Cloudways vs Heroku
Compare Cloudways and Heroku on features, pricing, and buyer fit using the same researched criteria.
Cloudways
Managed cloud hosting — Flexible from $11/mo DigitalOcean Standard; Autonomous WordPress autoscaling separate line.
Best for
- • Teams that want managed hosting on a chosen cloud VM without buying a panel licence
- • Agencies running WordPress plus other apps on one Cloudways account
- • Buyers who will actually use hourly Flexible billing and the $11 DigitalOcean Standard floor
Starting from $11.00/user/mo
No free plan
VS
Our verdict
No universal winner. Choose based on which criteria matter most for your team.
Heroku is better for
- ✓ Starting pricing
- ✓ Security & admin
Tie
- • Integrations
Choose Cloudways if: Teams that want managed hosting on a chosen cloud VM without buying a panel licence
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
Pros & cons
A balanced look at where each product shines — and where it falls short.
Cloudways
Strengths in greenCons
- Trails on starting pricing
- Trails on security & admin
Best for
Teams that want managed hosting on a chosen cloud VM without buying a panel licence
Heroku
Trade-offs in redPros
- Stronger on starting pricing
- Stronger on security & admin
Best for
Teams that want Salesforce-backed Cedar dynos with a published Basic $7 always-on floor
Choose if…
Choose Cloudways if
- Teams that want managed hosting on a chosen cloud VM without buying a panel licence
- Agencies running WordPress plus other apps on one Cloudways account
- Buyers who will actually use hourly Flexible billing and the $11 DigitalOcean Standard floor
Choose Heroku if
- 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
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