Heroku vs Peon
Is it time to switch? We break down the differences so you can stop bleeding money.
Choose Peon.
If you want to own your data, save money, and avoid vendor lock-in, Peon is open source and community-driven.
What Actually Matters
No fluff — just the differences that affect your decision
Peon is open source (MIT). Heroku is closed. If vendor lock-in keeps you up at night, this is the deciding factor.
Peon has the bigger crowd: 97 stars vs 0. More contributors, more integrations, more momentum.
Peon is built in TypeScript — you can read the source, contribute, or fork it. Heroku is closed-source, so you're trusting their engineering.
Try both — most offer free tiers. The right pick depends on your stack size, team, and tolerance for DevOps.
Heroku
Platform as a service.
Why Choose Heroku
- ✓Dead-simple deployment (git push)
- ✓Great for prototypes and MVPs
- ✓Managed Postgres included
Drawbacks
- ×Eliminated free tier in 2022
- ×Expensive at scale vs VPS
Peon
Open-source, self-hostable deployment platform. Deploy Git apps, Docker Compose, databases, and static sites to your own servers — an open alternative to Vercel/Heroku with project RBAC, audit logs, and MCP.
Why Choose Peon
- ✓Self-hosted Docker PaaS with first-class project RBAC and audit logs
- ✓Deploy Git apps, Compose stacks, databases, and static sites on your own servers
- ✓Built-in MCP server for AI-agent deploys without handing over root
Drawbacks
- ×Younger project with a smaller community than Coolify/Dokku
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