The best Heroku alternatives in 2026 | Ample
The short version
The best Heroku alternative depends on the app: Ample for apps a coding agent deploys and runs, with a free plan, a hard cap and databases created automatically; Render for fixed-price always-on services; Railway for usage-billed services with Docker and cron; Fly.io for Docker images in many regions.
WHO THIS IS FOR
Before you choose
You run a Heroku app (a web process, maybe workers, Postgres and Redis) and want a platform that is still adding features after Heroku's February 2026 move to sustaining engineering, or that a coding agent can operate for you.
SIDE BY SIDE
Heroku alternatives at a glance
| Platform | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Ample | Apps a coding agent deploys and runs. Free plan, no card, hard cap, managed Postgres, MySQL, Redis and MongoDB, volumes and buckets. | No Docker images, no region choice; no public price for paid plans. |
| Render | Always-on web services and workers at a fixed monthly price, Docker, cron, render.yaml. |
Paid services never sleep; free services take about a minute to wake; no spend cap documented. |
| Railway | Usage-billed services with Docker, cron and a template marketplace; 4 regions. | Free plan is $1 of credit a month after the trial; config files change on December 1, 2026. |
| Fly.io | Docker images on microVMs in 17 regions with fine machine control. | No free tier and no spending cap; Postgres starts at $38 a month. |
Competitor facts come from that company's own pricing pages and documentation, checked on the date shown in the sources. Plans change; follow the source links for current numbers.
FIT CHECK
Which one fits
Choose Ample when
- You want a free plan and a hard cap instead of a bill in arrears.
- You want a coding agent to do the move and future deploys.
- You need files that survive restarts, or buckets, without add-ons.
Stay on Heroku when
- You rely on add-ons, pipelines or review apps.
- You need Private Spaces or Heroku's compliance programs.
- The cost and effort of moving outweigh the savings.
STEP BY STEP
Move a Heroku app (any target)
- 1
Inventory the app
List process types in the Procfile, add-ons, config vars, the release command and Scheduler jobs.
- 2
Export config and data
Export config vars, then capture and download a Postgres backup.
heroku config -s -a <app> > .env.production && heroku pg:backups:capture -a <app> && heroku pg:backups:download -a <app>
- 3
Deploy on the new platform
On Ample, an agent can run this from the repository; the Heroku migration recipes list tested commands per framework.
ample deploy . --name <app-name> --public --start "<web command>" --env-file .env.production
- 4
Point your domain
Add the domain to the app, update DNS to the target Ample prints, and keep the old app running until the new one answers on the domain.
ample domain add <app-name> www.example.com
QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
Is there still a free Heroku alternative?
Yes. Ample's Free plan needs no card and includes managed databases. Render has free web services that spin down after 15 minutes and a free Postgres that is deleted after 30 days. Railway has a 30-day trial and then $1 of monthly credit.
Which Heroku alternative is closest to Heroku?
Render and Railway are closest in workflow (git-based deploys, web and worker processes, managed Postgres). Ample is closest when the point is to stop managing the platform at all and let an agent do it.
SOURCES
Where these facts come from
- Ample pricing and plan limits(checked October 14, 2026)
- Ample agent instructions (AGENTS.md)(checked October 14, 2026)
- Heroku: an update on Heroku(checked October 14, 2026)
- Render free tier(checked October 14, 2026)
- Render pricing(checked October 14, 2026)
- Railway pricing(checked October 14, 2026)
- Railway Serverless(checked October 14, 2026)
- Railway infrastructure as code(checked October 14, 2026)
- Fly.io pricing(checked October 14, 2026)
- Fly.io cost management(checked October 14, 2026)
- Fly Managed Postgres(checked October 14, 2026)