What is the best free Heroku alternative?

Oracle Cloud's always-free tier (4 ARM vCPUs, 24GB RAM) is the best free Heroku alternative — it runs full web apps permanently at no cost. Pair it with a Dokku/Coolify install for a push-to-deploy workflow.

Is there a Heroku alternative with git push deploys?

Yes. DigitalOcean App Platform offers the closest experience to Heroku, with automatic builds from your repo. For self-hosted options, Dokku and Coolify on a Hetzner or Vultr server replicate the Heroku workflow.

How much can I save versus Heroku?

A lot. A Heroku Standard dyno costs $25–50/month; an equivalent Hetzner server is under €6/month, and Oracle's always-free instance is $0. Most teams cut hosting costs by 70–90% switching from Heroku.

4 top alternatives · 2026

Best Heroku Alternatives in 2026

Since Heroku removed its free tier, developers have been hunting for affordable platforms to host apps and side projects. These Heroku alternatives give you more control and far lower cost — from simple app platforms to cheap VPS hosting.

Heroku is easy but expensive at scale, and the loss of free dynos hit hobbyists hard. The best replacements offer either a Heroku-like push-to-deploy experience (DigitalOcean App Platform) or raw VPS value (Hetzner, Vultr, Oracle) at a fraction of the price.

The 4 Best Heroku Alternatives

DigitalOcean

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The closest Heroku replacement. App Platform offers git-push deploys and managed runtimes, while Droplets give you full control. Clear pricing and excellent docs.

DigitalOceanStarter

Free Trial

Full platform access

Free Trial Account

$20/account

30min–12hrs Verified & Instant

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DigitalOcean

Close Port 3

Droplet capacity

Close Port 3 Droplet

$29/account