Which is cheaper, Heroku or Netlify?

Heroku is 1.8x cheaper than Netlify. Heroku starts at $5/mo, Netlify starts at $0/mo.

Does Heroku have a free tier?

No, Heroku does not have a free tier.

Heroku has moderate switching cost. Netlify has moderate switching cost. Both have similar switching complexity.

Hosting

Heroku

← More affordable

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

Switching Cost: moderate

Netlify

Web platform for building, deploying, and scaling modern web projects with credit-based usage pricing

Switching Cost: moderate

Budget-wise, Heroku is clearly more affordable at roughly a 1.8x price difference.

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

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

Netlify stands out for teams needing a free tier — zero upfront costs for prototyping and testing is a genuine advantage.

Netlify stands out for teams needing a free tier — zero upfront costs for prototyping and testing is a genuine advantage.

Price Difference

1.8x

Heroku is cheaper by $4/mo

Free Tier

Netlify

Has a free tier option

Pricing Model

Different

Tools charge using different pricing philosophies