Honest comparison
Pushify vs Heroku
Heroku invented git-push deployments. Pushify brings the same workflow to servers you own — with a free self-host option and flat server pricing. A spec sheet, not a pitch.
TL;DR
Heroku is a fully managed platform: you never touch a server, and you pay per dyno — a Basic dyno is $7/mo, the smallest Postgres is $5/mo, so a small always-on app starts around $12/mo (the free tier was removed in November 2022; the $5 Eco plan sleeps after 30 minutes of inactivity). Pushify keeps Heroku's push-to-deploy feel but runs on infrastructure you control: self-host the whole platform for free, bring your own VPS, or let Pushify provision managed Hetzner servers at flat monthly prices. If you want zero server responsibility and a decade-old add-on ecosystem, Heroku is still excellent. If you want ownership and predictable bills, that's Pushify.
Choose Pushify if…
- You want predictable, flat server pricing instead of per-dyno, per-add-on billing that grows with every service you add.
- You want your app and data on servers you own — self-host the platform for free, or bring any VPS.
- You miss a real free tier: Pushify's self-host option costs nothing, and BYOS runs fine on a $5 VPS.
- You want extras Heroku does not ship — a marketplace of self-hosted apps (Supabase, WordPress, n8n…), an AI assistant, a site builder, built-in domain purchasing.
Choose Heroku if…
- You want a fully managed platform with zero server responsibility — Heroku's ops burden really is zero.
- You rely on its mature ecosystem: 10+ years of add-ons, buildpacks and enterprise compliance options.
- Your team already lives in Heroku pipelines and review apps, and migration cost outweighs the savings.
Feature comparison
Based on publicly available information (Heroku pricing pages, July 2026). This may change — spot something out of date? Email us and we will fix it.
The three differences that matter
Where your app runs
Heroku runs everything on its own managed infrastructure — you cannot self-host it or bring a server. Pushify is the opposite: MIT-licensed, installable on your own machine with one command, and happy to deploy to any VPS you bring or to managed Hetzner servers it provisions for you.
How the bill grows
Heroku bills per dyno and per add-on: $7/mo for one always-on Basic dyno, $5/mo for the smallest Postgres, and every extra service adds its own line item. On Pushify a server has one flat monthly price, prorated hourly — run as many apps and databases on it as it can handle.
What happened to free
Heroku removed its free tier in November 2022; the closest thing today is the $5 Eco plan, whose dynos sleep after 30 minutes. Pushify's self-host option is genuinely free, and scale-to-zero on your own server is a feature, not a billing tier.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pushify a good Heroku alternative?
If you want the git-push workflow without giving up server ownership, yes: Pushify auto-detects 20+ frameworks, builds in Docker and deploys with zero-downtime blue-green switches. You lose Heroku's managed add-on ecosystem; you gain flat pricing and root access.
How much cheaper is Pushify than Heroku, really?
A small always-on Heroku app with a database starts around $12/mo (Basic dyno $7 + Essential-0 Postgres $5). The same workload fits on one entry-level VPS: self-host Pushify on it for free, or use a managed server at a flat monthly price — with room for several more apps on the same box.
Can I migrate an app from Heroku to Pushify?
Most Heroku apps are standard Node/Python/Ruby/PHP projects in git — connect the repo and Pushify detects the framework and builds it in Docker. Procfile-only setups may need a small start-command tweak, and add-ons map to Pushify databases or marketplace apps (Postgres, Redis, and more).
Does Pushify have Heroku-style preview apps and scheduled jobs?
Yes — pull-request preview deployments, cron jobs, persistent volumes, health checks and live log streaming are built in.
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