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Heroku vs CapRover
Heroku vs CapRover
A side-by-side look at Heroku (the paid SaaS) and CapRover (the open source alternative). Use this page to decide if the switch fits your team and workflow.
| Heroku | CapRover | |
|---|---|---|
| Tagline | App hosting platform as a service by Salesforce. | Free, self-hosted PaaS with a clean UI. |
| License | Proprietary SaaS | Apache-2.0 |
| Pricing | Eco dynos from $5/month; production tiers from $25. | Free to self-host |
| Self-host option | No | Yes — difficulty 2/5 |
| Hosted cloud available | Yes (only option) | No |
| Desktop apps | Varies by product | Web only |
| Mobile apps | Official apps typically available | None official |
Ad slot — between tables
Best for
Clean web UI on top of Docker Swarm for solo or small teams.
CapRover strengths
- One-command install on any Ubuntu/Debian box.
- Web UI for managing apps, volumes, and domains.
- Strong one-click app library (databases, etc.).
CapRover weaknesses
- Docker Swarm under the hood — not Kubernetes.
- Smaller team behind it.
- Scaling across many nodes is limited.
What's the catch with Heroku?
- Free tier removed in 2022.
- Pricing grew sharply for small projects.
- Vendor lock-in with buildpacks and add-ons.
Still unsure?
Check the full list of alternatives to Heroku: see Heroku alternatives, or learn more about CapRover on its project page.
Recommended reading
When self-hosting goes wrong: seven failure modes and how to avoid them
An honest retrospective on the ways self-hosted setups break — not in theory, but in practice — and the small habits that prevent most of them.
Will the open source project you depend on still exist in three years?
Bus factor, maintainer burnout, funding models, and the signals that separate OSS projects that survive from those that quietly decay.
From SaaS to self-hosted: a 30-day migration playbook
A week-by-week plan to move one service off SaaS and onto your own server without breaking your team's workflow.