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It's a split decision.
DigitalOcean is a cloud platform spanning Droplets, Kubernetes, managed databases, serverless functions and AI services. Heroku is a managed application platform built around dynos, deployment tools and managed data services. Choose DigitalOcean when you need infrastructure choices, self-hosting or AI-specific services; its listed Droplets start at $4 per month. Choose Heroku for a managed runtime and a GitHub deployment workflow, starting at $5 per month for Eco, which sleeps after 30 minutes of inactivity.
01Side by side
| DigitalOcean | Heroku | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Usage-based services; Droplets start at $4/month | Monthly dyno plans start at $5 |
| Free tier | Free Functions allowance and selected services | No free plan listed |
| Self-hosting | Self-hostable; scope isn't specified | Fully managed platform; self-hosting isn't described |
| API and SDKs | Single API for model inference | AI services; API details aren't listed |
| CLI and docs | Docs portal; App Platform deployment | Git push and GitHub deployments |
| Integrations | Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana | GitHub, Salesforce, add-ons, community buildpacks |
| Deployment model | Droplets, Kubernetes, App Platform, Functions | Managed runtime using dynos |
| Limits and scaling | Autoscaling options; usage and compute billed | Scale dynos; plan sizes define RAM and compute |
DigitalOcean Choose DigitalOcean if
- Choose DigitalOcean if you need VMs, Kubernetes and managed services.
- Choose DigitalOcean if AI inference or agent workloads are central.
- Choose DigitalOcean if self-hosting is a requirement.
Heroku Choose Heroku if
- Choose Heroku if you want a managed dyno runtime.
- Choose Heroku if your release flow uses GitHub deployments.
- Choose Heroku if you want managed Postgres and Redis-based storage.
02Pricing at real usage
DigitalOcean has a free plan, but that does not make every workload free: the pricing page lists Functions with 90,000 GiB-seconds per month included, a Container Registry with one repository and 500 MiB, and App Platform at $0 per month. A Droplet starts at $4 per month, Kubernetes at $12, and managed databases at $15. Compute, storage, backups and network transfer can add charges; Droplets bill per second with a 60-second minimum or $0.01, whichever is higher.
Heroku has no free plan listed. Eco starts at $5 per month but sleeps after 30 minutes of inactivity; Basic is $7 and stays on. Standard-1X starts at $25, while larger plans and private or compliance-focused options cost more. Heroku bills by monthly dyno plan, so scaling compute or adding services increases the bill.
03API, SDKs and integration
DigitalOcean combines infrastructure and AI products in one account. Its pages describe a single API for model inference, alongside serverless, dedicated and batch inference options. App Platform builds, deploys and scales apps; teams can also use Droplets, Kubernetes or Functions. The homepage links to Docs and lists integrations including Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, MySQL, OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana and vLLM. It names open-source agent integrations such as Claude Code, Codex CLI, OpenCode, LangGraph, CrewAI and MCP.
Heroku's central workflow is application deployment to managed dynos. Its homepage gives the git push heroku main command and describes GitHub deployments, including Review Apps for pull requests. Buildpacks and third-party add-ons extend the runtime; Heroku also offers Postgres and a Redis-based key-value store. Neither vendor publishes a comparable SDK and supported-language matrix on these pages. Ask each vendor for SDK coverage, API authentication details and versioning before designing an integration around them.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
DigitalOcean is marked self-hostable, but the scope of that option is not specified. Heroku is described as a fully managed platform, and its pages do not describe a self-hosting option. Neither vendor publishes platform-wide open-source licensing terms or a data-export path on these pages; ask about licences, export formats and migration support before committing stateful workloads.
Heroku's dynos, buildpacks, add-ons and deployment flow tie an app to Heroku's platform conventions. Moving away may require replacing those runtime and service integrations. DigitalOcean offers standard infrastructure choices such as virtual machines, Kubernetes and S3-compatible Spaces, which can make it easier to use familiar deployment patterns. That does not guarantee a simple exit: managed database features, AI services and application dependencies still need a migration plan.
Questions people ask
Is DigitalOcean on AWS?
DigitalOcean is presented as its own cloud platform, with Droplets, Kubernetes, databases and networking under a DigitalOcean account and bill. It is not an AWS service. If you mean whether a particular workload can connect to AWS, check the networking and integration requirements for that architecture.
Is Heroku part of AWS?
Heroku is described as a fully managed application platform with dynos, Postgres and a Redis-based key-value store. Its product pages do not establish whether AWS underlies the service. Treat Heroku as a distinct platform in your architecture, and ask Heroku about infrastructure dependencies if they affect your requirements.
Who are Heroku's main competitors?
Heroku competes for application-hosting workloads with platforms such as DigitalOcean App Platform. The products differ in scope: Heroku centers on managed dynos and deployment workflows, while DigitalOcean also offers virtual machines, Kubernetes, storage and networking. Compare the runtime and services your app actually needs.
How expensive is Heroku?
Heroku's listed plans start at $5 per month for Eco, which sleeps after 30 minutes of inactivity, and $7 for always-on Basic. Standard-1X starts at $25 per month. Larger dynos, private plans and Shield plans cost more, so the bill depends on the compute capacity and services your app needs.