Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Heroku VS UpdraftPlus

Compare Heroku VS UpdraftPlus and see what are their differences

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Heroku logo Heroku

Agile deployment platform for Ruby, Node.js, Clojure, Java, Python, and Scala. Setup takes only minutes and deploys are instant through git. Leave tedious server maintenance to Heroku and focus on your code.

UpdraftPlus logo UpdraftPlus

UpdraftPlus is aย WordPress backup plugin.
  • Heroku Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-05
  • UpdraftPlus Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-23

Heroku features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Heroku offers an extremely user-friendly interface and a high level of abstraction, making it easy for developers to deploy, manage, and scale applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.
  • Quick Deployment
    One of Herokuโ€™s strongest points is the ability to deploy applications quickly using Git. Developers can push their code to Heroku with a simple command, streamlining the entire process.
  • Scalability
    Heroku provides effortless scaling options by allowing developers to add more dynos (containers) with a single command to handle increased traffic and workload.
  • Add-Ons Ecosystem
    Heroku offers a rich ecosystem of add-ons, such as databases, caching, monitoring, and more, which can be easily integrated into applications to extend their functionality.
  • Automatic Updates
    Heroku automatically handles operating system and server updates, allowing developers to focus solely on their application code rather than maintenance tasks.
  • Free Tier
    Heroku offers a free tier with sufficient resources to host small projects and learn the platform without incurring costs, making it accessible for beginners and small-scale applications.

Possible disadvantages of Heroku

  • Cost
    While Heroku offers a free tier, the costs can quickly add up for larger applications and professional use. Paid plans and additional dynos or add-ons can become expensive.
  • Performance
    Herokuโ€™s performance can sometimes be suboptimal compared to other cloud providers, particularly when running high-performance or resource-intensive applications.
  • Limited Control
    Heroku abstracts away a lot of infrastructure management, which can be a downside for developers who need fine-grained control over their environments and configurations.
  • Dyno Sleeping
    Applications running on Herokuโ€™s free tier experience 'dyno sleeping,' where the application goes to sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity, causing a delay when it wakes up after receiving a new request.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Relying heavily on Herokuโ€™s ecosystem and platform-specific features can lead to vendor lock-in, making it challenging to migrate to another platform if needed.
  • Add-On Costs
    The costs for add-ons can also become significant, as many useful features and integrations require paid add-ons, increasing the overall expense.

UpdraftPlus features and specs

  • Comprehensive Backup Solution
    UpdraftPlus offers a complete backup solution for WordPress sites, allowing users to back up files, databases, and more, ensuring comprehensive protection against data loss.
  • Cloud Integration
    It supports various cloud storage options like Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, and more, enabling users to store backups externally and securely.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The plugin features an intuitive and straightforward UI, making it easy for users of all technical levels to navigate and perform backups and restores with minimal hassle.
  • Scheduled Backups
    UpdraftPlus allows users to set up automated backup schedules, reducing the risk of forgetting to perform regular backups and ensuring data is always current.
  • Migration Feature
    The migration feature allows users to easily clone and migrate their WordPress sites, which is beneficial for website developers and managers during upgrades or server changes.

Possible disadvantages of UpdraftPlus

  • Limited Free Version
    While the free version is feature-rich, some advanced functionalities like incremental backups, multisite support, and more require purchasing the premium version.
  • Potential Complexity for Beginners
    Although the interface is user-friendly, beginners may find the setup process complex due to the numerous options and settings available.
  • Restore Speed Limitations
    Some users have reported slower restore times, especially for larger websites, which can be inconvenient during critical restoration needs.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Occasional compatibility issues may arise with certain WordPress themes or plugins, requiring additional troubleshooting or support actions.

Analysis of Heroku

Overall verdict

  • Heroku is a solid choice for developers seeking a straightforward, cloud-based solution for deploying and managing applications. However, it may not be the most cost-effective option for large-scale or data-intensive applications.

Why this product is good

  • Heroku is a popular platform as a service (PaaS) due to its ease of use, fast deployment process, and robust support for multiple programming languages. It allows developers to focus on building applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. Heroku offers scaling capabilities, a wide variety of add-ons, and a strong developer community.

Recommended for

    Heroku is recommended for startups, small to medium-sized applications, hobby projects, and developers who value ease of use and quick deployment cycles. It is particularly suited for those who are developing web applications in languages such as Ruby, Node.js, Python, and others supported by the platform.

Heroku videos

What is Heroku | Ask a Dev Episode 14

More videos:

UpdraftPlus videos

Updraftplus Setup Tutorial - Best Free WordPress Backup Plugin

More videos:

  • Tutorial - The Ultimate Guide to UpdraftPlus: How to Backup, Restore, or Migrate Your WordPress Website

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Heroku and UpdraftPlus)
Cloud Computing
100 100%
0% 0
Backup & Restore
0 0%
100% 100
Cloud Hosting
100 100%
0% 0
WordPress Plugins
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Heroku and UpdraftPlus

Heroku Reviews

  1. Useful Cloud Platform

    Great service to build, run and manage applications entirely in the cloud!

    ๐Ÿ Competitors: Amazon AWS, Dokku on Digital Ocean, Firebase
    ๐Ÿ‘ Pros:    Easy user interface|Good customer service|Multi-language cloud application platform
    ๐Ÿ‘Ž Cons:    Limitation with some addons|Low network performance
  2. jamestelford
    ยท Full Stack Developer at OutDev ยท
    ๐Ÿ Competitors: Docker, Amazon AWS
    ๐Ÿ‘ Pros:    Powerful development environments|Great value for the money|Great customer support|Paas

Database Management Systems (DBMS) Comparison: SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Oracle
Heroku provides a developer-focused platform for the needs of simplified application deployment, including managed, easy-to-use PostgreSQL databases. It comes with intuitive tools and integrations, which can be beneficial to small to medium-sized applications, driving quick setup and scalability.
Source: blog.devart.com
The Best Heroku Alternative in 2026
SnapDeploy offers 100 free hours that never expire (Heroku has no free tier). Paid plans start at $9/month. Heroku's Eco dyno starts at $5/month but sleeps after 30 minutes; production-ready Standard dynos start at $25/month. SnapDeploy offers managed databases from $12/mo; Heroku Postgres starts at $5/mo. See full pricing โ†’
Source: snapdeploy.dev
10 Top Firebase Alternatives to Ignite Your Development in 2024
Herokuโ€™s focus on simplicity and developer experience makes it a perfect fit for those who want to focus on building their apps, not babysitting servers. Startups and small businesses, in particular, can benefit from Herokuโ€™s ability to accelerate development and deployment, allowing them to get their ideas to market faster.
Source: genezio.com
2023 Firebase Alternatives: Top 10 Open-Source & Free
Heroku Postgres โ€“ Majority of businesses like Heroku because of its SQL database support. Yes, PostgreSQL as a service is an appealing product of this PaaS vendor with quick deployment approaches.
Heroku Free Tier Gone โ€” 10 Alternatives Still Free in April 2026
Looking for the best Heroku alternatives in 2026? Since Heroku permanently shut down their free tier in November 2022, thousands of developers have been searching for Heroku competitors that offer similar simplicity without the high costs. This comprehensive guide compares the top 10 Heroku free tier alternatives to help you find the perfect platform for your projects.
Source: snapdeploy.dev

UpdraftPlus Reviews

We have no reviews of UpdraftPlus yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Heroku seems to be a lot more popular than UpdraftPlus. While we know about 74 links to Heroku, we've tracked only 4 mentions of UpdraftPlus. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Heroku mentions (74)

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UpdraftPlus mentions (4)

  • The Complete WordPress Security Guide for Small Business Owners (2026)
    Important: Always backup before major updates. Use a plugin like UpdraftPlus or BlogVault. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Fix 105 Common WordPress Issues Using Simple Code Snippets
    Restore the site using backups from your hosting provider or a plugin like UpdraftPlus. Always test backups on a staging environment before applying them to the live site. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • 5 WordPress page builders from a web developer's perspective
    Make a backup! UpdraftPlus is a good tool as its backups can be used for cloning WordPress websites, including purchased plugins, to development and staging systems. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • Webmaster needed or go with Wix?
    First, run a site backup -- both the database and static files on the server (e.g., theme files, image uploads). Ideally you'll also know or figure out how to restore the site with said backup. The plugin UpdraftPlus has a free tier you might start with. I use it on a personal site to run daily backups automatically, and have used it on employer websites in the past. You should be running daily backups if you... Source: about 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Heroku and UpdraftPlus, you can also consider the following products

DigitalOcean - Simplifying cloud hosting. Deploy an SSD cloud server in 55 seconds.

Wise Data Recovery - Wise Data Recovery is a professional data recovery tool, it helps you quickly recover deleted photos, documents, videos, email, etc. from local drives, external drive, USB drive, SD card, mobile phone and other removable devices.

Vercel - Vercel is the platform for frontend developers, providing the speed and reliability innovators need to create at the moment of inspiration.

Jottacloud - Safe cloud storage

Amazon AWS - Amazon Web Services offers reliable, scalable, and inexpensive cloud computing services. Free to join, pay only for what you use.

GetDataBack - Free technical support for Runtime Data Recovery programs including GetDataBack, DiskExplorer, RAID Reconstructor and Captain Nemo.