Compare / Heroku vs Contabo Cloud VPS
Heroku vs Contabo Cloud VPS
Pre-calculated from hand-checked data — Heroku checked 2026-08-06, Contabo checked 2026-08-06.
The short version
Heroku wins more of our comparison points, but Contabo Cloud VPS still fits if budget bulk compute — game servers, dev boxes, and side projects where raw specs per euro beat consistency describes you.
Price Heroku
Heroku is cheaper at most of the stages we model.
Ease Heroku
Heroku is easier to get running: git push heroku main; buildpacks detect the stack and the platform handles the rest.
Control Contabo Cloud VPS
Contabo Cloud VPS gives you more control over the stack — the flip side of the convenience trade.
Features Heroku
Heroku comes out ahead on 6 of the 15 features we track, versus 1.
What developers say about this matchup
We couldn't find a substantive first-person discussion comparing this exact pair. We leave the section empty instead of filling it with vendor marketing or generic SEO comparisons.
At a glance
| Heroku | Contabo Cloud VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Teams that already know Heroku and value its mature workflow over price. | Budget bulk compute — game servers, dev boxes, and side projects where raw specs per euro beat consistency. |
| How deploys work | git push heroku main; buildpacks detect the stack and the platform handles the rest. | You get root on a bare server after order verification clears; bring your own setup or use the one-click app installs. |
| The tradeoff | You pay a platform premium — comparable raw compute costs a third as much elsewhere. | The lowest sticker price here, paid for with oversubscription, slow support, and slow provisioning. |
| Free tier | None | None |
What you'd realistically pay
Heroku Contabo Cloud VPS
| Project stage | Heroku | Contabo Cloud VPS | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just starting | ≈$5/mo Eco — One Eco dyno (512 MB) that sleeps after 30 idle minutes; an always-on Basic dyno is $7, and an Essential-0 Postgres adds $5. | ≈€5.50/mo Cloud VPS 4 — 4 shared vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 100 GB SSD, 200 Mbit/s unlimited traffic. €4.40/month on a 24-month term. | Heroku |
| Steady traffic | ≈$25/mo Standard-1X — Adds horizontal scaling and zero-downtime deploys; database still extra. | ≈€14/mo Cloud VPS 8 — 8 shared vCPU, 24 GB RAM, 300 GB SSD, 600 Mbit/s. €11.20/month on a 24-month term. | Contabo Cloud VPS |
| Growing | ≈$50/mo Standard dynos + add-ons — Two Standard-1X dynos; realistic totals depend heavily on add-ons. | ≈€49/mo Cloud VPS 18 — 18 shared vCPU, 96 GB RAM, 600 GB SSD, 1 Gbit/s. €39.20/month on a 24-month term. | Heroku |
Heroku pricing notes
- Dynos are prorated to the second up to the monthly maximum.
- Heroku Postgres starts at $5/month (Essential-0, 1 GB storage); the Redis-compatible Key-Value Store starts at $3/month (Mini, 25 MB).
Contabo Cloud VPS pricing notes
- Promo prices (about 20% off) require a 24-month term; list prices apply month to month.
- A one-time setup fee applies to entry plans on short terms since April 2026 — the exact amount shows at checkout.
- "Unlimited" traffic is fair-use: Contabo reserves the right to throttle disruptive usage.
Our ratings
Ease of use Heroku
Pricing clarity Heroku
Free tier
Scaling Heroku
Control Contabo Cloud VPS
Feature by feature
Heroku wins 6, Contabo Cloud VPS wins 1, with 8 even.
Deploy workflow
| Heroku | Contabo Cloud VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy from Git push | Yes git push heroku main is the original deploy story; GitHub integration too. | No No deploy pipeline — bring your own CI or scripts. |
| Preview deploys | Yes Review Apps create a running app per pull request. | No Nothing built in. |
| Official CLI | Yes The heroku CLI covers deploys, logs, scaling, and add-ons. | Yes The cntb CLI and REST API manage instances and snapshots. |
| Instant rollbacks | Yes heroku releases:rollback reverts to any previous release instantly. | Partial Included snapshots restore machines; automatic backups cost extra. No deploy-level rollback. |
Platform
| Heroku | Contabo Cloud VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Custom domains + HTTPS | Yes Custom domains with automated certificate management on paid dynos. | Yes Point DNS at the server; TLS is yours via certbot or a proxy. |
| Built-in CDN / edge network | No No built-in CDN — pair with Cloudflare or Fastly yourself. | No No CDN product — put Cloudflare in front if needed. |
| Serverless functions | No Dynos are long-running processes; there is no function product. | No Not a VPS feature. |
| Docker containers | Yes Deploy container images through the Heroku container registry. | Yes Docker one-click install or set it up yourself. |
| SSH / shell access | Partial heroku run bash gives a one-off shell in a fresh dyno, not the live one. | Yes Full root SSH. |
| EU hosting region | Yes Common Runtime offers a Europe region at the same prices. | Yes German data centers at the base price; other EU sites available. |
Runtime & operations
| Heroku | Contabo Cloud VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic scaling | Partial Built-in autoscaling requires Performance-tier dynos; standard dynos scale manually. | No Manual plan upgrades only. |
| Scale to zero | Partial Eco dynos sleep after 30 idle minutes; Basic and Standard run continuously. | No The contract bills until cancelled, powered off or not. |
| Scheduled jobs | Yes Heroku Scheduler (free add-on) runs tasks on a schedule. | Yes Classic cron on the box. |
| Managed database | Yes Heroku Postgres and Key-Value Store are fully managed add-ons. | No No managed database product — self-host or go external. |
| Logs & metrics built in | Partial Log stream and basic metrics included; serious monitoring means add-ons. | Partial Basic usage graphs in the customer panel; everything else is yours. |
Watch out for
Heroku
- There is no free tier.
- Compute is expensive for what you get: Standard-1X costs $25/month for 512 MB of RAM.
- Databases and other add-ons bill separately and can dominate the total.
Contabo
- Since 15 April 2026 entry plans on 1- or 6-month terms carry a one-time setup fee — it is waived only on 12-month-plus terms.
- New orders go through manual identity verification: provisioning can take hours to more than a day, not minutes.
- Shared hardware is heavily oversubscribed — CPU steal and variable disk I/O are common on busy nodes.
- Non-EU locations (US, UK, Asia, Australia) cost a monthly surcharge on top of list prices.
- Monthly billing only: the server bills as long as the contract runs, powered off or not.
Read the full reviews: Heroku and Contabo. Or answer four questions to see what fits your project.