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Temps vs Heroku

Temps vs Heroku 2026: Same git-push DX, 90% less cost

Heroku's free tier was removed in November 2022. The cheapest always-on Heroku stack — Basic dyno ($7/mo) + Heroku Postgres Mini ($5/mo) + Redis Mini ($15/mo) — costs $27+/mo before observability. Add Sentry ($26+/mo) and you're at $53+/mo with no analytics or session replay. Temps is ~$6/mo flat (Hetzner server cost + 30% margin) with everything included: git-push deploys, managed PostgreSQL and Redis, Sentry-compatible error tracking, privacy-first analytics, session replay, and uptime monitoring.

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Monthly cost at a glance

Temps
Heroku
Hobby/Eco
$0
$5/mo
Always-on app
$0
$7/mo
App + DB + Redis
$6/mo
$45–90/mo
Production + observability
$6/mo
$80–190+/mo
$curl -fsSL https://temps.sh/deploy.sh | bash

The short answer

Choose Temps if you…

  • You want error tracking, analytics, and monitoring without extra subscriptions
  • You need predictable costs — not per-dyno, per-add-on billing
  • You want always-on apps without paying $25+/mo per process
  • You need self-hosting for compliance (HIPAA, SOC2, GDPR)
  • You want to escape Salesforce vendor lock-in
  • You want managed databases included, not billed separately

Choose Heroku if you…

  • You want a fully managed platform with zero server maintenance
  • You rely on Heroku's mature add-on marketplace (200+ integrations)
  • You need Heroku Pipelines and advanced CI/CD workflows
  • You're already invested in the Salesforce ecosystem
  • You want two decades of platform maturity — Temps is young (v0.1.0)

Why teams switch from Heroku

No free tier since Nov 2022 — Temps self-hosts free
Heroku removed all free dynos, free Postgres, and free Redis in November 2022. The cheapest always-on option is a Basic dyno at $7/mo. Temps is Apache 2.0 — self-host free on any VPS, or use Temps Cloud at ~$6/mo.
No add-on sprawl — observability built in
Every Heroku observability tool is a paid add-on. Sentry costs $26+/mo, Papertrail $7+/mo, New Relic $99+/mo, Pingdom $15+/mo. Temps ships Sentry-compatible error tracking, analytics, session replay, and uptime monitoring in the same binary as the deployment engine.
No dyno sleeping
Heroku Eco dynos ($5/mo) sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity — the first request after sleep takes 10–30 seconds. Basic dynos ($7/mo) are always-on. Temps services run 24/7 on your infrastructure with no sleep behavior.
Self-hostable, no Salesforce lock-in
Heroku is owned by Salesforce and closed-source. Temps is Apache 2.0 — install on any VPS, cloud, or on-premises server. Your code and data never depend on Salesforce's roadmap.

Feature comparison

What each platform includes out of the box, and what needs a separate subscription.

  • Git push deployments

    Temps

    Yes

    Heroku

    Yes

  • Docker support

    Temps

    Yes

    Heroku

    Yes

  • Automatic SSL

    Temps

    Yes

    Heroku

    Yes

  • Custom domains

    Temps

    Yes

    Heroku

    Yes

  • Preview environments

    Temps

    Yes
    Per pull request

    Heroku

    Yes
    Review Apps

  • Managed PostgreSQL

    Temps

    Yes
    Included

    Heroku

    Yes
    From $5/mo extra

  • Managed Redis

    Temps

    Yes
    Included

    Heroku

    Yes
    From $15/mo extra

  • S3-compatible storage

    Temps

    Yes
    Built-in (RustFS, MinIO supported)

    Heroku

    No

  • Error tracking

    Temps

    Yes
    Sentry-compatible

    Heroku

    No
    Sentry add-on ($26+/mo)

  • Analytics

    Temps

    Yes
    Privacy-first, unlimited

    Heroku

    No
    Add-on required

  • Session replay

    Temps

    Yes
    Built-in

    Heroku

    No

  • Uptime monitoring

    Temps

    Yes
    Built-in alerts

    Heroku

    No
    Pingdom add-on ($10+/mo)

  • Self-hosted option

    Temps

    Yes

    Heroku

    No

  • Horizontal scaling

    Temps

    Yes
    Multi-node cluster

    Heroku

    Yes
    Standard-1X+ only ($25+/mo)

  • Background workers

    Temps

    Yes
    Cron & queues

    Heroku

    Yes
    Separate worker dyno ($25+/mo)

  • Build minutes

    Temps

    Unlimited

    Heroku

    25 min timeout

What it actually costs

Heroku charges separately for dynos, databases, Redis, and every observability tool. A realistic production stack costs $80–190/mo. With Temps, you self-host for free or use Temps Cloud for ~$6/mo — with analytics, error tracking, and monitoring included.

ScenarioTempsHeroku
Hobby/Eco$0 (self-hosted)$5/mo (sleeps after 30 min)
Always-on app$0 (self-hosted)$7/mo (Basic) or $25/mo (Standard)
App + DB + Redis$6/mo (Temps Cloud)$45–90/mo
Production + observability$6/mo (Temps Cloud)$80–190+/mo (dyno + DB + add-ons)

Heroku Pricing Plans 2026

PlanPriceSleep?Dyno TypeBest For
Eco$5/mo (1000 dyno-hours/mo)Yes (30 min idle)SharedDev/test only
Basic$7/mo per dynoNoSharedAlways-on side projects
Standard-1X$25/mo per dynoNo512 MB RAMProduction apps
Standard-2X$50/mo per dynoNo1 GB RAMMemory-heavy apps
Performance-M$250/mo per dynoNo2.5 GB RAMHigh-traffic apps

Source: Heroku pricing page. Numbers current as of 2026.

Migrating from Heroku

Medium difficulty

If you already have a Dockerfile, migration is quick — your container works directly with Temps and your Procfile process types map to Temps service definitions. Without a Dockerfile, you'll need to write one (typically 30–60 minutes per app). The bigger effort is add-on substitution: Heroku Postgres and Redis map to Temps built-ins; SendGrid maps to Temps' built-in transactional email (SMTP, SES, or Scaleway providers). Migrate environment variables via `bunx @temps-sdk/cli environments vars set`. Plan half a day for a typical Heroku app.

Frequently asked questions

Does Heroku still have a free tier in 2026?

No. Heroku removed all free dynos, free Heroku Postgres, and free Heroku Redis in November 2022. The cheapest plan is the Eco dyno at $5/mo (1,000 shared dyno-hours per month, sleeps after 30 min of inactivity). The cheapest always-on single app is the Basic dyno at $7/mo. Source: heroku.com/pricing.

How much does Heroku cost in 2026?

Heroku's 2026 pricing: Eco $5/mo (sleeps), Basic $7/mo per dyno (always-on), Standard-1X $25/mo per dyno (512 MB), Standard-2X $50/mo per dyno (1 GB), Performance-M $250/mo per dyno (2.5 GB). Databases and Redis are billed separately: Heroku Postgres Mini $5/mo, Basic $9/mo; Redis Mini $15/mo. A realistic production stack (Standard-1X + Postgres Mini + Redis Mini) costs $45+/mo before any observability add-ons.

What is the cheapest Heroku alternative in 2026?

For teams who want Heroku's git-push workflow but lower cost, the top self-hosted alternatives are Temps, Coolify, and Dokploy — all free to self-host. Temps is the only one that includes built-in analytics, error tracking (Sentry-compatible DSN), session replay, and uptime monitoring. Temps Cloud costs ~$6/mo (Hetzner server cost + 30% margin) with no per-seat fees and no add-on billing.

Does Heroku have built-in error tracking or analytics?

No. Heroku has no built-in error tracking, web analytics, or session replay in 2026. These require paid add-ons: Sentry ($26+/mo), Papertrail ($7+/mo), New Relic ($99+/mo), or external tools. Temps includes Sentry-compatible error tracking, privacy-first analytics, session replay (rrweb-based), and 60-second uptime monitoring — all in the same binary as the deployment engine, at no extra cost.

What is Temps' reverse proxy — is it production-ready?

Temps uses Pingora, the open-source Rust reverse proxy Cloudflare built to replace Nginx across its global network. Pingora handles over 1 trillion requests per day on Cloudflare's infrastructure. It's the same technology Cloudflare uses in production, now open-sourced and embedded in Temps as the routing layer.

Can I migrate from Heroku to a self-hosted alternative?

Yes. If you have a Dockerfile, your container deploys unchanged on Temps. Procfile apps need a Dockerfile (30–60 min). Export environment variables from the Heroku dashboard and import them via `bunx @temps-sdk/cli environments vars set`. Heroku Postgres data exports via pg:pull; Redis via DUMP/RESTORE. Most apps complete migration in under a day.

Ready to switch from Heroku?

Self-host Temps for free, or run it on Temps Cloud from ~$6/mo.

Read the quickstart guideSee pricing