Bitbucket
Heroku
| Feature | Bitbucket | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $3/mo | From $5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.1 / 5 | 4 / 5 |
| Best For | atlassian-users, small-teams, enterprise, developers | startups, prototyping, small-teams, ruby-python-node-developers |
| Founded | 2008 | 2007 |
| Git Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Pull Requests | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ci Cd Pipelines | ✓ | ✗ |
| Code Review | ✓ | ✗ |
| Branch Permissions | ✓ | ✗ |
| Jira Integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Git Deploy | ✗ | ✓ |
| Managed Postgres | ✗ | ✓ |
| Managed Redis | ✗ | ✓ |
| Add Ons | ✗ | ✓ |
| Review Apps | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pipelines | ✗ | ✓ |
| Auto Scaling | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Bitbucket Pros
- Free private repos
- Jira integration
- Built-in CI/CD
- Code review tools
✗ Bitbucket Cons
- Slower than GitHub
- UI less polished
- Smaller community
✓ Heroku Pros
- Simplest deployment experience (git push to deploy)
- Extensive add-on marketplace for databases and services
- Great for prototyping and MVPs
- Managed Postgres and Redis included
✗ Heroku Cons
- Removed free tier in 2022
- Expensive for production workloads at scale
- Limited infrastructure customization
The Verdict
Bitbucket is built for atlassian users and small teams, with a focus on git-hosting and pull-requests. Heroku targets startups and prototyping and leads with git-deploy and managed-postgres.
Pricing is close: Bitbucket starts at $3/mo versus $5/mo for Heroku — not a deciding factor on its own.
Bitbucket has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. Heroku requires a paid subscription from day one.
Feature-wise, Heroku offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Bitbucket takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for small teams — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.