Aerobatic vs HatchBox vs Pivotal Web Services (PWS): What are the differences?

Introducing a comparison between Aerobatic, HatchBox, and Pivotal Web Services (PWS).

1. Deployment Options: Aerobatic focuses on hosting static sites and single-page applications, providing a streamlined workflow for deploying these types of projects. HatchBox excels at deploying Rails applications with ease, handling configurations and scaling effortlessly. Pivotal Web Services (PWS) offers a cloud-native platform suitable for developing, deploying, and scaling applications using popular tech stacks like Java, Ruby, and Node.js.

2. Cost Structure: Aerobatic offers a simple pricing model based on the number of site deployments and data transfer. HatchBox provides pricing based on the number of servers and the features needed, making it cost-effective for scaling applications. PWS follows a pay-as-you-go pricing approach, allowing users to pay only for the resources they consume, making it suitable for both startups and enterprises.

3. Community Support: Aerobatic has a small but dedicated community focused on static site and single-page application development, offering resources and support tailored to these specific use cases. HatchBox benefits from the active Ruby on Rails community, providing ample resources, tutorials, and community forums for assistance. PWS is backed by the wider Cloud Foundry community, offering a vast array of resources, documentation, and support for developers.

4. Integration Capabilities: Aerobatic integrates well with popular static site generators like Jekyll and Hugo, allowing for seamless deployment of static sites. HatchBox integrates smoothly with popular tools like GitHub and Slack, streamlining collaboration and deployment processes. PWS integrates with various services on the Cloud Foundry platform, enabling seamless integrations with databases, messaging services, and more.

5. Scalability Options: Aerobatic offers limited scalability options for static sites and single-page applications, suitable for smaller projects with minimal traffic requirements. HatchBox provides easy scaling options for Rails applications, allowing for vertical and horizontal scaling as needed. PWS offers robust scalability features, including auto-scaling and high availability, making it suitable for large-scale enterprise applications.

6. Security Features: Aerobatic provides basic security features like HTTPS support and password protection for sites, ensuring a secure hosting environment for static sites and single-page applications. HatchBox includes security measures like firewall rules and IP whitelisting to protect deployed Rails applications from potential threats. PWS offers advanced security features like container isolation and role-based access control, ensuring a secure environment for hosting and deploying applications.

In Summary, Aerobatic, HatchBox, and Pivotal Web Services offer unique strengths in deployment options, cost structures, community support, integration capabilities, scalability options, and security features.