software
Heroku vs Vercel 2026 | Platform Comparison
Vercel is optimized for frontend and full-stack JavaScript applications with superior cold start performance and built-in edge deployment, while Heroku offers broader language support and traditional backend deployment for diverse tech stacks. Vercel excels for modern web apps; Heroku for legacy systems and non-JavaScript backends.
H
Heroku
Cloud platform-as-a-service for deploying web apps across multiple programming languages with managed databases.
Teams building multi-language backends, legacy system migrations, data-intensive applications requiring managed databases, enterprises needing extensive add-on integrations
Score63%
VS
V
Vercel
Serverless platform optimized for JavaScript/TypeScript frontend and full-stack deployment with global edge network.
Frontend developers, Next.js/React teams, startups on tight budgets, applications requiring global edge deployment, modern JAMstack architectures
Score63%
Quick Answer
AI SummaryVercel is optimized for frontend and full-stack JavaScript applications with superior cold start performance and built-in edge deployment, while Heroku offers broader language support and traditional backend deployment for diverse tech stacks. Vercel excels for modern web apps; Heroku for legacy systems and non-JavaScript backends.
Our Verdict
AI-assistedChoose Vercel if you're building modern JavaScript/TypeScript applications, need global edge deployment, want a free tier, or prioritize sub-300ms response times. Choose Heroku if you need multi-language backend support, require integrated database hosting, work with legacy systems, or prefer a mature platform with extensive add-on ecosystem.
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H
Heroku
7.1/10
Vercel
7.9/10
V
H
Choose Heroku if
Teams building multi-language backends, legacy system migrations, data-intensive applications requiring managed databases, enterprises needing extensive add-on integrations
V
Choose Vercel if
Best pickFrontend developers, Next.js/React teams, startups on tight budgets, applications requiring global edge deployment, modern JAMstack architectures
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Key Differences at a Glance
- Cold Start Time:✓ Vercel wins(100-300ms vs 500-1000ms)
- Free Tier Availability:✓ Vercel wins(Available with 100GB bandwidth/month vs Discontinued (October 2022))
- Supported Languages:✓ Heroku wins(Java, Python, Node.js, Ruby, PHP, Go, Clojure, Scala (8+) vs Primarily JavaScript/TypeScript, Node.js, Python (limited))
Key Facts & Figures
115 numeric metrics compared
| Metric | Heroku | Vercel | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Monthly Price(USD) | $50 | — | — |
| Cold Start Latency(seconds) | 10-30 | — | — |
| Maximum Uptime SLA(%) | 99.99% | — | — |
| Available Add-ons(count) | 60+ marketplace add-ons | — | — |
| Build Duration(seconds (average)) | 60-120 | — | — |
| Minimum Monthly Cost(USD) | $5 | — | — |
| Pro Plan Base Cost(USD/month) | $7 | — | — |
| Managed Postgres Starting Price(USD/month) | $38 | — | — |
| Years Since Launch(years) | 15+ | — | — |
| Cold Start Time(milliseconds) | 500-1000ms | 100-300ms | |
| Free Tier Bandwidth(GB/month) | $0 (discontinued) | 100GB | — |
| Supported Backend Languages(count) | 15+ languages | 2 (Node.js, Python) | |
| Native Database Support | PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis (3 types) | None (external only) | |
| Global Edge Locations(locations) | ~6 regions | 280+ | |
| Add-on Marketplace Size(integrations) | 200+ add-ons available | Native integrations limited (Git-based) | |
| Production Dyno Cost(USD/month) | $50 | $20 (Pro plan) | |
| Minimum Monthly Cost (Single App)(USD) | $50 | — | — |
| Cost per 1GB RAM (Monthly)(USD) | $50 | — | — |
| Database Setup Time(minutes) | 1 minute (add-on) | — | — |
| PostgreSQL Managed Database Cost(USD/month) | $9 | — | — |
| Cold Start Time (Free/Sleeping Tier)(seconds) | 30+ seconds | — | — |
| Initial Setup Time(hours) | 0.25-0.5 hours | — | — |
| Monthly Cost (Baseline App)(USD) | $500-2,000 | — | — |
| Maximum Deployable Scale(concurrent users) | 100,000 | — | — |
| Learning Curve (Expert Assessment)(months to competency) | 0.5-1 week | — | — |
| Available Add-ons/Integrations(services) | 180+ (official marketplace) | — | — |
| Cost at 10,000 Monthly Active Users(USD) | $2,000-5,000 | — | — |
| Required DevOps Team Size(FTE) | 0 | — | — |
| Cost for Standard Production App (2 dynos + add-ons)(USD/month) | $200-250 | — | — |
| Time to First Deployment(minutes) | 2-5 | — | — |
| Number of Available Services/Products(count) | 50+ | — | — |
| Maximum RAM per Instance(GB) | 512 | — | — |
| Lambda/Serverless Cold Start Latency(milliseconds) | Not native (dyno sleep = 30sec) | — | — |
| Global Regions Available(regions) | 4 | — | — |
| Minimum Monthly Cost (Paid Tier)(USD) | $50/month | — | — |
| Database Cost (Pro Tier)(USD/month) | $50 (minimum) | — | — |
| Cold Start Performance(milliseconds) | 1,500-3,000ms | — | — |
| Global Server Regions(regions) | 6 regions | — | — |
| Marketplace Add-ons Available(count) | 180+ add-ons | — | — |
| Company Age & Maturity(years) | Founded 2007 | — | — |
| Cold Start Latency(milliseconds) | 30-60 seconds | 50-100ms | |
| Uptime SLA Guarantee(percent) | 99.99% | — | — |
| Supported Languages/Runtimes(count) | 12+ | — | — |
| Add-on Marketplace Integrations(count) | 200+ | — | — |
| Platform Operational History(years) | 22 years | — | — |
| Free Tier or Trial(USD credit) | None (discontinued) | — | — |
| Database Provisioning Cost (PostgreSQL Starter)(USD/month) | $9/month | — | — |
| Minimum Monthly Cost(USD) | $7/month (Eco Dyno) | $0 (Free) or $20/month (Pro) | |
| Cost for Production App (2 dynos/Droplets + DB)(USD/month) | $250-350/month | — | — |
| Time from Code Commit to Production(minutes) | <2 minutes | — | — |
| Cold Start Response Time(seconds) | 3-5 seconds (free dyno) | — | — |
| Maximum Uptime SLA(percent) | 99.99% | — | — |
| Integrated Services & Add-ons Available(count) | 150+ integrated add-ons | — | — |
| Monthly Cost (Basic Production App)(USD) | $50-150 | — | — |
| Global Deployment Regions(regions) | 4 | — | — |
| CPU Cost Per Hour(USD per CPU-hour) | $0.05 (shared dyno equivalent) | — | — |
| Deployment Time(seconds) | 30-60 seconds | 10-20 seconds | |
| Included PostgreSQL Database(starting price USD/month) | $9 | — | — |
| Community Size & Age(years active) | 15+ years (established 2011) | — | — |
| Free Tier Monthly Credit(USD) | $0 (discontinued, $7 minimum now) | $0 (usage-based) | |
| Typical App Latency (US-EU)(milliseconds) | 150-200 | — | — |
| Free Tier Monthly Bandwidth(GB) | None (tier discontinued) | 100GB/month | |
| Supported Languages | 8+ languages (Java, Python, Ruby, Node.js, Go, PHP, Clojure, Scala) | JavaScript/TypeScript, limited Python support | |
| Global Edge Network Coverage(cities) | Regional deployment (limited) | 180+ cities worldwide | |
| Company Valuation(USD billion) | $9.3B | $9.3B | |
| Annualized Recurring Revenue(USD Millions) | $340M | $340M | |
| Total Funding Raised(USD Millions) | $863M | $863M | |
| Founding Year(Year) | 2015 | 2015 | |
| YoY Revenue Growth Rate(Percent) | 86% | 86% | |
| Starter Pricing(USD/month) | $20 | $20 | |
| Global Data Centers(locations) | 200+ | 200+ | |
| Function Cold Start(milliseconds) | 50-100ms | 50-100ms | |
| Pro Plan Cost(USD/month per user/base) | $20 | $20 | |
| Database Integrations(count) | 3-4 options | 3-4 options | |
| Serverless Cold Start(milliseconds) | <100ms average | <100ms average | |
| Cold Start Time (Function)(milliseconds) | 50-100ms | 50-100ms | |
| Starting Pro Plan Price(USD/month) | $20 | $20 | |
| Supported Languages (via Framework/Docker)(count) | 35+ frameworks | 35+ frameworks | |
| Database Storage (Free Tier)(GB) | 1 GB (Vercel Postgres) | 1 GB (Vercel Postgres) | |
| Integrated Services(count) | 15-20 services | 15-20 services | |
| Compute Regions Available(regions) | 150+ (edge) | 150+ (edge) | |
| Native Database Options(count) | 0 native; integrations available | 0 native; integrations available | |
| Compute Price (vCPU/hour)(USD) | $0.10-0.50 per Serverless Function GB-hr | $0.10-0.50 per Serverless Function GB-hr | |
| Setup Complexity (1-10 scale)(difficulty score) | 1/10 (git push automatic deployment) | 1/10 (git push automatic deployment) | |
| Starter Plan Monthly Cost(USD) | $20/month | $20/month | |
| Edge Function Cold Start(milliseconds) | ~50 ms | ~50 ms | |
| Standard Deployment Cold Start(milliseconds) | 200-400ms | 200-400ms | |
| Edge Network Locations(regions) | 180+ edge locations | 180+ edge locations | |
| Supported Frameworks/Languages(count) | Next.js optimized (Node.js compatible) | Next.js optimized (Node.js compatible) | |
| Average Cold Start Time(seconds) | 0.5-1.2 | 0.5-1.2 | |
| Serverless Function Cost (per 1M invocations)(USD) | $2.00 | $2.00 | |
| Average Cold Start Latency(milliseconds) | 85ms (with edge caching) | 85ms (with edge caching) | |
| Setup Time to First Deploy(minutes) | 2 (connect GitHub, auto-deploy) | 2 (connect GitHub, auto-deploy) | |
| Built-in Database Support(count) | 0 (integrations only) | 0 (integrations only) | |
| SLA Uptime Guarantee(percent) | 99.95% (global) | 99.95% (global) | |
| Estimated Learning Time for New Developer(hours) | 5-8 hours | 5-8 hours | |
| Average Deployment Time(seconds) | 45 seconds | 45 seconds | |
| Free Tier Deployments Per Day(deployments/day) | 3 | 3 | |
| Third-party Integrations(count) | 150+ | 150+ | |
| Edge Function Latency Reduction(milliseconds) | 30-50ms faster than origin | 30-50ms faster than origin | |
| Serverless Function Cold Start(milliseconds) | 50-100ms | 50-100ms | |
| Function Invocation Cost(USD per million) | $0.50 | $0.50 | |
| Free Monthly Function Invocations(millions) | 1 million | 1 million | |
| Edge Node Locations(count) | ~180 regions | ~180 regions | |
| Deployment Speed (avg)(seconds) | 2.3 seconds | 2.3 seconds | |
| Analytics Tool Cost(USD/month) | $20 (Web Analytics) | $20 (Web Analytics) | |
| Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD/user/month) | $20/month | $20/month | |
| Free Tier Bandwidth Limit(GB/month) | 100 | 100 | |
| Next.js Build Optimization(% faster) | 15-25% faster | 15-25% faster | |
| Time to First Deploy(minutes) | < 1 (git push) | < 1 (git push) | |
| Average Build Time (Next.js)(seconds) | 35 sec | 35 sec | |
| Free Tier Build Minutes/Month(minutes) | 6,000 min | 6,000 min | |
| Edge Network Coverage(cities) | 280+ cities | 280+ cities | |
| Starter Plan Pricing(USD/month) | Free | Free | |
| Team Collaboration Plan(USD/month) | $20/month | $20/month |
Sourced from publicly available data ·
Key Differences
7 attributes compared head-to-head
H
2HerokuVercel leads
V
5VercelHeroku
Attribute
Vercel
- 500-1000msCold Start Time100-300ms(winner)
- Discontinued (October 2022)Free Tier AvailabilityAvailable with 100GB bandwidth/month(winner)
- Java, Python, Node.js, Ruby, PHP, Go, Clojure, Scala (8+)(winner)Supported LanguagesPrimarily JavaScript/TypeScript, Node.js, Python (limited)
- Dyno proxy with regional deploymentEdge Functions/CDNNative Edge Network in 180+ cities(winner)
- $7/month (Eco Dyno)Starting Price (Small App)$20/month (Pro plan) or Free tier(winner)
- Heroku Postgres (built-in add-on)(winner)Database Hosting IntegrationThird-party integrations only (Supabase, MongoDB)
- 30-60 secondsDeployment Speed10-20 seconds(winner)
- Cold Start Time
Heroku
500-1000ms
Vercel
100-300ms(winner)
- Free Tier Availability
Heroku
Discontinued (October 2022)
Vercel
Available with 100GB bandwidth/month(winner)
- Supported Languages
Heroku
Java, Python, Node.js, Ruby, PHP, Go, Clojure, Scala (8+)(winner)
Vercel
Primarily JavaScript/TypeScript, Node.js, Python (limited)
- Edge Functions/CDN
Heroku
Dyno proxy with regional deployment
Vercel
Native Edge Network in 180+ cities(winner)
- Starting Price (Small App)
Heroku
$7/month (Eco Dyno)
Vercel
$20/month (Pro plan) or Free tier(winner)
- Database Hosting Integration
Heroku
Heroku Postgres (built-in add-on)(winner)
Vercel
Third-party integrations only (Supabase, MongoDB)
- Deployment Speed
Heroku
30-60 seconds
Vercel
10-20 seconds(winner)
Full Comparison
| Attribute | Heroku | Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Monthly Price(USD) | $50 | — |
| Free Trial Period(days) | No free trial (paid only) | — |
| Minimum Monthly Cost(USD) | $5 | — |
| Pro Plan Base Cost(USD/month) | $7 | — |
| Free Tier Status | Discontinued (2022) | — |
Show 34 more attributesProduction Dyno Cost(USD/month) $50 $20 (Pro plan) Minimum Monthly Cost (Single App)(USD) $50 — Cost per 1GB RAM (Monthly)(USD) $50 — PostgreSQL Managed Database Cost(USD/month) $9 — Monthly Cost (Baseline App)(USD) $500-2,000 — Cost at 10,000 Monthly Active Users(USD) $2,000-5,000 — Cost for Standard Production App (2 dynos + add-ons)(USD/month) $200-250 — Minimum Monthly Cost (Paid Tier)(USD) $50/month — Database Cost (Pro Tier)(USD/month) $50 (minimum) — Database Provisioning Cost (PostgreSQL Starter)(USD/month) $9/month — Minimum Monthly Cost(USD) $7/month (Eco Dyno) $0 (Free) or $20/month (Pro) Cost for Production App (2 dynos/Droplets + DB)(USD/month) $250-350/month — Free Tier Availability Discontinued (was free, now hobby tier $50/month) — Monthly Cost (Basic Production App)(USD) $50-150 — CPU Cost Per Hour(USD per CPU-hour) $0.05 (shared dyno equivalent) — Free Tier Monthly Credit(USD) $0 (discontinued, $7 minimum now) $0 (usage-based) Free Tier Monthly Bandwidth(GB) None (tier discontinued) 100GB/month Starter Pricing(USD/month) $20 — Free Tier Allowance(USD/month) Unlimited — Pro Plan Cost(USD/month per user/base) $20 — Starting Pro Plan Price(USD/month) $20 — Monthly Free Credits/Tier(USD) Free tier (limited) — Free Tier Compute(vCPU hours/month) Unlimited Functions (100GB bandwidth) — Compute Price (vCPU/hour)(USD) $0.10-0.50 per Serverless Function GB-hr — Starter Plan Monthly Cost(USD) $20/month — Free Tier Included Features(text) Limited deployments, 12 serverless function invocations/day — Serverless Function Cost (per 1M invocations)(USD) $2.00 — Function Invocation Cost(USD per million) $0.50 — Free Monthly Function Invocations(millions) 1 million — Analytics Tool Cost(USD/month) $20 (Web Analytics) — Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD/user/month) $20/month — Free Tier Bandwidth Limit(GB/month) 100 — Starter Plan Pricing(USD/month) Free — Team Collaboration Plan(USD/month) $20/month — | ||
| Cold Start Latency(seconds) | 10-30 | — |
| Build Duration(seconds (average)) | 60-120 | — |
| Cold Start Time(milliseconds) | 500-1000ms | 100-300ms(winner) |
| Automatic Scaling(availability) | Built-in at all tiers | — |
| Cold Start Time (Free/Sleeping Tier)(seconds) | 30+ seconds | — |
Show 21 more attributesLambda/Serverless Cold Start Latency(milliseconds) Not native (dyno sleep = 30sec) — Cold Start Performance(milliseconds) 1,500-3,000ms — Cold Start Latency(milliseconds) 30-60 seconds 50-100ms Cold Start Response Time(seconds) 3-5 seconds (free dyno) — Deployment Time(seconds) 30-60 seconds 10-20 seconds Typical App Latency (US-EU)(milliseconds) 150-200 — Function Cold Start(milliseconds) 50-100ms — CDN Coverage(global regions) 200+ edge locations — Serverless Cold Start(milliseconds) <100ms average — Cold Start Time (Function)(milliseconds) 50-100ms — Edge Function Cold Start(milliseconds) ~50 ms — Standard Deployment Cold Start(milliseconds) 200-400ms — Average Cold Start Time(seconds) 0.5-1.2 — Average Cold Start Latency(milliseconds) 85ms (with edge caching) — Average Deployment Time(seconds) 45 seconds — Edge Function Latency Reduction(milliseconds) 30-50ms faster than origin — Serverless Function Cold Start(milliseconds) 50-100ms — Deployment Speed (avg)(seconds) 2.3 seconds — Next.js Build Optimization(% faster) 15-25% faster — Average Build Time (Next.js)(seconds) 35 sec — Edge Network Coverage(cities) 280+ cities — | ||
| Maximum Uptime SLA(%) | 99.99% | — |
| Company Age & Maturity(years) | Founded 2007 | — |
| Uptime SLA Guarantee(percent) | 99.99% | — |
| Maximum Uptime SLA(percent) | 99.99% | — |
| SLA Uptime Guarantee(percent) | 99.95% (global) | — |
| Supported Runtimes | Node, Python, Ruby, Java, PHP, Go, Scala, Clojure | — |
| Supported Languages | 8+ languages (Java, Python, Ruby, Node.js, Go, PHP, Clojure, Scala)(winner) | JavaScript/TypeScript, limited Python support |
| Available Add-ons(count) | 60+ marketplace add-ons | — |
| Add-on Marketplace Size(integrations) | 200+ add-ons available(winner) | Native integrations limited (Git-based) |
| Available Add-ons/Integrations(services) | 180+ (official marketplace) | — |
| Add-on Marketplace Integrations(count) | 200+ | — |
| Deployment Methods | Git push, GitHub, Dropbox, API | — |
| Built-in CI/CD Pipeline(included) | Yes, automatic on git push | — |
| Managed Postgres Starting Price(USD/month) | $38 | — |
| Database Storage (Free Tier)(GB) | 1 GB (Vercel Postgres) | — |
| Active Development Status | Maintenance mode | — |
| Years Since Launch(years) | 15+ | — |
| Git-Push Deployment | Yes (original) | — |
| Supported Backend Languages(count) | 15+ languages(winner) | 2 (Node.js, Python) |
| Native Database Support | PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis (3 types) | None (external only) |
| Integrated Services & Add-ons Available(count) | 150+ integrated add-ons | — |
| Included PostgreSQL Database(starting price USD/month) | $9 | — |
Show 15 more attributesIntegrated Database Hosting Heroku Postgres with automated backups Third-party integrations required Database Integrations(count) 3-4 options — Integrated Services(count) 15-20 services — Docker/Container Support(native support) Limited (Node.js focus) — Native Database Options(count) 0 native; integrations available — ML/AI Services(count) API integrations only — Database Options(types) PostgreSQL only (Vercel Postgres) — Background Jobs(native support) Not included (external service required) — Built-in Database Options(count) 0 — Built-in Database Support(count) 0 (integrations only) — Serverless Function Support Yes (Node.js, Python, Go) — Backend Function Support Limited (requires external platform) — Supported Frameworks 30+ (optimized for Next.js) — Environment Variables (Free)(count) Unlimited — Next.js ISR/Image Optimization Native integration with auto-optimization — | ||
| Credit Card Required for Trial | Yes | — |
| Free Tier or Trial(USD credit) | None (discontinued) | — |
| Free Tier Bandwidth(GB/month) | $0 (discontinued) | 100GB |
| Global Edge Locations(locations) | ~6 regions | 280+(winner) |
| Global Server Regions(regions) | 6 regions | — |
| Global Deployment Regions(regions) | 4 | — |
| Global Edge Network Coverage(cities) | Regional deployment (limited) | 180+ cities worldwide(winner) |
| Global Data Centers(locations) | 200+ | — |
Show 4 more attributesCompute Regions Available(regions) 150+ (edge) — Regions Available(regions) Automatic (280 edge locations) — Edge Network Locations(regions) 180+ edge locations — Edge Node Locations(count) ~180 regions — | ||
| Database Setup Time(minutes) | 1 minute (add-on) | — |
| Learning Curve (Expert Assessment)(months to competency) | 0.5-1 week | — |
| Time from Code Commit to Production(minutes) | <2 minutes | — |
| Preview Environments(deployments) | Automatic per git branch | — |
| Next.js Framework Optimization | Native (created by Vercel team) | — |
Show 2 more attributesLearning Curve for New Users Beginner-friendly — Time to First Deploy(minutes) < 1 (git push) — | ||
| Server Root Access(availability) | No (limited to buildpacks) | — |
| Initial Setup Time(hours) | 0.25-0.5 hours | — |
| Setup Time to First Deploy(minutes) | 2 (connect GitHub, auto-deploy) | — |
| Estimated Learning Time for New Developer(hours) | 5-8 hours | — |
| Maximum Deployable Scale(concurrent users) | 100,000 | — |
| Maximum RAM per Instance(GB) | 512 | — |
| Concurrent Connections per Instance(requests/second) | Unlimited (auto-scales serverless) | — |
| Required DevOps Team Size(FTE) | 0 | — |
| Time to First Deployment(minutes) | 2-5 | — |
| Number of Available Services/Products(count) | 50+ | — |
| Global Regions Available(regions) | 4 | — |
| Marketplace Add-ons Available(count) | 180+ add-ons | — |
| Third-party Integrations(count) | 150+ | — |
| Free Tier Available | No (discontinued 2022) | — |
| Supported Languages/Runtimes(count) | 12+ | — |
| Platform Operational History(years) | 22 years | — |
| Infrastructure Customization Level(percent) | Limited (configuration over customization) | — |
| Supported Languages (via Framework/Docker)(count) | 35+ frameworks | — |
| Supported Frameworks/Languages(count) | Next.js optimized (Node.js compatible) | — |
| Community Size & Age(years active) | 15+ years (established 2011) | — |
| Company Valuation(USD billion) | $9.3B | — |
| Annualized Recurring Revenue(USD Millions) | $340M | — |
| Total Funding Raised(USD Millions) | $863M | — |
| Founding Year(Year) | 2015 | — |
| Current Funding Stage | Series F | — |
| Primary Geographic HQ | Covina, California, USA | — |
| YoY Revenue Growth Rate(Percent) | 86% | — |
| Market Position (2026) | Enterprise market leader | — |
| Max Serverless Function Size(MB/GB) | 10GB | — |
| Database Integration | Native Vercel Postgres | — |
| DDoS Protection Level | Basic (paid plans enhanced) | — |
| Enterprise Security Features(included) | SOC 2, DDoS, WAF included | — |
| DDoS Protection on Free Plan | No, Pro+ required | — |
| Analytics Dashboard | Detailed Web Analytics | — |
| Free Trial Duration(days) | Unlimited free tier | — |
| Container Support(native support) | Limited (via Docker) | — |
| Setup Complexity (1-10 scale)(difficulty score) | 1/10 (git push automatic deployment) | — |
| Built-in Authentication Systems | OAuth providers only | — |
| Monthly Active Users(millions) | 2.5M+ | — |
| Free Tier Deployments Per Day(deployments/day) | 3 | — |
| Next.js Framework Integration | Native first-class support | — |
| GitHub Actions Free Tier Minutes(minutes/month) | N/A | — |
| API Rate Limit (Free)(requests per minute) | Unlimited | — |
| Free Tier Build Minutes/Month(minutes) | 6,000 min | — |
HHeroku
VVercel
Starting Monthly Price(USD)
$50
—
Free Trial Period(days)
No free trial (paid only)
—
Minimum Monthly Cost(USD)
$5
—
Pro Plan Base Cost(USD/month)
$7
—
Free Tier Status
Discontinued (2022)
—
Show 34 more attributes
Production Dyno Cost(USD/month)
$50
$20 (Pro plan)
Minimum Monthly Cost (Single App)(USD)
$50
—
Cost per 1GB RAM (Monthly)(USD)
$50
—
PostgreSQL Managed Database Cost(USD/month)
$9
—
Monthly Cost (Baseline App)(USD)
$500-2,000
—
Cost at 10,000 Monthly Active Users(USD)
$2,000-5,000
—
Cost for Standard Production App (2 dynos + add-ons)(USD/month)
$200-250
—
Minimum Monthly Cost (Paid Tier)(USD)
$50/month
—
Database Cost (Pro Tier)(USD/month)
$50 (minimum)
—
Database Provisioning Cost (PostgreSQL Starter)(USD/month)
$9/month
—
Minimum Monthly Cost(USD)
$7/month (Eco Dyno)
$0 (Free) or $20/month (Pro)
Cost for Production App (2 dynos/Droplets + DB)(USD/month)
$250-350/month
—
Free Tier Availability
Discontinued (was free, now hobby tier $50/month)
—
Monthly Cost (Basic Production App)(USD)
$50-150
—
CPU Cost Per Hour(USD per CPU-hour)
$0.05 (shared dyno equivalent)
—
Free Tier Monthly Credit(USD)
$0 (discontinued, $7 minimum now)
$0 (usage-based)
Free Tier Monthly Bandwidth(GB)
None (tier discontinued)
100GB/month
Starter Pricing(USD/month)
$20
—
Free Tier Allowance(USD/month)
Unlimited
—
Pro Plan Cost(USD/month per user/base)
$20
—
Starting Pro Plan Price(USD/month)
$20
—
Monthly Free Credits/Tier(USD)
Free tier (limited)
—
Free Tier Compute(vCPU hours/month)
Unlimited Functions (100GB bandwidth)
—
Compute Price (vCPU/hour)(USD)
$0.10-0.50 per Serverless Function GB-hr
—
Starter Plan Monthly Cost(USD)
$20/month
—
Free Tier Included Features(text)
Limited deployments, 12 serverless function invocations/day
—
Serverless Function Cost (per 1M invocations)(USD)
$2.00
—
Function Invocation Cost(USD per million)
$0.50
—
Free Monthly Function Invocations(millions)
1 million
—
Analytics Tool Cost(USD/month)
$20 (Web Analytics)
—
Pro Plan Monthly Cost(USD/user/month)
$20/month
—
Free Tier Bandwidth Limit(GB/month)
100
—
Starter Plan Pricing(USD/month)
Free
—
Team Collaboration Plan(USD/month)
$20/month
—
Cold Start Latency(seconds)
10-30
—
Build Duration(seconds (average))
60-120
—
Cold Start Time(milliseconds)
500-1000ms
100-300ms
Automatic Scaling(availability)
Built-in at all tiers
—
Cold Start Time (Free/Sleeping Tier)(seconds)
30+ seconds
—
Show 21 more attributes
Lambda/Serverless Cold Start Latency(milliseconds)
Not native (dyno sleep = 30sec)
—
Cold Start Performance(milliseconds)
1,500-3,000ms
—
Cold Start Latency(milliseconds)
30-60 seconds
50-100ms
Cold Start Response Time(seconds)
3-5 seconds (free dyno)
—
Deployment Time(seconds)
30-60 seconds
10-20 seconds
Typical App Latency (US-EU)(milliseconds)
150-200
—
Function Cold Start(milliseconds)
50-100ms
—
CDN Coverage(global regions)
200+ edge locations
—
Serverless Cold Start(milliseconds)
<100ms average
—
Cold Start Time (Function)(milliseconds)
50-100ms
—
Edge Function Cold Start(milliseconds)
~50 ms
—
Standard Deployment Cold Start(milliseconds)
200-400ms
—
Average Cold Start Time(seconds)
0.5-1.2
—
Average Cold Start Latency(milliseconds)
85ms (with edge caching)
—
Average Deployment Time(seconds)
45 seconds
—
Edge Function Latency Reduction(milliseconds)
30-50ms faster than origin
—
Serverless Function Cold Start(milliseconds)
50-100ms
—
Deployment Speed (avg)(seconds)
2.3 seconds
—
Next.js Build Optimization(% faster)
15-25% faster
—
Average Build Time (Next.js)(seconds)
35 sec
—
Edge Network Coverage(cities)
280+ cities
—
Maximum Uptime SLA(%)
99.99%
—
Company Age & Maturity(years)
Founded 2007
—
Uptime SLA Guarantee(percent)
99.99%
—
Maximum Uptime SLA(percent)
99.99%
—
SLA Uptime Guarantee(percent)
99.95% (global)
—
Supported Runtimes
Node, Python, Ruby, Java, PHP, Go, Scala, Clojure
—
Supported Languages
8+ languages (Java, Python, Ruby, Node.js, Go, PHP, Clojure, Scala)
JavaScript/TypeScript, limited Python support
Available Add-ons(count)
60+ marketplace add-ons
—
Add-on Marketplace Size(integrations)
200+ add-ons available
Native integrations limited (Git-based)
Available Add-ons/Integrations(services)
180+ (official marketplace)
—
Add-on Marketplace Integrations(count)
200+
—
Deployment Methods
Git push, GitHub, Dropbox, API
—
Built-in CI/CD Pipeline(included)
Yes, automatic on git push
—
Managed Postgres Starting Price(USD/month)
$38
—
Database Storage (Free Tier)(GB)
1 GB (Vercel Postgres)
—
Active Development Status
Maintenance mode
—
Years Since Launch(years)
15+
—
Git-Push Deployment
Yes (original)
—
Supported Backend Languages(count)
15+ languages
2 (Node.js, Python)
Native Database Support
PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis (3 types)
None (external only)
Integrated Services & Add-ons Available(count)
150+ integrated add-ons
—
Included PostgreSQL Database(starting price USD/month)
$9
—
Show 15 more attributes
Integrated Database Hosting
Heroku Postgres with automated backups
Third-party integrations required
Database Integrations(count)
3-4 options
—
Integrated Services(count)
15-20 services
—
Docker/Container Support(native support)
Limited (Node.js focus)
—
Native Database Options(count)
0 native; integrations available
—
ML/AI Services(count)
API integrations only
—
Database Options(types)
PostgreSQL only (Vercel Postgres)
—
Background Jobs(native support)
Not included (external service required)
—
Built-in Database Options(count)
0
—
Built-in Database Support(count)
0 (integrations only)
—
Serverless Function Support
Yes (Node.js, Python, Go)
—
Backend Function Support
Limited (requires external platform)
—
Supported Frameworks
30+ (optimized for Next.js)
—
Environment Variables (Free)(count)
Unlimited
—
Next.js ISR/Image Optimization
Native integration with auto-optimization
—
Credit Card Required for Trial
Yes
—
Free Tier or Trial(USD credit)
None (discontinued)
—
Free Tier Bandwidth(GB/month)
$0 (discontinued)
100GB
Global Edge Locations(locations)
~6 regions
280+
Global Server Regions(regions)
6 regions
—
Global Deployment Regions(regions)
4
—
Global Edge Network Coverage(cities)
Regional deployment (limited)
180+ cities worldwide
Global Data Centers(locations)
200+
—
Show 4 more attributes
Compute Regions Available(regions)
150+ (edge)
—
Regions Available(regions)
Automatic (280 edge locations)
—
Edge Network Locations(regions)
180+ edge locations
—
Edge Node Locations(count)
~180 regions
—
Database Setup Time(minutes)
1 minute (add-on)
—
Learning Curve (Expert Assessment)(months to competency)
0.5-1 week
—
Time from Code Commit to Production(minutes)
<2 minutes
—
Preview Environments(deployments)
Automatic per git branch
—
Next.js Framework Optimization
Native (created by Vercel team)
—
Show 2 more attributes
Learning Curve for New Users
Beginner-friendly
—
Time to First Deploy(minutes)
< 1 (git push)
—
Server Root Access(availability)
No (limited to buildpacks)
—
Initial Setup Time(hours)
0.25-0.5 hours
—
Setup Time to First Deploy(minutes)
2 (connect GitHub, auto-deploy)
—
Estimated Learning Time for New Developer(hours)
5-8 hours
—
Maximum Deployable Scale(concurrent users)
100,000
—
Maximum RAM per Instance(GB)
512
—
Concurrent Connections per Instance(requests/second)
Unlimited (auto-scales serverless)
—
Required DevOps Team Size(FTE)
0
—
Time to First Deployment(minutes)
2-5
—
Number of Available Services/Products(count)
50+
—
Global Regions Available(regions)
4
—
Marketplace Add-ons Available(count)
180+ add-ons
—
Third-party Integrations(count)
150+
—
Free Tier Available
No (discontinued 2022)
—
Supported Languages/Runtimes(count)
12+
—
Platform Operational History(years)
22 years
—
Infrastructure Customization Level(percent)
Limited (configuration over customization)
—
Supported Languages (via Framework/Docker)(count)
35+ frameworks
—
Supported Frameworks/Languages(count)
Next.js optimized (Node.js compatible)
—
Community Size & Age(years active)
15+ years (established 2011)
—
Company Valuation(USD billion)
$9.3B
—
Annualized Recurring Revenue(USD Millions)
$340M
—
Total Funding Raised(USD Millions)
$863M
—
Founding Year(Year)
2015
—
Current Funding Stage
Series F
—
Primary Geographic HQ
Covina, California, USA
—
YoY Revenue Growth Rate(Percent)
86%
—
Market Position (2026)
Enterprise market leader
—
Max Serverless Function Size(MB/GB)
10GB
—
Database Integration
Native Vercel Postgres
—
DDoS Protection Level
Basic (paid plans enhanced)
—
Enterprise Security Features(included)
SOC 2, DDoS, WAF included
—
DDoS Protection on Free Plan
No, Pro+ required
—
Analytics Dashboard
Detailed Web Analytics
—
Free Trial Duration(days)
Unlimited free tier
—
Container Support(native support)
Limited (via Docker)
—
Setup Complexity (1-10 scale)(difficulty score)
1/10 (git push automatic deployment)
—
Built-in Authentication Systems
OAuth providers only
—
Monthly Active Users(millions)
2.5M+
—
Free Tier Deployments Per Day(deployments/day)
3
—
Next.js Framework Integration
Native first-class support
—
GitHub Actions Free Tier Minutes(minutes/month)
N/A
—
API Rate Limit (Free)(requests per minute)
Unlimited
—
Free Tier Build Minutes/Month(minutes)
6,000 min
—
Pros & Cons
10 pros·6 cons across both
H
V
H
Heroku
+5-3
Pros
- Supports 8+ programming languages (Java, Python, Ruby, Go, PHP, Clojure, Scala, Node.js)
- Built-in Heroku Postgres database hosting with automatic backups
- Extensive add-on marketplace (200+ integrations for logging, monitoring, caching)
- Established platform with 15+ years of reliability and mature documentation
- Flexible dyno types for CPU-intensive workloads (Standard-2X with 1GB RAM)
Cons
- Discontinued free tier as of October 2022, minimum $7/month cost
- Slower cold start times (500-1000ms) compared to serverless alternatives
- Limited global edge deployment compared to modern CDN platforms
V
Vercel
+5-3
Pros
- Sub-300ms cold starts with native Edge Functions deployed to 180+ cities globally
- Free tier with 100GB bandwidth/month, ideal for hobby projects and prototyping
- Optimized Git integration with automatic deployments on push (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket)
- Built-in analytics, Web Vitals monitoring, and performance insights
- Superior developer experience with 10-20 second deployment times
Cons
- Limited to JavaScript/TypeScript ecosystems; Python support is restricted to specific runtimes
- No integrated database hosting (requires third-party services like Supabase or MongoDB Atlas)
- Less suitable for CPU-intensive or long-running backend processes
Frequently Asked Questions
5 questions
In October 2022, Salesforce (Heroku's parent company) discontinued the free tier due to abuse of free resources and resource allocation costs. The company shifted focus to paid plans starting at $7/month. This directly contrasts with Vercel's continued free tier with 100GB monthly bandwidth, making Vercel more accessible for hobbyist projects.
Resources & Learn More
Curated sources to dive deeper
Where to Buy
As an affiliate, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Learn more about our affiliate disclosure
Wikipedia
- W
Heroku on Wikipedia (opens in new tab)
Cloud platform-as-a-service for deploying web apps across multiple programming languages with managed databases.
- W
Vercel on Wikipedia (opens in new tab)
Serverless platform optimized for JavaScript/TypeScript frontend and full-stack deployment with global edge network.
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