Heroku pioneered PaaS but now charges $5/mo for a basic dyno with sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity. InstaPods gives you a real server that never sleeps, starting at $3/mo.
| Feature | Heroku | InstaPods |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $5/mo (Basic Dyno) | $3/mo (Launch Plan) |
| Pricing Model | Per-dyno + add-on costs | Flat monthly — no surprises |
| Server Type | Shared dyno (abstracted) | Real Linux container with root |
| Free Tier | Removed in Nov 2022 | No free tier — $3/mo minimum |
| SSH Access | No (heroku run bash only) | Full SSH + web terminal |
| Custom Domains | Yes (paid plans) | Yes (all plans) |
| HTTPS | Automated SSL | Automated Let's Encrypt |
| Deploy Method | Git push, GitHub, Docker | CLI, Git push, GitHub |
| Database | Heroku Postgres add-on ($5+/mo) | Install any DB inside your pod |
| Sleep/Cold Starts | Basic dynos sleep after 30min | Never sleeps — always running |
A fair look at their strengths.
Heroku has been around since 2007 with a massive add-on marketplace — Redis, Postgres, monitoring, logging, and more — all one click away.
Heroku runs on AWS infrastructure and has powered millions of apps. Their routing mesh and dyno management are battle-tested.
Pipelines, review apps, and team permissions make Heroku strong for organizations shipping code together.
Limitations to consider before choosing.
Heroku eliminated its free tier in November 2022. The cheapest option is now $5/mo per dyno, and that dyno still sleeps after 30 minutes of inactivity.
Heroku Postgres starts at $5/mo, Redis at $3/mo, and logging at $5/mo. A basic production stack easily exceeds $25/mo before you even scale.
You can run one-off commands with `heroku run`, but there is no persistent SSH access. Debugging production issues means reading logs, not inspecting the server.
Where we do things differently.
Every InstaPods pod is a real Linux container with full root access. Install anything — databases, system packages, cron jobs — without paying for separate add-ons.
$3/mo means $3/mo. No per-dyno charges, no add-on fees, no bandwidth overage. Your app, your database, your file storage — all included.
Even the cheapest InstaPods plan runs 24/7. No sleeping after 30 minutes, no cold start delays when someone visits your site.
Running a Node.js app with a PostgreSQL database and custom domain
Get your app online in under a minute. Real servers, flat pricing, no surprises.
Try InstaPods