Heroku vs Krystal
Pricing data as of 2026-10-05 · refreshed weekly
Heroku (paas) and Krystal (shared) overlap on 3 stacks. The table below shows the cheapest fitting plan on each for a typical startup workload (~50,000 visits/month) — list prices, no promos.
Herokupaas
| Eco | $5/mo |
| Basic | $7/mo |
| Standard-1X | $25/mo |
| Standard-2X | $50/mo |
| Performance-M | $250/mo |
Krystalshared
| Amethyst | $9.38/mo |
| Ruby | $14.74/mo |
| Emerald | $25.46/mo |
| Sapphire | $49.58/mo |
Cheapest fitting plan per stack (startup traffic)
| Stack | Heroku | Krystal | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laravel | $50 (Standard-2X) | $14.74 (Ruby) | Krystal |
| WordPress | $50 (Standard-2X) | $14.74 (Ruby) | Krystal |
| Static site | $5 (Eco) | $14.74 (Ruby) | Heroku |
Laravel by traffic level
| Traffic | Heroku | Krystal |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby / side project (~5,000/mo) | $50 (Standard-2X) | $9.38 (Amethyst) |
| Startup / small business (~50,000/mo) | $50 (Standard-2X) | $14.74 (Ruby) |
| E-commerce (~200,000/mo) | $50 (Standard-2X) | $25.46 (Emerald) |
| High traffic (~1,000,000/mo) | $50 (Standard-2X) | $49.58 (Sapphire) |
"+" = even the largest plan may not cover that traffic. Full breakdowns: Laravel on Heroku · Laravel on Krystal
FAQ
Is Heroku or Krystal cheaper?
Krystal is cheaper more often: at startup traffic (~50,000 visits/month) Heroku wins on 1 of 3 shared stacks, Krystal on 2. Price alone ignores ops work: Heroku is a PaaS, Krystal is a shared host.
What does a Laravel app cost on Heroku vs Krystal?
Cheapest fitting plan by traffic level — hobby / side project: Heroku $50/month (Standard-2X) vs Krystal $9.38/month (Amethyst); startup / small business: Heroku $50/month (Standard-2X) vs Krystal $14.74/month (Ruby); e-commerce: Heroku $50/month (Standard-2X) vs Krystal $25.46/month (Emerald); high traffic: Heroku $50/month (Standard-2X) vs Krystal $49.58/month (Sapphire).
What is included with Heroku and Krystal?
Heroku bundles SSL, Previews, Auto-deploy; not included: CDN, Image opt, Edge. Krystal bundles SSL; not included: CDN, Image opt, Edge, Previews, Auto-deploy.
How current are these prices?
They are official list prices as of 2026-10-05, 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.