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
Comparison scorecard
Criterion-by-criterion results for Cloudways and Heroku. Numeric bars appear only when both products have approved scores.
- Heroku
Starting pricing
Published floor price and what that floor actually includes.
Heroku publishes a lower researched starting floor ($7/mo vs $11/mo for Cloudways). Confirm currency, renewals, and add-ons — not a total TCO winner.
CloudwaysWeakerHerokuStronger - Depends
Free plan
Whether a usable free plan is published, and what it gates.
Cloudways does not research a free plan; Heroku does not research a free plan.
CloudwaysDependsHerokuDepends - Depends
User / licence minimum
Seat floors, per-employee minimums, and small-team pricing traps.
Check seat, agent, or licence minimums for Cloudways and Heroku on current vendor packaging.
CloudwaysDependsHerokuDepends - Tie
Integrations
Important third-party integrations.
Cloudways and Heroku are close on integrations (8/10 vs 8/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
Cloudways8/10Heroku8/10 - Heroku
Security & admin
Admin controls, access, compliance posture, and security packaging.
Heroku leads on security admin (7/10 vs 8/10) from approved SoftwareGlimpse editorial assessments — not hands-on lab testing.
CloudwaysWeakerHerokuStronger
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