Heroku
Sourcegraph
| Feature | Heroku | Sourcegraph |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $5/mo | Free / from $9/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | startups, prototyping, small-teams, ruby-python-node-developers | engineering-teams, enterprises, open-source-maintainers, platform-engineers |
| Founded | 2007 | 2013 |
| Git Deploy | ✓ | ✗ |
| Managed Postgres | ✓ | ✗ |
| Managed Redis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Add Ons | ✓ | ✗ |
| Review Apps | ✓ | ✗ |
| Pipelines | ✓ | ✗ |
| Auto Scaling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Code Search | ✗ | ✓ |
| Code Navigation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Batch Changes | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Assistant | ✗ | ✓ |
| Code Insights | ✗ | ✓ |
| Notebooks | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Sourcegraph Pros
- Search across all repositories
- Excellent code navigation
- Batch Changes for mass refactoring
- Cody AI assistant
✗ Sourcegraph Cons
- Complex self-hosted setup
- Expensive for enterprise
- Learning curve for advanced features
The Verdict
Heroku is built for startups and prototyping, with a focus on git-deploy and managed-postgres. Sourcegraph targets engineering teams and enterprises and leads with code-search and code-navigation.
Pricing is close: Heroku starts at $5/mo versus $9/mo for Sourcegraph — not a deciding factor on its own.
Sourcegraph 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.
Sourcegraph edges out on user ratings (4.4 vs 4). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Feature-wise, Heroku offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Sourcegraph takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Bottom line: Sourcegraph 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.