Heroku Problems & Issues
Real user-reported problems, complaints, and limitations for Heroku. Based on analysis of 12 signals.
Overall score: 48/100
Issues by Category
Free tier eliminated in November 2022
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.
Costs escalate quickly with scale
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.
Billing continues after account deletion
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
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.
Limited payment options - credit card only
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.
June 10, 2025 outage - 15+ hours of downtime
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.
Entering sustaining engineering mode - no new features
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
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.
Status page ran on affected infrastructure
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.
Customer support described as 'comically bad'
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
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.
GitHub deployment errors and log tracking issues
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.
Regret Patterns
Common reasons users regret choosing Heroku.
Free tier removal forced unexpected costs
Developers with hobby projects on Heroku's free tier suddenly faced $5-7/month per app in November 2022. Side projects, learning experiments, and small tools became cost centers. Many scrambled to migrate to alternatives with free tiers.
Costs exploded as startup scaled
Startups chose Heroku for ease of deployment but found costs 'get really expensive really fast.' Performance dynos at $250-500/month plus database and add-on costs created bills far exceeding alternatives. Migration became necessary but expensive.
June 2025 outage destroyed production SLA
Companies relying on Heroku for production experienced the 15-hour June 10 outage. Applications went completely down, the Status Page failed, and there was no way to get information. SLAs were violated and customers lost. Trust in the platform evaporated.
Sustaining mode announcement killed future plans
Teams planning to build on Heroku long-term learned in February 2026 that no new features are coming. The platform they invested in entered maintenance mode. Migration planning began as alternatives continued advancing.
Vendor lock-in made migration painful
Teams discovered switching from Heroku is 'really difficult.' Buildpacks, Heroku-specific add-ons, and Connect integrations don't port easily. The abstraction that made deployment easy created dependencies that complicated exit.
Charged after account deletion
Users who deleted accounts and projects discovered charges continued. Some were locked out of accounts while monthly billing persisted. Unable to contact support to remove credit cards, they disputed charges through banks.
When Heroku Breaks Down
Specific scenarios where Heroku fails or underperforms.
Startup needs to scale beyond small deployments
Heroku's simplicity becomes a liability as scaling needs grow. Performance dynos cost $250-500/month, databases add more, and bills accumulate faster than on alternatives. The abstraction layer prevents optimization. Migration becomes necessary but difficult.
Production app experiences platform outage
The June 2025 outages showed Heroku's reliability issues: 15+ hours of complete unavailability, Status Page down, no communication possible. For production apps with uptime requirements, this level of unreliability is unacceptable.
Team needs features Heroku won't build
The February 2026 'sustaining mode' announcement means Heroku won't add new features. Teams needing capabilities that competitors have (better Kubernetes support, edge deployment, improved CI/CD) must migrate rather than wait.
Hobby project needs always-on hosting
Without a free tier, even small projects cost $5/month (with sleep) or $7/month (always-on). Eco dyno sleep creates 10-30 second delays after 30 minutes of inactivity. For side projects and learning, alternatives with free tiers are better choices.
Support needed for billing or access issue
When billing issues or account lockouts occur, Heroku's email-only support is 'comically bad.' Users report being 'shuttled between departments without solutions' for weeks. Credit cards remain on file while accounts stay locked.
Team needs infrastructure customization
Heroku's abstraction prevents granular infrastructure control. Teams needing specific configurations, custom networking, or container flexibility find themselves constrained. The vendor lock-in makes migration to more flexible platforms difficult.