Compare / Laravel Cloud vs Heroku
Laravel Cloud vs Heroku
Pre-calculated from hand-checked data — Laravel Cloud checked 2026-08-06, Heroku checked 2026-08-06.
The short version
Heroku wins more of our comparison points, but Laravel Cloud still fits if laravel teams that want the framework, database, queues, scheduler, cache, and deploy workflow managed as one platform describes you.
Price Heroku
Heroku is cheaper at most of the stages we model.
Ease Laravel Cloud
Laravel Cloud is easier to get running: connect a Git repository or run cloud ship; Laravel Cloud builds the supported runtime and deploys every push with zero downtime.
Control Heroku
Heroku gives you more control over the stack — the flip side of the convenience trade.
Free tier Laravel Cloud
Laravel Cloud has a free tier; Heroku doesn't.
Features Heroku
Heroku comes out ahead on 4 of the 15 features we track, versus 2.
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
| Laravel Cloud | Heroku | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Laravel teams that want the framework, database, queues, scheduler, cache, and deploy workflow managed as one platform. | Teams that already know Heroku and value its mature workflow over price. |
| How deploys work | Connect a Git repository or run cloud ship; Laravel Cloud builds the supported runtime and deploys every push with zero downtime. | git push heroku main; buildpacks detect the stack and the platform handles the rest. |
| The tradeoff | The excellent Laravel experience comes from an opinionated runtime, so arbitrary containers and server-level access are out. | You pay a platform premium — comparable raw compute costs a third as much elsewhere. |
| Free tier | New Starter subscriptions get their first month free; after that, Starter costs $5/month and includes $5 in monthly usage credit. | None |
What you'd realistically pay
Laravel Cloud Heroku
| Project stage | Laravel Cloud | Heroku | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just starting | ≈$5/mo Starter — The $5 subscription includes $5 of monthly usage credit; a small app and database that scale to zero can stay inside it. | ≈$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. | ≈ Tie |
| Steady traffic | ≈$12/mo Starter + always-on Flex 1GB — One always-on Flex 1GB app instance reaches a $12 monthly compute cap; the $5 usage credit offsets the $5 Starter fee. | ≈$25/mo Standard-1X — Adds horizontal scaling and zero-downtime deploys; database still extra. | Laravel Cloud |
| Growing | ≈$68.90/mo Growth + medium SaaS resources — The official medium-SaaS example is about $53.90 in usage; add the $20 Growth fee and subtract its $5 usage credit. | ≈$50/mo Standard dynos + add-ons — Two Standard-1X dynos; realistic totals depend heavily on add-ons. | Heroku |
Laravel Cloud pricing notes
- Every paid plan includes $5 in monthly usage credits, which reset each billing cycle.
- Flex compute bills per second while awake, scales to zero when idle, and is capped at 28 days of runtime per billing cycle.
- Each compute size earns a data-transfer allowance; overage is $0.10/GB.
- Managed databases, caches, queues, object storage, and WebSockets have separate usage charges.
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).
Our ratings
Ease of use Laravel Cloud
Pricing clarity Heroku
Free tier Laravel Cloud
Scaling
Control Heroku
Feature by feature
Laravel Cloud wins 2, Heroku wins 4, with 9 even.
Deploy workflow
| Laravel Cloud | Heroku | |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy from Git push | Yes Connect a Git repository and every push to the configured branch deploys automatically. | Yes git push heroku main is the original deploy story; GitHub integration too. |
| Preview deploys | Partial Starter includes one preview environment; broader preview workflows are available on higher plans. | Yes Review Apps create a running app per pull request. |
| Official CLI | Yes The cloud CLI deploys apps and manages environments, resources, logs, and commands. | Yes The heroku CLI covers deploys, logs, scaling, and add-ons. |
| Instant rollbacks | Partial You can redeploy an older Git commit, but there is no documented one-click rollback workflow. | Yes heroku releases:rollback reverts to any previous release instantly. |
Platform
| Laravel Cloud | Heroku | |
|---|---|---|
| Custom domains + HTTPS | Yes Custom domains and automatically renewed TLS certificates are included on every plan. | Yes Custom domains with automated certificate management on paid dynos. |
| Built-in CDN / edge network | Yes A Cloudflare-powered global edge network caches static assets and cacheable responses automatically. | No No built-in CDN — pair with Cloudflare or Fastly yourself. |
| Serverless functions | No Laravel Cloud runs server-based application compute rather than serverless functions. | No Dynos are long-running processes; there is no function product. |
| Docker containers | No The platform builds its own optimized images and does not accept arbitrary Docker images. | Yes Deploy container images through the Heroku container registry. |
| SSH / shell access | No There is no SSH shell; use one-off commands, Tinker, logs, or the CLI instead. | Partial heroku run bash gives a one-off shell in a fresh dyno, not the live one. |
| EU hosting region | Yes Frankfurt, Ireland, and London regions are available alongside North America and Asia Pacific. | Yes Common Runtime offers a Europe region at the same prices. |
Runtime & operations
| Laravel Cloud | Heroku | |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic scaling | Partial Growth can autoscale up to 10 replicas; unlimited scaling requires Business or higher. | Partial Built-in autoscaling requires Performance-tier dynos; standard dynos scale manually. |
| Scale to zero | Yes Flex app compute scales to zero when idle and wakes in under 500 milliseconds. | Partial Eco dynos sleep after 30 idle minutes; Basic and Standard run continuously. |
| Scheduled jobs | Yes Laravel scheduled tasks are supported and automatically wake sleeping environments. | Yes Heroku Scheduler (free add-on) runs tasks on a schedule. |
| Managed database | Yes Managed Laravel MySQL and serverless Postgres are provisioned directly from the platform. | Yes Heroku Postgres and Key-Value Store are fully managed add-ons. |
| Logs & metrics built in | Partial Application logs and CPU and memory metrics are built in, with retention tied to the plan. | Partial Log stream and basic metrics included; serious monitoring means add-ons. |
Watch out for
Laravel Cloud
- Starter costs $5/month plus usage, although its $5 monthly usage credit can cover a tiny app that frequently scales to zero.
- Autoscaling and dedicated worker clusters require the $20/month Growth plan or higher.
- The platform supports a defined set of frameworks and runtimes; it is not a general-purpose Docker host.
- Databases, caches, object storage, and WebSockets bill separately from app compute.
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.
Read the full reviews: Laravel Cloud and Heroku. Or answer four questions to see what fits your project.