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Hostwares

Hostwares vs Heroku

The Heroku experience at 2026 prices

Heroku defined the PaaS category - git push heroku main, buildpacks, and a huge add-on marketplace - and now, under Salesforce, targets enterprises. Its pricing shows it: an always-on Basic dyno is $7/mo for just 0.5GB RAM, a Standard-1X is $25/mo for the same 0.5GB, Performance dynos run $250–1,500/mo, and Postgres starts at $5/mo for 1GB storage. The free tier was retired in 2022. Hostwares delivers the same push-to-deploy simplicity with 4× the RAM at a fraction of the price, plus an AI agent Heroku never had.

HostwaresHostwares

AI-powered cloud hosting

$3/mo (0.5 vCPU / 512MB, dedicated)

H

Heroku

Classic PaaS

$7/mo Basic dyno (0.5GB, shared)

Feature by feature

10 dimensions compared, August 2026

7

Hostwares

1

Heroku

FeatureHHostwares
H
Heroku
Entry price (always-on)$3/mo (0.5 vCPU / 512MB, dedicated)$7/mo Basic dyno (0.5GB, shared)
Production tier$7/mo - 1 vCPU / 2GB / 25GB$25/mo Standard-1X - 0.5GB RAM
High-memory tier$18/mo - 2 vCPU / 4GB / 50GB$250/mo Performance-M - 2.5GB
Managed databasesPostgres, MySQL, Redis, Mongo from $3/moPostgres from $5/mo (1GB); Standard tier from $50/mo
Free tierNo - $3/mo entryNone (retired 2022); Eco $5/mo sleeps
Deploy experienceGitHub push, zero-config detection, DockerGit push, buildpacks, containers
One-click services326+Add-on marketplace (third-party, often paid)
AI capabilitiesAI DevOps agent (web + CLI)None for operations
Enterprise complianceNot yet (no SOC 2)Shield/Private Spaces, HIPAA, SOC 2
Payment methodsPayPal, Stripe, bKashCredit card

Sources: heroku.com pricing page & docs, August 2026. Vendors change pricing - confirm on their site.

Heroku pricing vs Hostwares pricing

Heroku dynos: Eco $5/mo (sleeps), Basic $7/mo (0.5GB), Standard-1X $25/mo (0.5GB), Standard-2X $50/mo (1GB), Performance-M $250/mo (2.5GB), up to Performance-2XL at $1,500/mo. Heroku Postgres runs from Essential-0 at $5/mo (1GB storage) through Standard from $50/mo to $12,000/mo. Hostwares: $3 / $7 / $18 flat packs with dedicated CPU and RAM - the $7 Standard pack carries 4× the RAM of Heroku's $25 Standard-1X.

hostwares cost --compare heroku

$ scenario: Production app (2GB class) + Postgres (25GB class)

H
Heroku

+Standard-2X $50 (1GB!)
+Postgres Essential-2 $20
total / month$70/mo

HHostwares

Standard pack ($7, 2GB)
database pack ($3)
total / month$10/mo flat

- flat. same price in your biggest month.

The honest verdict

Choose Hostwares if…

  • You want Heroku's simplicity without Heroku's prices
  • You want 2GB dedicated RAM for $7 instead of 0.5GB for $25
  • You want an AI DevOps agent instead of reading logs yourself
  • You want one-click services, cPanel, and domains on the same platform

Choose Heroku if…

  • Your organization already lives in the Salesforce ecosystem
  • You depend on specific Heroku add-ons or compliance (Shield) offerings
  • You need battle-tested enterprise process maturity

Why teams switch from Heroku

7× the RAM per dollar

Heroku's $25 Standard-1X gives you 0.5GB shared RAM. Hostwares' $7 Standard pack gives you 2GB dedicated. The math hasn't been close for years.

The DX that made Heroku famous

Push to GitHub, framework auto-detected, app live with SSL. Hostwares kept the magic and dropped the price.

An add-on marketplace you don't pay extra for

Heroku add-ons are third-party services with their own bills. Hostwares' 326+ one-click services run in your own flat-priced packs.

AI operations

Heroku pioneered developer experience in 2010. Hostwares' 2026 version is an AI agent that deploys, diagnoses, and repairs your apps from chat.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hostwares a good Heroku alternative?

Yes - it's a natural migration. Both are push-to-deploy PaaS platforms; Hostwares adds dedicated resources at far lower prices, first-party databases, 326+ one-click services, and an AI DevOps agent. What it lacks versus Heroku is enterprise compliance certification (Shield, HIPAA).

How much cheaper is Hostwares than Heroku?

A 2GB app with a production Postgres costs $70/mo on Heroku (Standard-2X + Essential-2 - and the dyno only has 1GB). On Hostwares it's $10/mo with a full 2GB. That's roughly 85% less.

Does Hostwares support buildpack-style deploys?

Hostwares auto-detects 20+ frameworks (Node, Next.js, Laravel, Django, Rails, Go, etc.) from your GitHub repo and configures the build - the same zero-config feel as buildpacks. Dockerfiles are supported for full control.

Can I migrate my Heroku Postgres data?

Yes - standard pg_dump from Heroku and restore into a Hostwares database pack. The AI assistant can generate the exact commands for your setup.

Does Hostwares sleep like Heroku Eco dynos?

No. Every Hostwares pack, including the $3 Starter, is always-on with dedicated resources. Sleep-on-idle only exists on Heroku's $5 Eco tier.

How much does Hostwares cost?

Resource packs are $2/mo for Micro (0.25 vCPU, 256 MB, 5 GB), $3 for Starter (0.5 vCPU, 512 MB, 10 GB), $7 for Standard (1 vCPU, 2 GB, 25 GB), $18 for Performance (2 vCPU, 4 GB, 50 GB) and $35 for Business (4 vCPU, 8 GB, 100 GB). One pack runs one deployment - a site, a database or a service.

Is there a free tier?

No. Entry is $2/mo for a Micro pack. There is no free tier and no signup bonus - if a competitor's free tier covers your project, use it.

Do you charge for bandwidth?

No. Packs are a flat monthly price and traffic is not metered, so a busy month costs the same as a quiet one.

Are there per-seat fees?

No. You pay for resources, not for people. Adding teammates does not change the bill.

What is your refund policy?

Resource packs carry a 7-day money-back guarantee on first purchase. cPanel hosting is a pro-rated refund within the first 7 days if the account has not been used. Servers are a full refund within 48 hours if not provisioned, pro-rated within 7 days. Domains are non-refundable per ICANN policy. Full terms are on the refund policy page.

How do I pay?

PayPal, Stripe (card) and bKash, invoice-based. AI credits are a separate balance and are only used for the AI agent, never for hosting.

Does the price change at renewal?

No. The price you buy at is the price you renew at. There is no introductory rate that steps up later.

How do I deploy an application?

Connect a GitHub repository and Hostwares detects the framework and builds it. Next.js, React, Vue, Svelte, Node, Python, Go, Ruby, PHP and static sites are detected without configuration. You can also deploy any Docker image or upload a ZIP.

Can I deploy from a private repository?

Yes. Connect your GitHub account and private repositories become selectable in the deploy panel.

Do you support Docker?

Yes. Deploy any public or private Docker image with a tag and a port, or let a Dockerfile in your repository drive the build.

What databases can I run?

Managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Redis and MongoDB from $3/mo, with automated backups and a connection string. Each database occupies its own pack.

Do I get shell access?

You get a shell into your own container. You do not get root on the host - if you need kernel modules or arbitrary system packages, an unmanaged VPS is the right tool rather than a managed platform.

Can I run background workers and cron jobs?

Yes. A worker or scheduled job is a separate deployment from the same repository with a different start command, so it needs its own pack.

How long does a deployment take?

Most applications build and go live in about 60 seconds. Larger stacks - Supabase runs 14 containers - take a few minutes.

Are custom domains and SSL included?

Yes. Custom domains are included on every pack and SSL certificates are issued and renewed automatically once DNS resolves to us. There is no per-domain charge.

Can I register domains through Hostwares?

Yes, from $9.58/yr for a .com, with DNS management included for domains in your account.

Do you offer email hosting?

Email mailboxes come with cPanel hosting, which is a separate product from container packs and starts around $1.25/mo equivalent. Container packs do not include mailboxes.

How do I migrate an existing application?

Push the project to GitHub, connect the repository, move your environment variables across, and dump and restore any databases. For most standard applications this is under an hour. Detailed guides exist for Heroku, Vercel and Railway.

Will you help me migrate?

Ask through a support ticket. The AI DevOps agent can also perform much of the work directly - connecting the repository, setting environment variables, provisioning a database and diagnosing failed builds.

What is the AI DevOps agent?

An AI that operates your infrastructure through conversation - deploying from GitHub, reading build logs, diagnosing failures, setting environment variables, configuring domains and provisioning databases. It is available in the dashboard, from a CLI, and as an MCP server for editors such as Cursor and Claude Desktop.

Does the AI agent cost extra?

It uses AI credits, which are a separate balance from hosting. Chat starts at $0.10 and task execution at $0.50. Billing and support questions are free regardless of balance.

What support do you offer?

Support tickets from the dashboard, with the AI agent available for technical troubleshooting at any hour. We are a small team - if you need a contractual enterprise SLA with named contacts, we do not offer that today.

Are backups included?

Managed databases have automated backups. Verify a restore before you rely on it - that advice applies to any provider, ours included.

Where are your servers located?

Deployments run in a single region per container rather than across a global edge network. If your application needs multi-region placement or edge delivery close to users on several continents, a platform built for that is the better choice.

Do you have a status page?

Yes, at /status, showing real-time platform and infrastructure status.

Are you SOC 2 certified?

No. We have not completed a SOC 2 audit. If your procurement process requires one, that is a genuine reason to choose a larger provider.

How long has Hostwares been running?

Hostwares LLC was incorporated in Wyoming in 2026, so we are a new platform. If a long uptime track record is your main criterion, an established provider is the honest answer.

Can I export my data and leave?

Yes. Deployments are standard containers built from your own repository, and databases can be dumped with the usual tools. There is no proprietary format holding your application in place.

What happens if I do not pay an invoice?

Invoices are raised ahead of the due date so you can pay early. After the due date a grace period runs before services are suspended, and suspended services are terminated after 30 days of non-payment. You are emailed at each stage.

Deploy in 60 seconds.
From $1/mo, flat.

Connect GitHub, pick a pack, and let the AI DevOps agent handle the rest - deploys, debugging, and fixes included.