Which is cheaper, Encore or Heroku?

Heroku is 9.8x cheaper than Encore. Encore starts at $0/mo, Heroku starts at $5/mo.

Does Encore have a free tier?

Yes, Encore offers a free tier with devEnvironments: 2, tracingEventsPerMonth: 1000000, logRetentionDays: 7, concurrentBuilds: 1.

Encore has significant switching cost. Heroku has moderate switching cost. Heroku is easier to switch away from.

Hosting

Encore

Backend development platform with type-safe infrastructure, automatic cloud provisioning, and distributed tracing

Switching Cost: significant

Heroku

← More affordable

PaaS for deploying, managing, and scaling apps with managed dynos and add-ons

Switching Cost: moderate

The pricing gap between Heroku and Encore runs about 9.8x — significant consideration for scaling.

The free tier advantage goes to Encore, which offers a no-cost entry point that Heroku lacks.

Their pricing models diverge: Encore uses hybrid, while Heroku operates on a flat-rate basis.

If budget is your primary constraint, Heroku is the clear winner with its more wallet-friendly pricing structure.

If budget is your primary constraint, Heroku is the clear winner with its more wallet-friendly pricing structure.

Price Difference

9.8x

Heroku is cheaper by $44/mo

Free Tier

Encore

Has a free tier option

Pricing Model

Different

Tools charge using different pricing philosophies

Switching Costs

Heroku

Lower switching costs for easier migration