GitHub
Heroku
| Feature | GitHub | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $4/mo | From $5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.8 / 5 | 4 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, open-source-teams, engineering-teams, startups | startups, prototyping, small-teams, ruby-python-node-developers |
| Founded | 2008 | 2007 |
| Repositories | ✓ | ✗ |
| Pull Requests | ✓ | ✗ |
| Actions Ci Cd | ✓ | ✗ |
| Copilot | ✓ | ✗ |
| Issues | ✓ | ✗ |
| Projects | ✓ | ✗ |
| Codespaces | ✓ | ✗ |
| Git Deploy | ✗ | ✓ |
| Managed Postgres | ✗ | ✓ |
| Managed Redis | ✗ | ✓ |
| Add Ons | ✗ | ✓ |
| Review Apps | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pipelines | ✗ | ✓ |
| Auto Scaling | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ GitHub Pros
- Industry standard for open-source
- GitHub Actions CI/CD included free
- Copilot AI integration
- Massive developer community
✗ GitHub Cons
- Free private repos limited on some features
- Actions minutes limited on free tier
- Can be complex for non-developers
✓ 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
GitHub is built for developers and open source teams, with a focus on repositories and pull-requests. Heroku targets startups and prototyping and leads with git-deploy and managed-postgres.
Pricing is close: GitHub starts at $4/mo versus $5/mo for Heroku — not a deciding factor on its own.
GitHub 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.
GitHub edges out on user ratings (4.8 vs 4). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Both tools are a solid fit for startups — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: GitHub has a slight overall edge — but if simplest deployment experience (git push to deploy) matters most to you, Heroku may still be the right call.
