Heroku is a fully managed Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) with built-in CI/CD and automatic scaling, while DigitalOcean is an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offering more control and lower costs but requiring manual server management. Heroku costs 5-10x more for equivalent compute resources but requires significantly less DevOps expertise.
Heroku vs DigitalOcean — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Cloud Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) by Salesforce for deploying web applications with managed infrastructure.
Cloud infrastructure provider offering affordable virtual private servers (Droplets), Kubernetes, and managed databases with flexible control.
Starting Monthly Cost. Deployment Complexity. Scalability Model. Database Included. DevOps Expertise Required. Control & Customization. Cold Start Time
Choose Heroku if you're a startup, indie developer, or team prioritizing speed-to-market and minimal DevOps overhead—the convenience and automatic scaling justify higher costs for projects under 100k monthly users. Choose DigitalOcean if you need cost control, full infrastructure customization, or are scaling to significant traffic volumes—you'll save 70-80% on hosting while gaining complete system access, though you'll need DevOps capabilities.
Heroku: Node, Python, Ruby, Java, PHP, Go, Scala, Clojure | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: 60+ marketplace add-ons | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: Git push, GitHub, Dropbox, API | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: No free trial (paid only) | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: Discontinued (2022) | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: Maintenance mode | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: Yes (original) | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: $0 (discontinued) | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: 15+ languages | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis (3 types) | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: 150+ add-ons | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: Built-in at all tiers | DigitalOcean: Requires Kubernetes ($12+/month)
Heroku: 1 minute (add-on) | DigitalOcean: 20 minutes (manual install)
Heroku: No (limited to buildpacks) | DigitalOcean: Yes (full SSH access)
Heroku: 30+ seconds | DigitalOcean: Instant (no sleep)
Heroku: 0.25-0.5 hours | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: 180+ (official marketplace) | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: $2,000-5,000 | DigitalOcean: N/A
Cost for Standard Production App (2 dynos + add-ons)
Heroku: Not native (dyno sleep = 30sec) | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: Yes, automatic on git push | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: $50 (minimum) | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: 1,500-3,000ms | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: 180+ add-ons | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: Founded 2007 | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: No (discontinued 2022) | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: 30-60 seconds | DigitalOcean: N/A
Heroku: None (discontinued) | DigitalOcean: N/A
Database Provisioning Cost (PostgreSQL Starter)
Heroku: $12/month | DigitalOcean: $4/month
Cost for Production App (2 dynos/Droplets + DB)
Heroku: $250-350/month | DigitalOcean: $30-50/month
Heroku: <2 minutes | DigitalOcean: 10-30 minutes
Heroku: 3-5 seconds (free dyno) | DigitalOcean: <1 second
Heroku: 150+ integrated add-ons | DigitalOcean: Managed services via Marketplace
Heroku: Limited (configuration over customization) | DigitalOcean: Full control (root SSH, custom runtime)
Heroku: Discontinued (was free, now hobby tier $50/month) | DigitalOcean: Free tier with $200/month credits
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: DOKS (DigitalOcean Kubernetes Service)
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: Highly favored by startups
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: Beginner-friendly, modern
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: $15 (1vCPU, 1GB RAM)
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: Flat-rate, predictable; per-second billing (min $0.01) as of Jan 2026
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: Basic ML tools, no proprietary AI platform
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: Community forums, standard support, documentation-heavy
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: Beginner-friendly with intuitive dashboard
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: Comprehensive with extensive tutorials
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, Kafka
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: 2000+ tutorials
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: Manual setup required
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: 5,000 req/hr
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: 150-300ms (8 region average)
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: 3 (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis)
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: $0.00595 (6GB RAM droplet / 730 hours)
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: No free tier; $6/month minimum
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: Via App Platform (secondary to droplets)
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: $4/month (Basic Droplet)
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: 0 (requires third-party)
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: DOKS (Simplified, limited customization)
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: $200 (60 days)
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: $0.0066/hour
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: 14 core services
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: Not available
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: 2/10 (simple)
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: 40+ services
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: $5/month (Droplet)
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: 60 days ($200 credit)
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: 2-5 minutes (average)
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: Limited API integrations, no native ML
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: SOC2, ISO 27001
Heroku: N/A | DigitalOcean: Simple: Fixed pricing per resource, no hidden fees
How to choose between Heroku and DigitalOcean
Heroku vs DigitalOcean — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Heroku vs DigitalOcean. Contains 139 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Heroku vs DigitalOcean — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Heroku vs DigitalOcean.
How much can I save by switching from Heroku to DigitalOcean?
For a typical Node.js app with database, Heroku costs $50-100/month minimum (standard-1x dyno + PostgreSQL). Equivalent DigitalOcean setup costs $4-20/month (basic droplet + managed database). Savings: 70-95% or $600-1,140 annually. However, you'll need to account for ~10-20 hours of initial DevOps setup and ongoing maintenance.
Do I need Docker to use DigitalOcean App Platform?
No. DigitalOcean offers three deployment options: (1) traditional VPS droplets requiring manual setup, (2) App Platform with git-based deployment similar to Heroku (no Docker required, pricing $12+/month), and (3) Kubernetes for advanced scaling. For beginners, App Platform is the closest Heroku alternative, though it's still slightly more manual.
Which platform scales better for high-traffic applications?
Heroku's automatic dyno scaling is simpler for beginners but becomes expensive at scale (standard-2x dynos cost $500+/month). DigitalOcean Kubernetes is more cost-effective at high traffic but requires DevOps expertise. For 1M+ requests/month, DigitalOcean typically costs 50-60% less due to transparent pricing and no consumption-based charges.
Can I migrate my Heroku app to DigitalOcean easily?
Migration difficulty depends on Heroku add-ons used. Simple git-based apps migrate easily (2-4 hours). Apps using Heroku-specific services (like Dyno scaling, Heroku Postgres with Wal-E backups) require significant refactoring (8-20 hours). Database migration itself takes 1-2 hours via pg_dump. Use DigitalOcean's App Platform for easiest transition, or standard droplets + Docker for maximum control.
Is DigitalOcean suitable for beginners without DevOps experience?
DigitalOcean App Platform (git-based deployment) is beginner-friendly and similar to Heroku, but standard droplets have a steep learning curve without Linux/SSH knowledge. For true beginners, Heroku's simplicity justifies higher costs initially. After 3-6 months, most developers can handle DigitalOcean's basics through tutorials and documentation.
How to Choose Between Heroku and DigitalOcean
Starting Monthly Cost: Heroku has $50+ (basic dyno), while DigitalOcean has $4-6 (basic droplet).
Deployment Complexity: Heroku has Push to git, auto-deploy (5 minutes), while DigitalOcean has Manual provisioning and configuration (30-60 minutes).
Scalability Model: Heroku has Automatic horizontal scaling included, while DigitalOcean has Manual load balancer setup required.
Database Included: Heroku has PostgreSQL add-on ($9+/month), while DigitalOcean has Install manually or use Managed Databases ($15+/month).
DevOps Expertise Required: Heroku has Minimal (good for beginners), while DigitalOcean has Moderate to advanced (Linux/Docker knowledge needed).
Control & Customization: Heroku has Limited to platform constraints, while DigitalOcean has Full root access and complete customization.
Cold Start Time: Heroku has 30+ seconds (free dyno sleeps), while DigitalOcean has Instant (always-on servers).