# Heroku Pricing Breakdown in 2026 and Ways to Reduce Costs > Here is the complete breakdown of Heroku pricing in 2026, dynos, databases, Redis, and add-ons, and the real ways teams are reducing their monthly Heroku bill. - **Author**: harsh-kanani - **Published**: 2025-12-27 - **Modified**: 2026-08-14 - **Category**: Deployment Guides - **URL**: https://kuberns.com/blogs/heroku-pricing-explained/ --- Heroku pricing starts at $5 per month for Eco dynos and $7 per month for a Basic dyno. Production costs depend on how many application processes, databases, key-value stores, and add-ons you run. A small app may cost $12 per month, while a production setup with multiple dynos and managed data services can reach $58, $140, or much more. The important detail is that Heroku does not charge one flat price for an application. It bills the resources that run the application. If the platform's terminology is unfamiliar, our guide to [what Heroku is and how its deployment model works](https://kuberns.com/blogs/what-is-heroku/) explains the relationship between applications, dynos, buildpacks, and managed services. Understanding those separate resources is the best way to estimate your real monthly bill. This guide explains current Heroku pricing, how billing works, what common application setups cost, and where teams can reduce unnecessary spending. ## TL;DR: How Much Does Heroku Cost in 2026? * Eco costs $5 per month for 1,000 dyno hours shared across an account's Eco apps. * A Basic dyno has a maximum monthly price of $7. * Standard-1X costs up to $25 per month, while Standard-2X costs up to $50. * Fir dynos start at $25 per month and include more resource-specific CPU and memory options. * Heroku Postgres starts at $5 per month. * Heroku Key-Value Store starts at $3 per month. * Dynos and most add-ons are prorated to the second. Listed monthly prices are generally maximum charges for resources that run for the full billing period. * Web dynos, workers, databases, staging environments, and add-ons are separate resources, so costs increase as the application architecture grows. The [official Heroku pricing page](https://www.heroku.com/pricing/) lists current plan prices. Heroku also provides a [pricing calculator](https://www.heroku.com/pricing/) for estimating dynos, data services, add-ons, Teams, CI/CD, and support together. ## Heroku Pricing at a Glance The following table shows common starting prices. Prices are in US dollars and were verified against Heroku's published pricing in July 2026. | Heroku resource | Starting or common price | What it covers | | --- | ---: | --- | | Eco dynos | $5/month | 1,000 dyno hours shared across Eco apps | | Basic dyno | Up to $7/month | One always-on 0.5 GB dyno | | Standard-1X dyno | Up to $25/month | 0.5 GB dyno with production scaling features | | Standard-2X dyno | Up to $50/month | 1 GB dyno with more compute capacity | | Performance-M dyno | Up to $250/month | 2.5 GB dedicated compute dyno | | Fir dynos | From $25/month | CPU and memory-defined dyno families | | Heroku Postgres | From $5/month | Essential-0 managed Postgres | | Heroku Key-Value Store | From $3/month | Mini Redis-compatible key-value service | | Apache Kafka on Heroku | From $100/month | Managed Kafka Basic-0 | | Marketplace add-ons | Varies | Monitoring, email, search, security, and other services | These are not bundled into one application price. For example, one web dyno, one worker dyno, Postgres, and a key-value store are four separately provisioned resources. The broader guide to [hosting applications on Heroku](https://kuberns.com/blogs/heroku-hosting-explained/) explains how those components fit together in a production environment. ## How Heroku Billing Actually Works Heroku pricing is based mainly on three factors: 1. The resource you select, such as a dyno or database. 2. The capacity or plan tier of that resource. 3. How long the resource remains active during the billing period. Heroku [prorates most dyno and add-on costs to the second](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/usage-and-billing). A Basic dyno listed at $7 per month costs approximately $0.01 per hour while it is running, up to its maximum monthly charge. Review apps, one-off dynos, and scheduled jobs can also accrue usage while they run. Eco works differently. The $5 subscription provides 1,000 dyno hours per month, shared across all Eco dynos in the account. Eco dynos sleep after inactivity and do not consume hours while asleep. Heroku charges the full $5 for the month even if the subscription begins after the first day. Data add-ons also accrue charges while provisioned. If you create an Essential-0 Postgres database and remove it halfway through the month, Heroku generally charges for approximately half of its $5 maximum monthly price. Some metered add-ons can also charge for consumption such as storage, bandwidth, or tokens. This distinction matters: Heroku is not simply charging for traffic, and its prices are not always fixed monthly fees. It charges for provisioned resources and their active time, with the published monthly price usually serving as a cap for continuous use. ## Heroku Dyno Pricing A dyno is an isolated container that runs a process. A web server can run in one dyno, while a queue worker or scheduled process can run in another. Scaling an application often means adding dynos or selecting a larger dyno type. This resource model also affects the steps involved in [deploying an application on Heroku](https://kuberns.com/blogs/heroku-app-deployment/), because every required process type must be defined and scaled separately. ### Eco and Basic dynos | Dyno | Approximate hourly price | Maximum monthly price | Memory | Key limitation or use | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | --- | | Eco | About $0.005/hour | $5 for 1,000 pooled hours | 0.5 GB | Sleeps after inactivity | | Basic | About $0.01/hour | $7 | 0.5 GB | Always on, suited to smaller apps | Eco is the closest current option to Heroku's former free experience, but it is not free. The [Heroku low-cost plans FAQ](https://help.heroku.com/KP5RQQVO/low-cost-plans-faq) confirms that Eco costs $5 for the pooled hours and that the former free plans ended in November 2022. ### Standard and Performance dynos | Dyno | Approximate hourly price | Maximum monthly price | Memory | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Standard-1X | $0.03/hour | $25 | 0.5 GB | | Standard-2X | $0.06/hour | $50 | 1 GB | | Performance-M | $0.34/hour | $250 | 2.5 GB | | Performance-L | $0.69/hour | $500 | 14 GB | | Performance-XL | $1.04/hour | $750 | 62 GB | | Performance-2XL | $2.08/hour | $1,500 | 126 GB | Standard dynos support horizontal scaling and common production features such as application metrics and preboot. Performance dynos provide dedicated compute for workloads that require more predictable performance. ### Fir dynos Heroku's Fir generation provides dyno families with explicit CPU and memory allocations. Fir dynos require a Private Space, so their compute price is only part of the complete environment cost. | Fir family and size | vCPU | Memory | Maximum monthly price | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Classic 1CPU-0.5GB | 1 | 0.5 GB | $25 | | Classic 2CPU-1GB | 2 | 1 GB | $50 | | General Purpose 1CPU-4GB | 1 | 4 GB | $80 | | General Purpose 2CPU-8GB | 2 | 8 GB | $160 | | Compute 2CPU-4GB | 2 | 4 GB | $150 | | Memory 1CPU-8GB | 1 | 8 GB | $100 | Larger Fir sizes are available. Choose a family based on whether the workload needs balanced resources, more CPU, or more memory rather than comparing memory alone. ### Private and Shield dynos Private and Shield dynos run in Private Spaces for applications that require network isolation or stronger compliance controls. Common Cedar maximum monthly prices include: | Dyno | Private | Shield | | --- | ---: | ---: | | S | $125 | $150 | | M | $250 | $300 | | L | $500 | $600 | | XL | $750 | $900 | | 2XL | $1,500 | $1,800 | Private Space and enterprise requirements can add costs beyond the dyno price. Teams evaluating these environments should use Heroku's calculator or request a complete quote instead of estimating from dynos alone. ## Heroku Postgres Pricing Heroku Postgres is billed separately from application dynos. Essential plans suit smaller workloads, while Standard and higher tiers add dedicated resources, more capacity, and production database features. For setup considerations, plan selection, and operational details beyond the price table, see the complete [Heroku Postgres guide](https://kuberns.com/blogs/heroku-postgres/). | Plan | Maximum monthly price | Storage | Connection limit | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Essential-0 | $5 | 1 GB | 20 | | Essential-1 | $9 | 10 GB | 20 | | Essential-2 | $20 | 32 GB | 40 | | Standard-0 | $50 | 64 GB | 120 | | Standard-2 | $200 | 256 GB | 400 | | Standard-3 | $400 | 512 GB | 500 | Heroku also offers Private, Shield, and advanced Postgres plans. Those plans can range from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars per month depending on memory, compute, region, availability, and compliance requirements. Do not choose a database using storage alone. Connection limits, availability, rollback requirements, workload performance, and whether a Private Space is required can determine the suitable plan. ## Heroku Key-Value Store Pricing Heroku Key-Value Store is Heroku's Redis-compatible managed service. It is often used for caching, sessions, rate limiting, and background-job queues. Our detailed guide to [Heroku Redis and Key-Value Store](https://kuberns.com/blogs/heroku-redis/) covers common use cases, setup, and the differences between its plan tiers. | Plan | Maximum monthly price | Memory | Connection limit | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | | Mini | $3 | 25 MB | 20 | | Premium 0 | $15 | 50 MB | 40 | | Premium 1 | $30 | 100 MB | 80 | | Premium 2 | $60 | 250 MB | 200 | | Premium 3 | $120 | 500 MB | 400 | | Premium 5 | $200 | 1 GB | 1,000 | | Premium 7 | $750 | 7 GB | 10,000 | Private and Shield variants cost more and require a Private Space. As with Postgres, the key-value store continues accruing prorated charges while it remains provisioned. ## Other Heroku Costs Dynos and managed data services are usually the largest visible items, but they are not the only possible charges. ### Marketplace add-ons Applications may use paid services for: * Logging and monitoring * Error tracking * Transactional email * Search * Security * Scheduled jobs * Data processing Each marketplace provider defines its own plans and usage limits. Some add-ons have a prorated monthly maximum, while others include metered charges. For MongoDB, the former mLab service was discontinued. Teams commonly connect MongoDB Atlas or choose another current integration. Pricing and billing depend on the selected provider and plan, so it should be included separately in a complete application estimate. ### Review apps, one-off dynos, and staging Review apps can provision dynos and add-ons for temporary environments. One-off commands started with `heroku run`, scheduled jobs, staging applications, and background workers can also accrue usage. These resources may exist for only part of the month, so prorating limits their cost. However, frequent review environments or long-running staging resources can still make a noticeable difference to the total bill. ### CI, Teams, support, and enterprise services Heroku's calculator includes Teams, CI/CD, and support when estimating a deployment. Private Spaces, Shield services, Heroku Connect, enterprise support, and compliance requirements can also affect the final price. Because availability and pricing can depend on the account or contract, use an account-specific quote for these services rather than relying on an unsupported flat estimate. ## Real Heroku Cost Examples The following examples use published maximum monthly prices. Actual bills can be lower when prorated resources run for only part of a month. Marketplace add-ons, data transfer, support, and enterprise services are not included. ### Small always-on application: up to $12 per month | Resource | Maximum monthly price | | --- | ---: | | 1 Basic web dyno | $7 | | Essential-0 Postgres | $5 | | **Estimated maximum** | **$12** | This setup can suit a small application, but both resources have entry-level limits. Adding a worker, cache, monitoring service, or staging environment increases the total. ### Production application with a worker: up to $58 per month | Resource | Maximum monthly price | | --- | ---: | | 1 Standard-1X web dyno | $25 | | 1 Standard-1X worker dyno | $25 | | Essential-0 Postgres | $5 | | Mini Key-Value Store | $3 | | **Estimated maximum** | **$58** | This example shows why a "$25 dyno" does not necessarily mean a $25 application. The worker and data services are separate resources. ### Growing production application: up to $140 per month | Resource | Maximum monthly price | | --- | ---: | | 2 Standard-1X web dynos | $50 | | 1 Standard-1X worker dyno | $25 | | Standard-0 Postgres | $50 | | Premium 0 Key-Value Store | $15 | | **Estimated maximum** | **$140** | A staging environment, review apps, monitoring, email, search, or larger data plans would increase this estimate. Use Heroku's calculator with your actual architecture before making a pricing decision. ## Why Heroku Bills Increase Heroku costs usually increase because the application architecture expands, not because the platform suddenly charges more for the same single resource. Common causes include: * Adding web dynos to handle more traffic * Adding separate workers for queues and background jobs * Keeping staging and review environments active * Moving to a larger Postgres plan * Adding Heroku Key-Value Store * Provisioning monitoring, email, search, or security add-ons * Using Private Spaces, Shield services, or enterprise support The convenience of a managed platform remains valuable, but every persistent component should be included in the monthly estimate. ## How to Reduce Heroku Costs Start with Heroku's current usage data rather than multiplying every resource by its monthly maximum. 1. **Review dyno usage.** Remove unused process types and scale down workers that no longer serve active workloads. 2. **Check temporary environments.** Review apps and staging resources can remain active longer than intended. 3. **Right-size dynos.** Compare measured memory, CPU, response time, and queue performance before moving to a larger tier. 4. **Audit add-ons.** Remove unused services and check whether each selected plan still matches current usage. 5. **Review database requirements.** Monitor connections, storage, performance, rollback needs, and availability before upgrading. 6. **Use prorating deliberately.** Temporary dynos and add-ons cost less when they are destroyed promptly after use. 7. **Estimate the complete architecture.** Include web dynos, workers, databases, caches, staging, review apps, and external services. If the architecture still requires many separately billed components, compare the complete cost with a platform that bundles deployment capabilities differently. ## Heroku Pricing vs. Kuberns Heroku uses a modular PaaS model. Application processes, managed data services, and add-ons can each create a separate line item. [Kuberns is an Agentic AI platform for deployment](https://kuberns.com/) with usage-based pricing starting at $7. It automates deployment and infrastructure configuration after you connect a GitHub repository. | Pricing consideration | Heroku | Kuberns | | --- | --- | --- | | Starting option | Eco at $5 or Basic at $7 | Starts at $7 | | Application runtime | Prorated by dyno type and active time | Usage-based infrastructure pricing | | CI/CD | Include applicable pipeline and resource costs in estimate | Included | | Monitoring and alerts | Platform features and add-ons vary by plan | Included | | Per-user pricing | Account, team, or enterprise terms may apply | No per-user pricing | | Savings option | Right-size and remove unused resources | Bundle packs provide additional savings | | Trial | No permanent free tier | Trial option available | This is not a direct one-to-one resource comparison. Heroku packages infrastructure into dynos and managed services, while Kuberns uses a different deployment and pricing model. Compare the complete application architecture, required services, and operating workflow rather than comparing only the lowest advertised price. For teams planning a move, the [Heroku migration guide](https://kuberns.com/blogs/migrate-from-heroku/) explains how to deploy the application on Kuberns. ### Watch: The Best Heroku Alternative of 2026 If the numbers above are the reason you're weighing a move off Heroku, this video walks through the top Heroku alternative for 2026 and how its pricing compares.