# Heroku Problems & Issues 2026 - No Free Tier, Major Outages

Source: https://www.tryorbye.com/products/heroku
Last analyzed: 2026-03-05
Try or Bye score: 48/100

## Verdict: Bye

Heroku disappoints many users (score 48/100). Most reported issues: Free tier eliminated in November 2022; June 10, 2025 outage - 15+ hours of downtime; Costs escalate quickly with scale. Not a good fit for: Hobby developers and students; Startups needing to scale; Teams requiring high reliability. Users most often switch to Back4App, Render, Railway.

## What it is

Heroku is the pioneering PaaS platform that popularized 'git push' deployments. Owned by Salesforce since 2010, it offers simple app deployment with dynos, managed databases, and add-ons. Once the go-to choice for developers, Heroku eliminated its free tier in 2022 and entered 'sustaining engineering mode' in February 2026.

## Common problems

- **Free tier eliminated in November 2022** (pricing): Heroku permanently removed all free tiers in November 2022, citing 'extraordinary effort managing fraud and abuse.' The lowest option is now Eco dynos at $5/month with sleep after 30 minutes. This killed Heroku for hobby projects, students, and startups that relied on free hosting.
- **June 10, 2025 outage - 15+ hours of downtime** (reliability): On June 10, 2025, an automated OS update caused a catastrophic 15-hour, 45-minute outage. A legacy script failed to reapply network routes, severing outbound connectivity for all dynos. Applications were completely inoperable, CLI tools failed, and even the Status Page went down - Heroku couldn't communicate with customers.
- **Costs escalate quickly with scale** (pricing): Capterra reviews consistently note costs 'get really expensive really fast.' Basic dynos start at $7/month but Standard-1X is $25/month, and Performance dynos reach $250-500/month. Multiple dynos, databases, and add-ons compound rapidly. Companies outgrowing Heroku face steep bills.
- **Entering sustaining engineering mode - no new features** (reliability): In February 2026, Heroku announced transition to 'sustaining engineering model' focused on stability, security, and reliability rather than new features. Enterprise Account contracts are no longer offered to new customers. This signals the platform's decline as a competitive PaaS.
- **Multiple major outages in June 2025** (reliability): Beyond the 15-hour June 10 outage, Heroku had another 8.5-hour incident on June 18, 2025 affecting dyno formations and autoscaling. The frequency and severity of 2025 outages significantly exceeded previous years, raising serious reliability questions.
- **Customer support described as 'comically bad'** (support): Trustpilot reviews describe customer service as 'comically bad' with users blocked from accounts for extended periods while still being charged. Login issues go unresolved after 'nearly a week' of emails. Support is only available via email with users 'shuttled between departments without solutions.'
- **Limited infrastructure control - vendor lock-in** (customization): Heroku 'abstracts away a lot of supporting infrastructure' reducing developer control. This creates significant vendor lock-in - it's 'really difficult to switch from Heroku.' Modern teams need granular control for specialized solutions and optimization that Heroku's platform doesn't accommodate.
- **Billing continues after account deletion** (pricing): Trustpilot reviews report being charged for months while believing they used the free version, and continuing to be billed even after deleting accounts and projects. Some users were blocked from accounts while monthly charges continued, unable to contact support to remove credit cards.
- **Eco dynos sleep after 30 minutes** (pricing): The cheapest Eco plan ($5/month for 1000 hours) has dynos that sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity. First requests after sleep take 10-30 seconds to wake up. For always-on apps, Basic dynos at $7/month are the minimum, making the $5 'entry point' misleading.
- **Status page ran on affected infrastructure** (reliability): During the June 10 outage, Heroku's Status Page and internal tools ran on the same affected infrastructure. When applications failed, the company's ability to respond and communicate was severely impaired. Customers had no reliable source of incident information.
- **GitHub deployment errors and log tracking issues** (usability): Users report GitHub pushes and deployments sometimes fail with 'Something went wrong' errors that should be investigated. Log tracking has issues that 'could use improvements.' The deployment experience has degraded from Heroku's historically smooth workflow.
- **Limited payment options - credit card only** (pricing): Heroku only accepts credit card billing on a monthly basis. No PayPal, ACH, wire transfers, or annual billing options are available. This limits accessibility for international developers and organizations with different payment requirements.

## What users like

- **Simple 'git push' deployment model**: Heroku pioneered the 'git push heroku main' deployment workflow that became industry standard. For developers who just want to deploy code without infrastructure management, this simplicity remains unmatched by raw cloud providers. Great for rapid prototyping.
- **Extensive add-on marketplace**: Heroku's add-on marketplace provides one-click integration with databases, monitoring, logging, email, and hundreds of other services. Add-ons simplify infrastructure setup and are billed through Heroku. Third-party integrations are generally well-maintained.
- **Managed Postgres and Redis included**: Heroku Postgres and Heroku Redis are fully managed database services with automatic backups, easy scaling, and reliable performance. For teams without database administration expertise, these managed services significantly reduce operational burden.
- **Good for small teams and startups (historically)**: Heroku allows small teams to deploy production applications without DevOps expertise. Focus on code rather than infrastructure. For startups racing to market, this speed advantage was historically valuable - though alternatives now offer similar ease.
- **Salesforce backing provides enterprise credibility**: As a Salesforce product, Heroku has enterprise compliance certifications and security standards. For organizations already in the Salesforce ecosystem, Heroku integration provides additional value. Enterprise teams get SOC compliance and audit support.
- **Review apps for pull request environments**: Heroku Review Apps automatically create disposable environments for pull requests, enabling easy testing and review before merge. This CI/CD feature remains valuable for teams wanting ephemeral staging environments tied to their GitHub workflow.

## Pricing

- **Eco Dynos**: $5 (monthly) — hidden costs: Dynos sleep after 30 min inactivity (10-30s wake time), hours shared across ALL apps
- **Basic Dynos**: $7 (monthly) — hidden costs: Database separate (Mini Postgres $5/mo), add-ons extra, each dyno billed separately
- **Standard-1X**: $25 (monthly) — hidden costs: Standard-2X is $50/mo, databases charged separately, add-ons accumulate
- **Performance-M**: $250 (monthly) — hidden costs: Performance-L is $500/mo, Shield (compliance) adds more, enterprise pricing opaque

## Who should and shouldn't use it

- **Developers wanting simple deployments** — Depends: Heroku's 'git push' simplicity remains valuable, but alternatives like Render and Railway now offer similar ease at lower prices. The February 2026 'sustaining mode' announcement means the platform won't improve. Consider newer alternatives.
- **Hobby developers and students** — Avoid: With no free tier since November 2022, Heroku is no longer viable for hobby projects. Eco dynos ($5/mo) sleep after 30 minutes. Alternatives like Render, Railway, Fly.io, and Vercel offer free tiers that better serve learning and experimentation.
- **Startups needing to scale** — Avoid: Costs 'get really expensive really fast' with Performance dynos reaching $250-500/month. The June 2025 outages (15+ hours) demonstrate reliability concerns. 'Sustaining mode' means no new features. Modern alternatives offer better value and trajectory.
- **Salesforce ecosystem organizations** — Depends: Heroku Connect for Salesforce integration remains unique. Enterprise compliance and Salesforce backing provide credibility. However, even Salesforce customers should evaluate whether sustaining mode meets their evolving needs.
- **Teams requiring high reliability** — Avoid: The June 2025 outages (15-hour and 8.5-hour incidents) exposed serious reliability issues. The Status Page going down during outages meant no communication. For production workloads requiring uptime, consider alternatives with better track records.
- **Enterprise with compliance needs** — Depends: Heroku Shield provides SOC, HIPAA, and PCI compliance. Salesforce backing adds enterprise credibility. However, Enterprise Account contracts are no longer offered to new customers as of February 2026. Evaluate carefully.
- **Teams needing infrastructure control** — Avoid: Heroku 'abstracts away supporting infrastructure' reducing control. Vendor lock-in makes migration 'really difficult.' Modern teams needing customization, containers, or Kubernetes should consider Render, Fly.io, or direct cloud providers.
- **Existing Heroku customers** — Depends: If your app works and costs are acceptable, immediate migration isn't urgent. But the 'sustaining mode' announcement means no improvements are coming. Plan a gradual migration to alternatives before technical debt accumulates.

## Alternatives

- **Back4App**: Teams switch for backend-as-a-service with predictable pricing. Gain: Parse-compatible, AI agent support, free tier available. Trade-off: different paradigm from PaaS, less flexibility for custom backends.
- **Render** (https://www.tryorbye.com/products/render): Most popular Heroku alternative. Teams switch for free tier (Render has one, Heroku doesn't), similar simplicity, and active development. Gain: free static sites, preview environments, managed databases included. Trade-off: fewer add-ons, smaller ecosystem.
- **Railway** (https://www.tryorbye.com/products/railway): Developers switch for modern DX and free tier. Gain: usage-based pricing, fast deployments, monorepo support, active feature development. Trade-off: newer platform, smaller community, some features still maturing.
- **Fly.io** (https://www.tryorbye.com/products/fly-io): Teams switch for global edge deployment. Gain: deploy close to users worldwide, Docker-native, generous free tier. Trade-off: steeper learning curve, Postgres has had issues, smaller support team.
- **DigitalOcean** (https://www.tryorbye.com/products/digitalocean): Teams switch for buildpack compatibility and pricing. Gain: familiar workflow, managed databases, predictable costs, strong documentation. Trade-off: less polished than Heroku, fewer add-on integrations.
- **Vercel** (https://www.tryorbye.com/products/vercel): Frontend teams switch for Next.js/React optimization. Gain: zero-config frontend deployment, excellent DX, generous free tier for static sites. Trade-off: limited backend support, expensive at scale.

## FAQ

### Is Heroku still worth it in 2026?

Heroku is increasingly hard to recommend. The free tier was removed in 2022, costs escalate quickly, and June 2025 saw 15+ hour outages. In February 2026, Heroku announced 'sustaining engineering mode' with no new features. Alternatives like Render and Railway offer better value and active development. Consider migrating.

### Why did Heroku remove the free tier?

In August 2022, Heroku announced removal of all free plans effective November 28, 2022. Salesforce cited 'extraordinary effort managing fraud and abuse' as the reason. Free dynos were converted to Eco dynos ($5/mo with sleep). This decision drove massive migration to alternatives that still offer free tiers.

### What happened in the Heroku June 2025 outage?

On June 10, 2025, an automated OS update ran on production when it should have been disabled. A legacy script failed to reapply network routes, causing 15 hours 45 minutes of downtime. Applications were inoperable, CLI failed, and even the Status Page went down. Another 8.5-hour outage hit June 18. No customer data was lost.

### What is Heroku sustaining mode?

In February 2026, Heroku announced transition to 'sustaining engineering model' focused on stability, security, and reliability rather than building new features. Enterprise Account contracts are no longer offered to new customers. This signals Heroku's shift from growth platform to maintenance mode.

### Why is Heroku so expensive?

Heroku's pricing escalates rapidly: Eco ($5 with sleep), Basic ($7), Standard-1X ($25), Performance-M ($250). Each dyno and database is billed separately, and add-ons compound costs. Companies report bills growing much faster than on alternatives. The abstraction premium no longer justifies the cost for most use cases.

### What is the best Heroku alternative?

Best Heroku alternatives in 2026: Render (most similar, has free tier), Railway (modern DX, usage-based), Fly.io (global edge), DigitalOcean App Platform (buildpack compatible), Vercel (frontend-focused). All offer what Heroku lacks: free tiers, competitive pricing, and active feature development.

### Does Heroku have a free tier?

No. Heroku permanently removed all free tiers in November 2022. The cheapest option is Eco dynos at $5/month for 1000 shared hours, but dynos sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity. For always-on apps, Basic dynos start at $7/month per dyno. Alternatives like Render, Railway, and Fly.io still offer free tiers.

### Is Heroku good for production?

Heroku can work for production but has significant concerns: June 2025 saw 15+ hour outages, costs escalate rapidly at scale, and 'sustaining mode' means no improvements. For new production projects, consider alternatives with better reliability track records and active development. Existing apps may be fine for now.

### Can I migrate from Heroku easily?

Migration difficulty varies. Apps using Heroku-specific features (Connect, Review Apps, specific add-ons) face more friction. Standard web apps with Postgres can migrate to Render or Railway relatively easily - both support similar deployment workflows. Plan for 1-2 days for simple apps, longer for complex setups with add-on dependencies.

### Is Heroku support good?

Heroku support receives poor reviews. Trustpilot describes it as 'comically bad' with users blocked from accounts while charges continue. Support is email-only with users 'shuttled between departments without solutions.' Login issues went unresolved 'nearly a week.' For urgent issues, this level of support is inadequate.

### Do Heroku Eco dynos sleep?

Yes. Eco dynos ($5/month for 1000 hours shared across all apps) sleep after 30 minutes of no web traffic. The first request after sleep takes 10-30 seconds to wake the dyno. This makes Eco unsuitable for production or apps requiring consistent response times. Basic dynos ($7/month) are always-on.

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Try or Bye aggregates problem patterns from user reviews, forums, and app stores. Methodology: https://www.tryorbye.com/methodology