HEROKU FREE TIER STATUS 2026
Is Heroku Free in 2026? No.
Heroku's free tier was permanently discontinued on November 28, 2022.
Free dynos, free Heroku Postgres, and free Heroku Redis are all gone. Heroku has no free plan and has shown no plans to bring it back. The cheapest Heroku option is now Eco dynos at $5/month.
Last updated: March 11, 2026 | Verified against Heroku's official pricing page
Heroku's Current Pricing (2026)
Since removing the free tier, here's what Heroku costs in 2026:
Eco Dynos
1,000 shared hours/month. Apps sleep after 30 min inactivity.
Basic Dynos
Always-on. 512 MB RAM per dyno. No sleeping.
Essential-0 Postgres
1 GB storage, 20 connections. Formerly "Mini".
Redis Mini (Key-Value Store)
25 MB memory, 20 connections.
Minimum cost for a basic Heroku app + database: $10-12/month — that's $120-144/year for a hobby project.
Heroku Free Tier Timeline
2011 — Free Tier Launched
Heroku introduced free dynos, making it the go-to platform for hobby developers and students.
August 25, 2022 — Shutdown Announced
Salesforce announced the removal of free plans, citing abuse from crypto miners, spammers, and bad actors using free dynos at scale.
November 28, 2022 — Free Tier Removed
All free dynos, free Heroku Postgres, and free Heroku Redis were permanently discontinued. Millions of hobby apps went offline.
2024-2026 — Sustaining Mode
Heroku entered sustaining engineering — security patches only, no new features. The newer Fir runtime is limited to enterprise Private Spaces.
Free Heroku Alternatives (2026)
These platforms offer real free tiers — no credit card required for most:
1. SnapDeploy
Best Overall — 100 Free Hours
- 100 free hours (no credit card needed)
- 2 containers, 512 MB RAM, free SSL
- Deploy from GitHub in minutes — auto-detects framework
- Managed databases from $24/month (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB)
- Paid plans from $9/month (unlimited hours)
2. Render
Best for Static Sites
Free web services (512 MB, 0.1 CPU), free Postgres (1 GB, expires after 30 days). Apps sleep after inactivity. Paid plans from $7/month.
3. Railway
Heroku-Like Experience
$5 one-time trial credit (30 days). After trial: $1/month in credits (very limited). Hobby plan at $5/month with $5 included credits. Usage-based pricing beyond that.
4. Fly.io
Edge Deployment (Pay-as-you-go)
Free trial: 2 VM hours or 7 days (whichever comes first). After trial, pay-as-you-go only — no free allowance for new customers since 2024. CLI-based deployment, good for edge workloads but steeper learning curve.
5. Koyeb
Free Instance
1 free instance (512 MB RAM, 0.1 vCPU, 2 GB disk). No credit card required. Always-on (no sleeping). Includes a free database. Limited to 1 service on the free tier.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Heroku have a free tier in 2026?
No. Heroku permanently discontinued its free tier on November 28, 2022. Free dynos, free Heroku Postgres, and free Heroku Redis were all removed. The cheapest Heroku option is Eco dynos at $5/month.
When did Heroku remove its free tier?
Heroku announced the removal on August 25, 2022, and fully removed all free plans on November 28, 2022. Salesforce cited widespread abuse (crypto mining, spam bots) as the primary reason.
Will Heroku's free tier come back?
No. Heroku has entered sustaining engineering mode with no new features planned. Salesforce has given no indication of restoring free plans. The platform is focused on enterprise customers, not individual developers.
What is the cheapest Heroku plan in 2026?
Eco dynos at $5/month (1,000 shared hours, apps sleep after 30 min). Adding a database (Essential-0 Postgres at $5/month) brings the minimum to $10/month. Basic dynos (always-on) are $7/month per dyno.
What are the best free alternatives to Heroku?
The best free Heroku alternatives in 2026: SnapDeploy (100 free hours, no credit card), Render (free web services, limited Postgres), Koyeb (1 free instance, 512MB RAM), Railway ($5 trial credit), and Fly.io (pay-as-you-go, brief free trial only). See the full comparison.
Is Heroku still worth using in 2026?
For enterprise teams with existing Heroku infrastructure, it still works. For new projects, individual developers, and startups, modern alternatives offer better value. Heroku is in sustaining mode with no new features, while platforms like SnapDeploy, Render, and Railway are actively innovating.
Deploy for Free — No Heroku Needed
100 free hours. No credit card. Deploy from GitHub in minutes.
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