DigitalOcean Droplets vs Heroku
Pricing data as of 2026-10-12 · refreshed weekly
DigitalOcean Droplets (vps) and Heroku (paas) overlap on 15 stacks. The table below shows the cheapest fitting plan on each for a typical startup workload (~50,000 visits/month) — list prices, no promos.
DigitalOcean Dropletsvps
| Basic 512MB | $4/mo |
| Basic 1GB | $6/mo |
| Basic 2GB | $12/mo |
| Basic 4GB | $24/mo |
Herokupaas
| Eco | $5/mo |
| Basic | $7/mo |
| Standard-1X | $25/mo |
| Standard-2X | $50/mo |
| Performance-M | $250/mo |
Cheapest fitting plan per stack (startup traffic)
| Stack | DigitalOcean Droplets | Heroku | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next.js | $4 (Basic 512MB) | $5 (Eco) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Nuxt | $4 (Basic 512MB) | $5 (Eco) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Astro | $4 (Basic 512MB) | $5 (Eco) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| SvelteKit | $4 (Basic 512MB) | $5 (Eco) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Remix / React Router | $4 (Basic 512MB) | $5 (Eco) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Node.js API | $4 (Basic 512MB) | $5 (Eco) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Django | $6 (Basic 1GB) | $50 (Standard-2X) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| FastAPI | $4 (Basic 512MB) | $5 (Eco) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Laravel | $6 (Basic 1GB) | $50 (Standard-2X) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Ruby on Rails | $12 (Basic 2GB) | $250 (Performance-M) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Spring Boot | $12 (Basic 2GB) | $250 (Performance-M) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| WordPress | $6 (Basic 1GB) | $50 (Standard-2X) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Ghost | $6 (Basic 1GB) | $50 (Standard-2X) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Strapi | $6 (Basic 1GB) | $50 (Standard-2X) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Static site | $4 (Basic 512MB) | $5 (Eco) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
Next.js by traffic level
| Traffic | DigitalOcean Droplets | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby / side project (~5,000/mo) | $4 (Basic 512MB) | $5 (Eco) |
| Startup / small business (~50,000/mo) | $4 (Basic 512MB) | $5 (Eco) |
| E-commerce (~200,000/mo) | $6 (Basic 1GB) | $5 (Eco) |
| High traffic (~1,000,000/mo) | $12 (Basic 2GB) | $5 (Eco) |
"+" = even the largest plan may not cover that traffic. Full breakdowns: Next.js on DigitalOcean Droplets · Next.js on Heroku
FAQ
Is DigitalOcean Droplets or Heroku cheaper?
DigitalOcean Droplets is cheaper for all 15 stacks both can run, at startup traffic (~50,000 visits/month). Price alone ignores ops work: DigitalOcean Droplets is a VPS, Heroku is a PaaS.
What does a Next.js app cost on DigitalOcean Droplets vs Heroku?
Cheapest fitting plan by traffic level — hobby / side project: DigitalOcean Droplets $4/month (Basic 512MB) vs Heroku $5/month (Eco); startup / small business: DigitalOcean Droplets $4/month (Basic 512MB) vs Heroku $5/month (Eco); e-commerce: DigitalOcean Droplets $6/month (Basic 1GB) vs Heroku $5/month (Eco); high traffic: DigitalOcean Droplets $12/month (Basic 2GB) vs Heroku $5/month (Eco).
What is included with DigitalOcean Droplets and Heroku?
DigitalOcean Droplets is a VPS with nothing bundled — CDN, TLS automation, previews and deploys are yours to set up. Heroku bundles SSL, Previews, Auto-deploy; not included: CDN, Image opt, Edge.
How current are these prices?
They are official list prices as of 2026-10-12, re-checked against each provider's pricing page on a weekly cycle. Intro promos and coupons are not used in totals; taxes are not included unless a plan note says so.