Kubernetes is a self-managed container orchestration platform requiring significant DevOps expertise and infrastructure overhead, while Heroku is a fully managed Platform-as-a-Service that prioritizes developer speed with minimal configuration but at higher per-unit costs.
Kubernetes vs Heroku — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Open-source container orchestration platform for automating deployment and scaling of containerized applications.
PaaS platform owned by Salesforce for deploying web apps with minimal DevOps knowledge.
Management Model. Monthly Cost (Single App, Medium Scale). Setup Time for Production. Learning Curve (1-10 scale). DevOps Team Required. Scalability Limit. Cost at 10,000 Monthly Users
Choose Kubernetes if you have a dedicated DevOps team, expect massive scale (1M+ requests/month), need cost efficiency at large volumes, or require deep infrastructure customization. Choose Heroku if you're a small team prioritizing speed-to-market, have modest traffic (under 100k monthly active users), want zero DevOps overhead, and can accept 2-3x higher per-unit costs for operational simplicity.
Kubernetes: v1.35.2 (February 2026) | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: Unlimited clusters | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: Production, multi-machine clusters | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: Runtime agnostic (Docker, containerd, etc.) | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: Automatic horizontal and vertical scaling | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: Complex (YAML manifests, declarative) | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: Full support with Application Sets v2 | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: 14-30 days (requires cluster setup, networking, storage, security configuration) | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: 96% of enterprises using container orchestration (2024) | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: N/A - not a cloud provider | Heroku: N/A
Total Cost of Ownership (3-year, 100-node cluster)
Kubernetes: $400K-$600K (infrastructure + 3-5 FTE DevOps engineers at $120K-$150K/year) | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: None—runs on any cloud provider or on-premises | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: 1 (container orchestration) + ecosystem plugins | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: 110K+ GitHub stars; 3000+ contributors; CNCF project | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Oracle Cloud, on-premises, edge environments | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: 30-120 minutes | Heroku: 2-5
Maximum Concurrent Users (Native Support)
Kubernetes: Full (YAML, Helm, Kustomize) | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: 60-180 minutes | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: 3-6 months | Heroku: 0.5-1 week
Kubernetes: 400+ (via Helm/operators) | Heroku: 180+ (official marketplace)
Kubernetes: 99.5% (varies by provider) | Heroku: 99.99%
Kubernetes: Requires k3s or minimal clusters | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: 5000+ nodes per cluster | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: 89% of Fortune 500 | Heroku: N/A
Cost for Small Deployment (5 containers)
Kubernetes: Native HPA & VPA | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: 40-80 hours (self-hosted) | Heroku: 0.25-0.5 hours
Kubernetes: Deployment-dependent | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: Free (open-source) | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: Docker, Containerd, CRI-O, Podman | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: Minimal (runs on any cloud) | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: Community-dependent (varies) | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: 30-50 hours/month (self-hosted) | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: AWS, Azure, GCP, on-premises, edge | Heroku: N/A
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: Node, Python, Ruby, Java, PHP, Go, Scala, Clojure
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: 60+ marketplace add-ons
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: Git push, GitHub, Dropbox, API
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: No free trial (paid only)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: Discontinued (2022)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: Maintenance mode
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: Yes (original)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: $0 (discontinued)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis (3 types)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: Built-in at all tiers
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: 1 minute (add-on)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: No (limited to buildpacks)
Cost for Standard Production App (2 dynos + add-ons)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: Not native (dyno sleep = 30sec)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: Yes, automatic on git push
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: No (discontinued 2022)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: None (discontinued)
Database Provisioning Cost (PostgreSQL Starter)
Cost for Production App (2 dynos/Droplets + DB)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: $250-350/month
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: 3-5 seconds (free dyno)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: 150+ integrated add-ons
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: Limited (configuration over customization)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: Discontinued (was free, now hobby tier $50/month)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: $0.05 (shared dyno equivalent)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: 15+ years (established 2011)
Kubernetes: N/A | Heroku: $0 (discontinued, $7 minimum now)
How to choose between Kubernetes and Heroku
Kubernetes vs Heroku — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Kubernetes vs Heroku. Contains 112 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Kubernetes vs Heroku — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Kubernetes vs Heroku.
When should I migrate from Heroku to Kubernetes?
Migrate when your Heroku bill exceeds $1,500/month or you need features unavailable on Heroku (custom networking, GPU workloads, or 14GB+ RAM per instance). At that point, Kubernetes typically pays for itself within 6 months through cost savings, though you'll need to invest 4-8 weeks in migration and 1-2 full-time DevOps engineers.
Can I use Kubernetes without hiring DevOps engineers?
Not practically. While managed Kubernetes services (EKS, GKE, AKS) reduce overhead by 60%, you still need 0.5-1 FTE with Kubernetes expertise for troubleshooting, security patches, resource optimization, and incident response. For true no-ops, Heroku or AWS Lightsail remain better choices.
Is Kubernetes overkill for small startups?
Yes, for most startups. If you have fewer than 5 developers or expect under 100k monthly active users, Heroku's 30-minute setup and zero infrastructure cost typically outweigh the 3-5x price premium. Use Kubernetes only once cost savings justify hiring DevOps staff.
What's the real cost of switching from Heroku to Kubernetes?
Direct migration costs include: 1-2 engineers × 4-6 weeks (40k-60k in salary), infrastructure costs ($300-800/month on cloud), and 2-3 months of parallel running both systems ($1,500-3,500). Total: $45k-65k upfront + 3+ months of doubled costs, plus ongoing DevOps salary ($120k-160k annually).
Which is more secure: Kubernetes or Heroku?
Heroku is more secure by default for typical teams because Salesforce (the owner) manages 99% of security concerns (OS patching, network isolation, data encryption). Kubernetes requires manual configuration of network policies, RBAC, pod security standards, and secret management—increasing security risk in inexperienced hands but allowing higher customization for security teams.
How to Choose Between Kubernetes and Heroku
Management Model: Kubernetes has Self-managed infrastructure, while Heroku has Fully managed platform.
Consider: Monthly Cost (Single App, Medium Scale)
Monthly Cost (Single App, Medium Scale): Kubernetes has $150-400 USD, while Heroku has $500-2,000 USD.
Setup Time for Production: Kubernetes has 2-4 weeks, while Heroku has 15-30 minutes.
Learning Curve (1-10 scale): Kubernetes has 8-9, while Heroku has 2-3.
DevOps Team Required: Kubernetes has Yes, 1-2+ engineers, while Heroku has No, not required.
Scalability Limit: Kubernetes has Unlimited (hardware limited), while Heroku has Limited to 14GB RAM per dyno.
Cost at 10,000 Monthly Users: Kubernetes has $300-800 USD, while Heroku has $2,000-5,000 USD.