Heroku recently moved to maintenance mode. No new features, no new enterprise contracts. The platform that Salesforce acquired for $212 million in 2010, that made git push deployments mainstream, is done adding features.

If you're looking for an alternative, there are several options but they work differently from each other. Some are direct replacements: managed platforms where you push code and get a running app. Others let you own your cloud infrastructure while keeping a simple deployment workflow. This guide compares the leading alternatives based on developer experience, infrastructure ownership, and production readiness.

Quick Comparison

Platform	Type	Infrastructure	Postgres	Pub/Sub	Cron	Free Tier
Encore	Backend development platform	Your AWS/GCP	Yes (RDS/Cloud SQL)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Render	Managed PaaS	Render's	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Fly.io	Edge Platform	Fly's	Yes	No	Via cron jobs	Yes
Railway	Modern PaaS	Railway's	Yes	No	Yes	Trial credits
Coolify	Self-hosted	Your VPS	Via Docker	Via Docker	Via Docker	Open source
Dokku	Self-hosted	Your VPS	Via plugins	Via plugins	Via plugins	Open source
DigitalOcean App Platform	Managed PaaS	DigitalOcean	Yes	No	Yes	Yes

Encore

Encore is an alternative for teams that want Heroku's managed development experience while running production services and supported infrastructure in their own AWS or GCP account. Its open source Infra SDK for TypeScript and Go derives an application model from the APIs, services, and infrastructure used by the backend, replacing the Procfile and dyno formation with code-level service boundaries and per-environment compute configuration.

For teams using AI-first development workflows, the model gives agents a complete view of the backend. Type safety and static analysis provide guardrails, catching invalid API and infrastructure declarations during the build.

import { api } from "encore.dev/api";
import { SQLDatabase } from "encore.dev/storage/sqldb";
import { Topic, Subscription } from "encore.dev/pubsub";
import { CronJob } from "encore.dev/cron";

// These declarations are all Encore needs to provision your infrastructure.
// Everything else in your codebase is standard TypeScript (or Go).
const db = new SQLDatabase("main", { migrations: "./migrations" });

const events = new Topic<OrderEvent>("events", {
  deliveryGuarantee: "at-least-once",
});

// Each API endpoint gets built-in tracing, metrics, and API docs automatically.
export const createOrder = api(
  { method: "POST", path: "/orders", expose: true },
  async (req: CreateOrderRequest): Promise<Order> => {
    const order = await db.queryRow<Order>`
      INSERT INTO orders (customer_id, total) VALUES (${req.customerId}, ${req.total})
      RETURNING *
    `;
    await events.publish({ orderId: order.id, type: "created" });
    return order;
  }
);

The database, topic, and API endpoint are part of the backend model rather than a dyno formation plus attached add-ons.

Why teams consider Encore

Services are code boundaries rather than process types. Encore derives how services call each other and which resources each service uses instead of reading a Procfile.

AI agents can change code and infrastructure together. Databases, Pub/Sub, cron, object storage, and caches are type-safe declarations in the backend source, with static analysis catching invalid usage at build time. Agents also have access to API schemas, the service graph, and traces.

Production can run on infrastructure you own. the Encore platform can deploy the backend and supported resources into your AWS or GCP account, while standard Docker images support self-hosting. This provides a path beyond Heroku's shared platform without requiring teams to assemble the development workflow themselves.

Key features

• Application model, MCP context, and build-time guardrails for AI agents
• Type-safe APIs and service-to-service calls
• Infrastructure declarations for common backend resources
• Built-in tracing, logs, metrics, and service catalog
• Deployment to AWS or GCP, plus standard Docker images for self-hosting

Good to know

For production, the Encore platform can deploy supported infrastructure into your AWS or GCP account. Self-hosted deployments use a standard Docker image and infrastructure mappings you provide.

Heroku worker dynos, release-phase commands, add-ons, and general Redis use do not all have direct Encore equivalents. Depending on the workload, the corresponding design may use Pub/Sub, cron, application code, or an external service.

Running Encore alongside Heroku

Encore and Heroku can run different parts of the same system. An Encore service can connect to Heroku add-ons or databases as external dependencies, allowing teams to evaluate it for selected APIs or background workloads without replacing the entire Heroku application.

Go deeper

• Encore compared with Heroku
• Coming from Heroku, if you decide to adopt Encore
• Coming from a PaaS

Try Encore

Render

Render is a close Heroku replacement. The concepts are nearly identical: web services, background workers, managed Postgres, cron jobs, environment groups. You connect a Git repo, define services in render.yaml or the dashboard, and push to deploy.

The migration path from Heroku is straightforward since the mental model is the same. Render handles SSL, load balancing, and auto-deploys from your branch, and preview environments work similarly to Heroku Review Apps.

The main tradeoff is infrastructure ownership. Your apps run on Render's platform, and per-service pricing can add up with microservices architectures. Team seats are billed separately. For a closer look at the field, see Render alternatives.

Fly.io

Fly.io runs your apps as lightweight VMs (Machines) in 30+ regions worldwide. The deployment workflow has a similar feel to Heroku (fly deploy and your app is live) but the underlying model is closer to running containers.

Fly.io is well-suited for applications where latency matters, with fast cold starts, automatic placement near users, and a global Anycast network. The community is active and support is responsive, though the managed Postgres offering has had some reliability challenges (the team is improving this with their new MPG product).

Railway

Railway focuses on modern developer experience. Clean dashboard, fast deploys, and support for any language via Docker or Nixpacks (similar to Heroku buildpacks). It stands out for teams: paid plans include unlimited seats, which is a meaningful differentiator over Render and Heroku. Good support for monorepos and multi-service projects.

Like Render and Fly.io, you're on Railway's infrastructure. It's a managed platform with the same category of tradeoffs around ownership and portability, which we cover in Railway alternatives.

DigitalOcean App Platform

DigitalOcean App Platform offers a straightforward PaaS: push code from GitHub, get a running app with managed Postgres, Redis, and MySQL databases. Good documentation and a clear path to Droplets or Kubernetes when you outgrow PaaS.

DigitalOcean is an established company with a long track record and while the feature set is smaller than Render or Railway, the platform is stable and pricing is predictable.

Coolify

Coolify is an open-source, self-hosted alternative. You install it on your own server (typically a VPS from Hetzner or DigitalOcean) and get a web UI for managing deployments, databases, and domains. It supports Docker, buildpacks, and static sites, with automatic SSL via Let's Encrypt and one-click database provisioning.

The tradeoff is operational responsibility: you manage the server, handle OS updates, security patches, backups, and monitoring. Works well for side projects and internal tools. Production applications with high availability requirements need more effort.

Dokku

Dokku is the original self-hosted Heroku alternative, built in 2013. It runs on a single server and supports Heroku buildpacks directly, along with Docker deployments and plugins for databases, Redis, and more.

Dokku is mature, lightweight, and CLI-driven. The single-server architecture keeps things simple but limits scaling. If you want a lean, proven self-hosted option and are comfortable with the command line, Dokku is a solid choice.

Decision Framework

Choose Encore if you want to own your AWS/GCP infrastructure, you're building with TypeScript or Go, you need compliance controls, or you're using AI agents for development (infrastructure stays in sync with your code automatically). You get a simple deployment workflow with built-in observability while keeping everything in your cloud account.

Choose Render if you want the simplest migration from Heroku and are comfortable on a managed platform. The concepts map nearly one-to-one.

Choose Fly.io if global latency is a priority or you want fine-grained control over VM placement and an active developer community.

Choose Railway if you have a larger team and want unlimited seats, or you're deploying multiple services and value a modern developer experience.

Choose self-hosted (Coolify/Dokku) if you're comfortable managing servers and want the lowest possible cost, particularly for side projects, internal tools, or non-critical workloads.

Related Resources

• The End of Heroku: What It Means for Your Apps
• Heroku Is Gone, Here's Where Developers Are Going
• How to Migrate from Heroku to AWS
• How to Migrate from Heroku to GCP
• Coming from Heroku
• Best Cloud Development Platforms 2026