AWS Lightsail vs Heroku
Pricing data as of 2026-10-12 · refreshed weekly
AWS Lightsail (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.
AWS Lightsailvps
| $5 bundle | $5/mo |
| $7 bundle | $7/mo |
| $12 bundle | $12/mo |
| $24 bundle | $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 | AWS Lightsail | Heroku | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next.js | $5 ($5 bundle) | $5 (Eco) | tie |
| Nuxt | $5 ($5 bundle) | $5 (Eco) | tie |
| Astro | $5 ($5 bundle) | $5 (Eco) | tie |
| SvelteKit | $5 ($5 bundle) | $5 (Eco) | tie |
| Remix / React Router | $5 ($5 bundle) | $5 (Eco) | tie |
| Node.js API | $5 ($5 bundle) | $5 (Eco) | tie |
| Django | $7 ($7 bundle) | $50 (Standard-2X) | AWS Lightsail |
| FastAPI | $5 ($5 bundle) | $5 (Eco) | tie |
| Laravel | $7 ($7 bundle) | $50 (Standard-2X) | AWS Lightsail |
| Ruby on Rails | $12 ($12 bundle) | $250 (Performance-M) | AWS Lightsail |
| Spring Boot | $12 ($12 bundle) | $250 (Performance-M) | AWS Lightsail |
| WordPress | $7 ($7 bundle) | $50 (Standard-2X) | AWS Lightsail |
| Ghost | $7 ($7 bundle) | $50 (Standard-2X) | AWS Lightsail |
| Strapi | $7 ($7 bundle) | $50 (Standard-2X) | AWS Lightsail |
| Static site | $5 ($5 bundle) | $5 (Eco) | tie |
Next.js by traffic level
| Traffic | AWS Lightsail | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby / side project (~5,000/mo) | $5 ($5 bundle) | $5 (Eco) |
| Startup / small business (~50,000/mo) | $5 ($5 bundle) | $5 (Eco) |
| E-commerce (~200,000/mo) | $5 ($5 bundle) | $5 (Eco) |
| High traffic (~1,000,000/mo) | $7 ($7 bundle) | $5 (Eco) |
"+" = even the largest plan may not cover that traffic. Full breakdowns: Next.js on AWS Lightsail · Next.js on Heroku
FAQ
Is AWS Lightsail or Heroku cheaper?
AWS Lightsail is cheaper more often: at startup traffic (~50,000 visits/month) AWS Lightsail wins on 7 of 15 shared stacks, Heroku on 0, 8 tie. Price alone ignores ops work: AWS Lightsail is a VPS, Heroku is a PaaS.
What does a Next.js app cost on AWS Lightsail vs Heroku?
Cheapest fitting plan by traffic level — hobby / side project: AWS Lightsail $5/month ($5 bundle) vs Heroku $5/month (Eco); startup / small business: AWS Lightsail $5/month ($5 bundle) vs Heroku $5/month (Eco); e-commerce: AWS Lightsail $5/month ($5 bundle) vs Heroku $5/month (Eco); high traffic: AWS Lightsail $7/month ($7 bundle) vs Heroku $5/month (Eco).
What is included with AWS Lightsail and Heroku?
AWS Lightsail 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.