CircleCI vs Heroku
Compare CircleCI and Heroku on features, pricing, and buyer fit using the same researched criteria.
CircleCI
CI/CD platform — not a git host. Free (6k build minutes / 30k credits framing); Performance from $15/mo; Scale contact. Peer of GitHub Actions / GitLab CI.
Best for
- • Teams that want specialist CI/CD against an existing GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket remote
- • Buyers comparing CircleCI Performance $15 to GitHub Actions minutes
- • Orgs that do not want to move source control in order to buy CI
Starting from $15.00/user/mo
Free plan available
VS
Our verdict
No universal winner. Choose based on which criteria matter most for your team.
CircleCI is better for
- ✓ Free plan
Heroku is better for
- ✓ Starting pricing
- ✓ Security & admin
Tie
- • Integrations
Choose CircleCI if: Teams that want specialist CI/CD against an existing GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket remote
Choose Heroku if: Teams that want Salesforce-backed Cedar dynos with a published Basic $7 always-on floor
Heroku
Cloud PaaS / Cedar dynos — Eco $5 (sleeps); Basic $7 always-on (research floor); Standard-1X $25; Standard-2X $50; Performance-M $250+. No forever-free dyno. Does not outrank Render 7.9.
Best for
- • Teams that want Salesforce-backed Cedar dynos with a published Basic $7 always-on floor
- • Buyers comparing Heroku Basic to Railway Hobby/Pro and Render Pro $25
- • Orgs that will not treat Eco sleep dynos as production always-on TCO
Starting from $7.00/user/mo
No free plan
CircleCI vs Heroku pricing
CircleCI researched starting price from $15/mo; a free plan is researched. Heroku researched starting price from $7/mo. Affiliate economics excluded.
CircleCI
From $15.00/user/mo
Heroku
From $7.00/user/mo
CircleCI
Starting from $15.00/user/mo
No free trial evidenced
- Free$0.00/user/mo
- Free CI/CD with published minute/credit caps — not a git hosting plan.
- 0: Build minutes / credits as published (6k minutes / 30k credits framing)
- PerformancePopular$15.00/mo
- $15/mo Performance floor — additional credits/minutes versus Free. Confirm live packaging.
- ScaleCustom
- Scale / enterprise CI — contact sales.
Heroku
Starting from $7.00/user/mo
No free trial evidenced
- Eco$5.00/mo
- $5/mo Eco dyno — sleeps after 30 min inactivity; personal only. Not the always-on research floor.
- BasicPopular$7.00/mo
- $7/mo Basic always-on dyno — published always-on research floor on heroku.com/pricing.
- Standard-1X$25.00/mo
- $25/mo Standard-1X Cedar dyno.
- Standard-2X$50.00/mo
- $50/mo Standard-2X Cedar dyno.
- Performance-M$250.00/mo
- $250/mo Performance-M Cedar dyno — higher performance ladder.
Estimate your team cost
Monthly estimate from verified per-seat list pricing. Confirm on the vendor site before purchasing.
CircleCI
$225.00/mo
Heroku
$105.00/mo
+$120.00/mo — CircleCI costs more
Verified monthly unit prices · Aug 18, 2026
Prices in USD
Shown per user / month from verified list pricing.
Plans can change
Confirm live vendor rates before purchasing.
Add-ons may apply
Calling, SMS, or usage fees can add cost.
Independence
Affiliate status never changes pricing outcomes.
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