detects the runtime from the repository and creates Postgres or Redis when the code needs them.

   ```sh
   ample deploy . --name <app-name> --public --start "<web command>" --env-file .env.production
   ```

4. **Move Postgres.** Capture and download a backup, then restore it into the Ample database with `pg_restore --no-acl --no-owner`.

   ```sh
   heroku pg:backups:capture -a <app> && heroku pg:backups:download -a <app>
   ```

5. **Point your domain.** Add the domain to the app, update DNS to the target Ample prints, and keep the old app running until the new one answers on the domain.

   ```sh
   ample domain add <app-name> www.example.com
   ```

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Heroku shutting down?

No. On February 6, 2026 Heroku said it is moving to a sustaining engineering model focused on stability, security and support, with no new enterprise contracts. Existing customers keep their service and pricing.

### Does Ample have a Heroku free tier replacement?

Yes. Ample's Free plan runs 2 apps at once with managed databases, volumes and buckets, needs no card, and stops at a hard budget instead of billing.

### Does Ample read my Procfile?

Not directly. Copy the web command into `--start` (or the plan), and give each worker its own service. The [Heroku migration recipes](https://ample.computer/discover/migration/heroku-app) have tested commands for Django, Rails, Express and more.

## Sources

- [Ample pricing and plan limits](https://ample.computer/pricing) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Ample agent instructions (AGENTS.md)](https://ample.computer/AGENTS.md) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku: an update on Heroku](https://www.heroku.com/blog/an-update-on-heroku/) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku pricing](https://www.heroku.com/pricing) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku account verification](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/account-verification) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku Eco dyno hours](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/eco-dyno-hours) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku limits](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/limits) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku dynos](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/dynos) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku dyno restarts](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/dyno-restarts) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku HTTP routing](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/http-routing) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku buildpacks](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/buildpacks) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku container registry](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/container-registry-and-runtime) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku Postgres plans](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/heroku-postgres-plans) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku Key-Value Store](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/heroku-redis) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku regions](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/regions) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku Scheduler](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/scheduler) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku remote MCP server](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/heroku-remote-mcp-server) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Heroku automated certificates](https://devcenter.heroku.com/changelog-items/2728) (checked 2026-10-14)

## Other comparisons

- [Ample vs Render: which is better for apps deployed by coding agents?](https://ample.computer/compare/render)
- [Ample vs Railway: which is better for deploying apps from coding agents?](https://ample.computer/compare/railway)
- [The best Heroku alternatives in 2026](https://ample.computer/compare/heroku-alternatives)