Deploy ON
$18 / month
Starter $8 · Pro $18
Application plan. Managed Postgres is a separate package — we do not pretend it is free inside the $18.
Compare · Heroku
Deploy ON vs Heroku
Heroku invented this shape of PaaS. You still buy dynos and add-ons. Deploy ON sells a Kubernetes quota and bills in USD.
Price for the same app
Shop API. A small always-on Node.js API plus PostgreSQL. One custom domain, HTTPS, about 512 MB of RAM for the app, a small Postgres instance, and low traffic. Not a serverless frontend-only site.
Heroku
$12 / month
$12
Basic is $7 and stays up. Mini / Essential-0 Postgres is $5. Eco is $5 but sleeps after inactivity — we do not use Eco for this app.
One Basic dyno is $7/month for 512 MB, always on. Mini Postgres is $5/month. Total $12. Standard-1X is $25 if you want metrics and no-downtime deploys. Larger Heroku Postgres plans jump fast (Essential and Standard tiers). Eco dynos sleep after 30 minutes and are the wrong SKU for this comparison.
List prices as of October 2026, in USD. Sources: Heroku pricing, Deploy ON plans.
Side by side
| Topic | Deploy ON | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Billing | Fixed USD package for a team quota. | Dynos + add-ons, prorated to the second, USD. |
| Runtime | Kubernetes containers, rolling updates, health checks. | Dynos on Cedar or Fir. Mature process model, add-on marketplace. |
| Databases | Managed Postgres, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB as a separate package. | Heroku Postgres and Key-Value Store. Mini is small; production plans cost more. |
| Sleep / idle | Paid plans stay up. You already paid the month. | Eco sleeps. Basic and above stay up and keep billing. |
| Build | Railpack / Nixpacks / Dockerfile. | Buildpacks and containers. Huge historical ecosystem. |
| Regions | Georgia. | Several Common Runtime regions. Private Spaces cost much more. |
| Add-ons | Short template list. No Heroku-style marketplace. | Large add-on marketplace. |
| Compliance | ISO 27001 and ISO 27017 via Proservice. | Heroku Shield / Enterprise for regulated workloads. |
Pick Heroku when
- You already have Heroku pipelines, review apps, or a stack of add-ons.
- You want the oldest, most documented PaaS workflow in this set.
- A $12 Basic + Mini pair is enough and you are fine in USD.
Pick Deploy ON when
- You want a fixed USD bill and a Georgian operator.
- You outgrew Eco sleep and do not want to climb Standard / Performance dynos.
- You want MySQL or Mongo next to the app without a third-party add-on.
What we are not claiming
Heroku is a real product with more regions, a larger ecosystem, and (in several cases) a lower sticker at the smallest size. Deploy ON wins when you want a USD quota, a Georgian operator, ISO 27001 / 27017 via Proservice, and a process that stays up next to a database. It does not win at global edge, preview URLs, or a public template marketplace.