---
title: "The best Heroku alternatives in 2026"
description: "Heroku alternatives compared: Ample, Render, Railway and Fly.io, with what each is best for, what to watch out for, and how to move a Heroku app."
canonical_url: "https://ample.computer/compare/heroku-alternatives"
last_updated: "2026-10-14"
author: "Ample Computer"
---

# The best Heroku alternatives in 2026

Heroku alternatives compared: Ample, Render, Railway and Fly.io, with what each is best for, what to watch out for, and how to move a Heroku app.

## The short version

The best Heroku alternative depends on the app: Ample for apps a coding agent deploys and runs, with a free plan, a hard cap and databases created automatically; Render for fixed-price always-on services; Railway for usage-billed services with Docker and cron; Fly.io for Docker images in many regions.

## Who this is for

You run a Heroku app (a web process, maybe workers, Postgres and Redis) and want a platform that is still adding features after Heroku's February 2026 move to sustaining engineering, or that a coding agent can operate for you.

## Heroku alternatives at a glance

| Platform | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| [Ample](https://ample.computer/compare/heroku) | Apps a coding agent deploys and runs. Free plan, no card, hard cap, managed Postgres, MySQL, Redis and MongoDB, volumes and buckets. | No Docker images, no region choice; no public price for paid plans. |
| [Render](https://ample.computer/compare/render) | Always-on web services and workers at a fixed monthly price, Docker, cron, `render.yaml`. | Paid services never sleep; free services take about a minute to wake; no spend cap documented. |
| [Railway](https://ample.computer/compare/railway) | Usage-billed services with Docker, cron and a template marketplace; 4 regions. | Free plan is $1 of credit a month after the trial; config files change on December 1, 2026. |
| [Fly.io](https://ample.computer/compare/fly-io) | Docker images on microVMs in 17 regions with fine machine control. | No free tier and no spending cap; Postgres starts at $38 a month. |

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.

## Choose Ample when

- You want a free plan and a hard cap instead of a bill in arrears.
- You want a coding agent to do the move and future deploys.
- You need files that survive restarts, or buckets, without add-ons.

## Stay on Heroku when

- You rely on add-ons, pipelines or review apps.
- You need Private Spaces or Heroku's compliance programs.
- The cost and effort of moving outweigh the savings.

## Move a Heroku app (any target)

1. **Inventory the app.** List process types in the Procfile, add-ons, config vars, the release command and Scheduler jobs.

2. **Export config and data.** Export config vars, then capture and download a Postgres backup.

   ```sh
   heroku config -s -a <app> > .env.production && heroku pg:backups:capture -a <app> && heroku pg:backups:download -a <app>
   ```

3. **Deploy on the new platform.** On Ample, an agent can run this from the repository; the [Heroku migration recipes](https://ample.computer/discover/migration/heroku-app) list tested commands per framework.

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

4. **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 there still a free Heroku alternative?

Yes. Ample's Free plan needs no card and includes managed databases. Render has free web services that spin down after 15 minutes and a free Postgres that is deleted after 30 days. Railway has a 30-day trial and then $1 of monthly credit.

### Which Heroku alternative is closest to Heroku?

Render and Railway are closest in workflow (git-based deploys, web and worker processes, managed Postgres). Ample is closest when the point is to stop managing the platform at all and let an agent do it.

## 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)
- [Render free tier](https://render.com/docs/free.md) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Render pricing](https://render.com/pricing) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Railway pricing](https://railway.com/pricing.md) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Railway Serverless](https://docs.railway.com/deployments/serverless.md) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Railway infrastructure as code](https://docs.railway.com/infrastructure-as-code.md) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Fly.io pricing](https://docs.fly.io/about/pricing) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Fly.io cost management](https://docs.fly.io/about/cost-management) (checked 2026-10-14)
- [Fly Managed Postgres](https://docs.fly.io/mpg/) (checked 2026-10-14)

## Other comparisons

- [Ample vs Heroku: where should a Heroku app move in 2026?](https://ample.computer/compare/heroku)
- [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)