The European Heroku alternative
The git-push workflow Heroku invented — on modern Docker runtimes, with EU data residency, at a quarter of the invoice.
By Michael Michelsen, Founder of HostStack · Updated May 2026
Why developers choose HostStack
- A Micro service (€5/mo) + Micro Postgres (€4/mo) + Starter Redis (€5/mo) lands at €14/mo; Heroku's comparable bundle (Eco dynos + Mini Postgres + Mini Redis) is around $20/mo and grows fast
- Modern Docker runtime — bring any base image, runtime version, or system dependency. No buildpack incompatibility surprises during framework upgrades
- Real EU data residency on European infrastructure with a DPA at signup. Heroku Common Runtime EU is limited to Ireland and ships through Salesforce / AWS
- No 30-second request timeout. Long-running connections, websockets, and AI workloads work without dyno restart workarounds
- TypeScript SDK and Terraform provider — first-party, not community-maintained
- Managed MySQL, MariaDB, and MongoDB out of the box (Heroku ships PostgreSQL only; everything else is third-party add-on)
Feature comparison
| Feature | HostStack | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Web services | ||
| Background workers | ||
| Cron jobs | Add-on (Heroku Scheduler) | |
| Static sites | ||
| Managed PostgreSQL | ||
| Managed MySQL / MariaDB | Add-on (JawsDB / ClearDB) | |
| Managed MongoDB | Add-on (mLab discontinued, third-party only) | |
| Managed Redis | ||
| Object storage | Connect your own S3 bucket | |
| Custom domains + SSL | ||
| GitHub auto-deploy | ||
| Docker runtime | container-only on Common Runtime | |
| CLI tool | ||
| TypeScript SDK | ||
| EU data residency | Helsinki, FI | Ireland (AWS) |
| Long-running requests (no 30s ceiling) | ||
| DPA included | Enterprise only |
Pricing comparison
| Tier | HostStack | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 1 Nano + 1 Starter Postgres — €0/mo, no card | No free tier (eliminated Nov 2022) |
| Cheapest always-on | €1/mo Pico (128 MB) | Eco $5/mo (still sleeps); Basic $7/mo (always-on) |
| 512 MB always-on service | €5/mo Micro | $7/mo Basic |
| 2 GB service | €20/mo Standard | $50/mo Standard-2X (1 GB only) |
| Cheapest managed Postgres | €4/mo Micro (256 MB / 1 GB) | $5/mo Essential-0 (shared RAM / 1 GB) |
| Production Postgres (4 GB / 40 GB) | €50/mo Pro | $200+/mo (Standard-1) |
| Bandwidth | 200 GB/team free, €0.01/GB after | Not separately metered (included in dyno cost) |
| Team seats | Unlimited collaborators included on every team | $10/mo per seat on top of dyno costs |
| Egress | Free | Free |
When NOT to choose HostStack
Heroku is the better fit in some cases. Here's when we'd tell you so.
You depend on a specific Heroku add-on with no Docker equivalent. Most are replaceable, but if you rely on add-ons like New Relic Heroku-tier, Memcachier, or Heroku Scheduler's exact UI you'll need to swap to the standalone vendor.
You're happy paying Heroku for the SOC 2 Type 2 / HIPAA / PCI Shield runtime. Our compliance roadmap is solid but we don't carry every certification yet.
You're running on Heroku Private Spaces with VPC peering to AWS. Our private networking is service-to-service inside HostStack; we don't peer to external VPCs.
You want zero-config Buildpack autodetection for an obscure runtime. We support Docker + framework presets; rare buildpacks need a Dockerfile.
Migrate from Heroku
The full walkthrough — price comparison, before/after config, and the gotchas worth knowing — is in the Heroku migration guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest Heroku alternative for always-on apps?
HostStack's Pico service is €1/month and stays on 24/7. Heroku's cheapest paid dyno, Eco at $5/month, sleeps after 30 minutes of inactivity, and the Basic dyno that stays awake is $7/month. So HostStack is both cheaper and always-on, with no cold-start sleep on any paid tier.
Does HostStack have the 30-second request timeout that Heroku does?
No. Heroku enforces a hard 30-second HTTP request timeout on its router. HostStack runs your service behind Traefik without that fixed cap, so long-running requests, streaming responses, and slow uploads are not cut off at 30 seconds.
How much is managed Postgres compared to Heroku Postgres?
HostStack managed PostgreSQL starts at €4/month (Micro) versus Heroku's Essential-0 at $5/month, and HostStack includes daily snapshots plus off-site S3 backups, with an optional 3-node Patroni HA cluster on higher tiers. Heroku's mini/essential Postgres tiers are single-node.
Is HostStack a good Heroku alternative for European teams?
Yes — it is built for it. Heroku runs on AWS in the US/EU but Salesforce is US-incorporated (CLOUD Act exposure). HostStack is operated by the Danish company MICCI with data resident in Helsinki, Finland today (Germany regions on the roadmap), a DPA at signup, and a familiar git-push deploy workflow plus Docker runtime, so the migration keeps the Heroku developer experience while fixing the EU-residency gap.
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