blitz.cloud vs Heroku: a Heroku alternative in the EU, always on from 7 EUR a month
Heroku charges per dyno. On blitz.cloud one app stays online from 3 EUR a month, or every app on Pro for 7 EUR, in the EU. Docker and Postgres compared.
Heroku is the better choice when your team already runs on it, deploys with git push and uses its add-on marketplace. blitz.cloud fits when you want a free plan in the EU without a credit card, or a small app with a database for less than Heroku's cheapest dyno and database together. Heroku has had no free plan since 2022: the cheapest option is Eco at $5 a month, and Eco web dynos sleep after 30 minutes without traffic.
In February 2026 Heroku said it is moving to a "sustaining engineering model focused on stability, security, reliability, and support" and no longer offers Enterprise contracts to new customers. Customers who pay by card keep the same pricing and service, according to the same announcement. If that news is why you're looking around, the table below is what matters day to day.
At a glance
| blitz.cloud | Heroku | |
|---|---|---|
| Company | BlitzWorks UG, Regensburg, Germany. No US parent | Heroku, part of Salesforce, San Francisco, US |
| EU regions | Three locations in the EU, picked automatically | Common Runtime region "eu" (no city named). Dublin, Frankfurt and London only with Private Spaces |
| Free plan | 5 apps, 512 MB memory, 10 GB storage, one database. Apps sleep after 15 minutes without visitors and wake on the next one. No end date in Europe (EU, EEA, UK, Switzerland), 7 days elsewhere, no card | None |
| Cheapest paid plan | Pro, 7 EUR a month including VAT | Eco, $5 a month for 1,000 dyno hours shared by all Eco dynos. Web dynos sleep after 30 minutes without traffic |
| An app that stays awake, with a database | Pro, 7 EUR a month for your whole account, up to 5 databases | $12 a month: Basic dyno $7 plus Essential-0 Postgres $5 (checked 25 September 2026) |
| An app that stays awake | Pro, 7 EUR a month, for all your apps | Basic dyno, $7 a month per dyno (0.5 GB) |
| Postgres | One database on the free plan, five on Pro, backed up every night | Essential-0 from $5 a month (1 GB) |
| Credit card to start | No | Yes, account verification is needed to create apps |
| Run a finished Docker image | Yes, public Docker Hub images, amd64 | Yes, after you push it to Heroku's own registry |
| Git push deploys | Yes, after you connect GitHub, private repositories included | Yes |
| Custom domains | On Pro | Yes |
Where Heroku is the better choice
Heroku deploys on every git push, has pipelines with review apps and a large add-on marketplace for logging, monitoring, queues and search. Its buildpacks turn many projects into a running app without a Dockerfile, and it has years of production use behind it. If your team depends on those workflows, staying is cheaper than rebuilding them.
Heroku also offers US regions and, with Private Spaces, named locations in Dublin, Frankfurt and London. blitz.cloud runs only in the EU, at three locations, and has a much shorter track record.
Where blitz.cloud fits better
- You want to try something without a card. Heroku needs one before you can create an app, blitz.cloud doesn't.
- A side project with a database. On Heroku an Eco dyno plus the smallest Postgres is $10 a month. On blitz.cloud both are on the free plan, and Pro is 7 EUR a month if you need more.
- Apps that answer without a cold start. An Eco web dyno sleeps after 30 minutes, and so does a free blitz.cloud app; on Pro all your apps stay awake for the same 7 EUR.
- You want a European operator with the data in the EU, without paying for a Private Space to pick the location.
Moving from Heroku to blitz.cloud
- If your app has a Dockerfile, build the image for amd64, push it to a public registry such as Docker Hub or ghcr.io and deploy it from the dashboard. Heroku's container registry isn't needed any more. See deploy a Docker image.
- If Heroku builds your app with a buildpack, connect your GitHub account on blitz.cloud and pick the repository, private ones included. blitz.cloud reads the project, writes a Dockerfile if it has none, and puts every push to the branch online. A public repository also builds from a pasted link without connecting anything. See deploy a GitHub project.
- Copy your config vars into the app's Environment tab. Your app should read its port from
PORT, as it already does on Heroku. - Add a PostgreSQL database to the app, then move your data with
pg_dumpfrom Heroku andpg_restoreinto the new database.DATABASE_URLis set for you, the same name Heroku uses. See databases. - On Pro, connect your own domain and point it at the new app.
For the full walkthrough with the exact commands, see Move a Heroku app to the EU.
Sources
- https://www.heroku.com/pricing/
- https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/eco-dyno-hours
- https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/regions
- https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/account-verification
- https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/container-registry-and-runtime
- https://www.heroku.com/blog/an-update-on-heroku/
Facts checked on 25 September 2026. Prices and plans change; tell us at hallo@blitzworks.io if something here is out of date.
Read next
EU PaaS alternatives: blitz.cloud, Scaleway, Clever Cloud, Koyeb, Northflank
blitz.cloud, Scaleway, Clever Cloud, Koyeb and Northflank compared on EU company location, regions, what it costs to start and card requirement, checked 8 October 2026.
Move a Heroku app to the EU
Move a Heroku app's buildpacks, config vars, Postgres database and add-ons to blitz.cloud in the EU, with the exact commands, checked 24 October 2026.
Deploy an app with a PostgreSQL database
Host an app with a managed PostgreSQL 17 database on blitz.cloud. DATABASE_URL is set for you, the database is private to your apps and backed up nightly.
Keep your app awake.
On Pro an app answers at any hour, so schedules run on time and webhooks arrive straight away. 7 EUR a month for all your apps. Cancel any time, and you get the first month back if it isn't for you.