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Heroku vs Netlify: What are the differences?
- Scalability: Heroku allows easy scaling of applications in terms of dynos and databases, while Netlify focuses more on scaling static sites and JAMstack applications.
- Deployment Options: Heroku provides a wider range of deployment options including containerized deployments, whereas Netlify specializes in deploying static sites directly from Git repositories.
- Build Processes: Netlify automates the build process for static sites with continuous deployment, while on Heroku, developers are responsible for defining buildpacks and deployment pipelines.
- Cost Structure: Heroku offers a flexible pricing model based on dyno hours and additional services, while Netlify pricing is more straightforward with a focus on usage metrics like build minutes and bandwidth.
- CI/CD Integration: Netlify has tighter integration with popular CI/CD tools like GitHub Actions, allowing for seamless deployments, compared to Heroku which requires additional setup for integration.
In Summary, Heroku and Netlify differ in terms of scalability, deployment options, build processes, cost structure, and CI/CD integration.
When it came time to deploy our latest full-stack application, my team and I made the decision to use the Heroku
platform for the first time. After conducting significant research and consulting with several senior developers in the industry, we concluded that Heroku
would provide the best support for our application, which was built with MongoDB
and Express
on the back end and React
on the front end.
Granted, Netlify
definitely provides a better platform for applications that are primarily front-end, but Heroku
has proved to be a strong contender as well. The deployment went quite smoothly, all things considered. The installation of the Heroku
command line, while a bit intimidating at first glance, actually proved very beneficial for controlling builds, adding plugins, and managing the deployment process.
I have no regrets over the choice to use Heroku
; in fact, I would go so far as to recommend the platform for supporting any small to medium full-stack application you may be working on. If nothing else, the documentation provided by Heroku
is far superior to that of many similar platforms, and that alone can be a lifesaver in the event of a snag during deployment.
We use Netlify to host static websites.
The reasons for choosing Netlify over GitHub Pages are as follows:
- Netfily can bind multiple domain names, while GitHub Pages can only bind one domain name
- With Netfily, the original repository can be private, while GitHub Pages free tier requires the original repository to be public
In addition, in order to use CDN, we use Netlify DNS.
Pros of Heroku
- Easy deployment703
- Free for side projects459
- Huge time-saver374
- Simple scaling348
- Low devops skills required261
- Easy setup190
- Add-ons for almost everything174
- Beginner friendly153
- Better for startups150
- Low learning curve133
- Postgres hosting48
- Easy to add collaborators41
- Faster development30
- Awesome documentation24
- Simple rollback19
- Focus on product, not deployment19
- Natural companion for rails development15
- Easy integration15
- Great customer support12
- GitHub integration8
- Painless & well documented6
- No-ops6
- I love that they make it free to launch a side project4
- Free4
- Great UI3
- Just works3
- PostgreSQL forking and following2
- MySQL extension2
- Security1
- Able to host stuff good like Discord Bot1
- Sec0
Pros of Netlify
- Easy deploy46
- Fastest static hosting and continuous deployments43
- Free SSL support22
- Super simple deploys22
- Easy Setup and Continous deployments15
- Faster than any other option in the market10
- Free plan for personal websites10
- Deploy previews8
- Free Open Source (Pro) plan6
- Easy to use and great support4
- Analytics4
- Great loop-in material on a blog4
- Custom domains support3
- Fastest static hosting and continuous deployments3
- Great drag and drop functionality3
- Canary Releases (Split Tests)1
- Supports static site generators1
- Tech oriented support1
- Django0
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Cons of Heroku
- Super expensive27
- Not a whole lot of flexibility9
- No usable MySQL option7
- Storage7
- Low performance on free tier5
- 24/7 support is $1,000 per month2
Cons of Netlify
- It's expensive7
- Bandwidth limitation1