DigitalOcean App Platform vs Heroku Comparison
Detailed comparison of features, pricing, and capabilities
Last updated April 4, 2026
Overview
Compare key metrics and features at a glance
DigitalOcean App Platform
https://www.digitalocean.com/products/app-platform
DigitalOcean App Platform is a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering that automates infrastructure management and deployment of applications. It enables developers to build, deploy, and scale applications by directly connecting to GitHub repositories, with automatic builds and deployments upon code changes. The service handles all infrastructure management, including SSL certificates, CDN, and scaling, allowing developers to focus solely on their code.
Heroku
https://www.heroku.com
Heroku is a cloud platform as a service (PaaS) that enables companies to build, deliver, monitor and scale applications. The platform supports several programming languages and allows developers to deploy, manage, and scale modern apps without having to manage the underlying infrastructure. Heroku was acquired by Salesforce in 2010 and has since become one of the most popular PaaS solutions for web application deployment.
Quick Comparison
| Detail | DigitalOcean App Platform | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Platform as a Service (PaaS) | Platform as a Service (PaaS) |
| Starting Price | Contact Sales | Contact Sales |
| Plans Available | 0 | 0 |
| Features Tracked | 18 | 17 |
| Founded | 2020 | 2007 |
| Headquarters | New York, USA | San Francisco, USA |
Features
Detailed feature-by-feature comparison
Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| api | ||
| CLI Access | ||
| core | ||
| Application Metrics | ||
| Autoscaling | ||
| Container Support | ||
| Continuous Deployment | ||
| Custom Domains | ||
| Dedicated CPUs | Add-on | |
| Deployment Rollback | ||
| Dynamic Apps Support | ||
| Dynos | ||
| Global CDN | ||
| Heroku Dashboard | ||
| Heroku Key-Value Store | ||
| Heroku Pipelines | ||
| Heroku Postgres | ||
| Horizontal Scaling | ||
| Managed Inference and Agents | ||
| Multi-language Support | ||
| Scale to Zero | ||
| Static Assets Deployment | ||
| Vertical Scaling | ||
| custom | ||
| Buildpacks | ||
| integration | ||
| Add-ons Marketplace | ||
| Apache Kafka on Heroku | ||
| GitHub Integration | ||
| Heroku AppLink | Add-on | |
| Model Context Protocol (MCP) | ||
| security | ||
| Automatic SSL/TLS | ||
| DDoS Mitigation | ||
| Dedicated Egress IPs | ||
| Security Patches | ||
| support | ||
| Application Metrics | ||
| Team Collaboration | ||
| Unlimited Team Members | ||
Pricing
Compare pricing plans and value for money
DigitalOcean App Platform
Contact Sales
No pricing data available yet
Best For
Startups and small teams deploying MVPs with Git-based apps needing managed scaling and free static hosting without infrastructure hassle.
Heroku
Contact Sales
No pricing data available yet
Best For
Developers and startups needing quick Git-based deploys and managed scaling for modern web apps without infrastructure management.
Integrations
See which third-party services are supported
Supported Integrations
Coming Soon
Integration comparison data for DigitalOcean App Platform, Heroku is being collected and will be available soon.
Strengths & Limitations
Key strengths and limitations of each service
DigitalOcean App Platform
Startups and small teams deploying MVPs with Git-based apps needing managed scaling and free static hosting without infrastructure hassle.
- Free Starter tier hosts up to three static sites with HTTPS and global CDN, ideal for low-cost prototyping unlike pricier rivals.
- Automatic GitHub/GitLab deployments using Buildpacks trigger on code pushes, simplifying CI/CD for developers.
- Seamless integration with managed Databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis) via auto-configured secure connections.
- Supports vertical/horizontal auto-scaling and Pro tier dedicated resources for traffic spikes without manual ops.
- Limited to DigitalOcean's ecosystem for managed databases, lacking multi-cloud database flexibility of Heroku.
- Native support for only select languages like Python/Node.js/Go; others require Dockerfiles, less plug-and-play than Vercel.
Heroku
Developers and startups needing quick Git-based deploys and managed scaling for modern web apps without infrastructure management.
- Git push deployment and dyno autoscaling enable instant scaling for web apps, unlike more complex setups on AWS or Azure.
- Managed data services like Heroku Postgres and Redis handle backups and HA, freeing developers from infra tasks.
- Native buildpacks for Node.js, Python, Java, and others simplify multi-language deploys versus custom configs elsewhere.
- Doubled 1GB slug limit supports AI/ML frameworks, boosting complex app compatibility.
- Transitioning to sustaining engineering mode limits new features, lagging behind innovative PaaS like Upsun.
- Runs atop AWS EC2 with dyno-based pricing that can escalate costs for high-traffic apps versus granular cloud options.
- Enterprise feature freeze pushes users toward Salesforce alternatives like Agentforce.
Company Info
Company details and background
DigitalOcean App Platform
Heroku
Comparison FAQ
Common questions about comparing DigitalOcean App Platform and Heroku
No FAQs available yet