Heroku vs Railway
Heroku was the original developer PaaS and shaped an entire generation of application deployment practices. After Salesforce removed the free tier in 2022, many developers migrated to alternatives like Railway that offer similar DX. Railway is now often compared to Heroku and wins on price for most workloads.
Build your own internal tools freeSide-by-side
Build data-driven apps with fully managed data services vs Infrastructure made simple.
| Feature | Heroku | Railway |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing from | $5–$250/mo per dyno | Free–$20/mo |
| Pricing | Eco dynos $5/mo; Basic $7/mo; Standard 1X $25/mo | Hobby $5/mo; Pro $20/mo; usage-based compute |
| Best for | Teams with existing Heroku deployments and add-ons | Teams migrating off Heroku or building fresh |
| Add-on ecosystem | 300+ third-party add-ons | Template-based services, smaller ecosystem |
| Managed databases | Heroku Postgres and Data (Redis) | PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis add-ons |
| Git deploy | Yes, git push heroku main | Yes, GitHub auto-deploy |
| CLI | Heroku CLI (mature and feature-rich) | Railway CLI (modern, fast) |
Heroku or Railway? Who each tool is best for
Heroku
Build data-driven apps with fully managed data services
- Pricing: Eco dynos $5/mo; Basic $7/mo; Standard 1X $25/mo
- Best for: Teams with existing Heroku deployments and add-ons
- Add-on ecosystem: 300+ third-party add-ons
- Managed databases: Heroku Postgres and Data (Redis)
Starting from $5–$250/mo per dyno
Railway
Infrastructure made simple
- Pricing: Hobby $5/mo; Pro $20/mo; usage-based compute
- Best for: Teams migrating off Heroku or building fresh
- Add-on ecosystem: Template-based services, smaller ecosystem
- Managed databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis add-ons
Starting from Free–$20/mo
How Appaca works
Appaca is not another SaaS tool to evaluate. It builds you a working app from a plain description — with database, dashboards, and team access — and runs it on the platform.
Describe what you need
Tell Appaca what you need in plain language. No forms, no setup wizard — just describe the job to be done.
Chat with AI to refine it
Appaca AI builds your app and stays available to refine it. Change behaviour, add fields, adjust flows — all in chat.
Use it immediately
Your app runs on Appaca with a built-in database, file storage, and team access. No deployment, no devops.
Everything your team needs, built in
Appaca provides the full stack for internal and personal software — no integrations to wire up, no hosting to manage.
Build and update apps by chatting with AI
Describe what you need and Appaca builds a working app. Come back any time to refine it — add new fields, change behaviour, or extend functionality — all without writing code.
Built-in database and file storage
Every Appaca app comes with a secure database and file storage ready to use. No external service to connect, no schema to design — Appaca handles the data layer automatically.
Connect to services your team already uses
Appaca apps can connect to Google Sheets, Slack, Airtable, and any service that supports an API or webhook — so your app fits into your existing workflow instead of replacing it.
Building software for how your team actually works?
While you're comparing Heroku and Railway, you might have other tools your team actually builds and maintains — trackers, dashboards, internal workflows. Appaca builds those from a plain description, with a database and team access included. No code, no devops.
- Describe what you need, get a working app in minutes
- Built-in database, dashboards, and team access
- Iterate with chat — no engineer needed
- Free to start, no per-seat pricing
Common questions
Yes, for most workloads Railway is significantly cheaper than Heroku. A basic web service and database on Heroku costs $25-$32/mo minimum; Railway's equivalent starts under $10/mo.
If cost is a concern, yes. Railway has strong Heroku compatibility and an active migration community. Teams with complex add-on dependencies or who need Heroku's mature enterprise support may want to evaluate Render or Fly.io as well.
No. Heroku removed its free dyno tier in November 2022. Eco dynos at $5/mo for up to 1,000 dyno hours are the lowest available tier.
Appaca is a platform for personal software. You describe what you need and Appaca builds a working app with a database, dashboards, and team access — no code or deployment required. It is not a replacement for the tools compared on this page. Try it free at appaca.ai.