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fortrabbit vs Heroku
Short answer: Pick fortrabbit if you want managed PHP hosting with built-in scaling; pick Heroku if you want managed containers and data services for web apps. fortrabbit has a free plan; Heroku starts at $5/month.
Which to pick
Pick fortrabbit if you want…
- Managed PHP hosting with built-in scaling
- A free plan to start with
- Integrations with Composer, MySQL or SSH (on fortrabbit's list, not Heroku's)
Pick Heroku if you want…
- Managed containers and data services for web apps
- General PaaS for many languages
- Integrations with Git, Docker or Node.js (on Heroku's list, not fortrabbit's)
Side by side
- What it is
- fortrabbit:fortrabbit is a managed PHP PaaS offering automated deployments, scaling and team collaboration.
- Heroku:Heroku is a fully managed PaaS that lets developers build, deploy, and scale apps using git, containers, and managed data services.
- Best for
- fortrabbit:Managed PHP hosting with built-in scaling
- Heroku:Managed containers and data services for web apps
- Who it’s for
- fortrabbit:PHP developers, agencies and freelancers building web apps with Git and Composer.
- Heroku:Developers, teams, startups and enterprises needing simple app hosting
- Pricing
- fortrabbit:Freemium
- Heroku:Paid
- Starting price
- fortrabbit:—
- Heroku:$5/month (Eco)
- Free plan or trial
- fortrabbit:Free trial
- Heroku:—
- Plans
- fortrabbit:—
- Heroku:Eco $5 per month · Basic $7 per month · Standard-1X $25 per month · Performance-M $250 per month · Private-S $125 per month
- Works with
- fortrabbit:GitHub, Composer, MySQL, SSH, SFTP, MCP server, CLI, Public API
- Heroku:Git, GitHub, Docker, Node.js, Ruby, Java, PHP, Python
fortrabbit features
- One-click GitHub deployments. Connect a GitHub repo, detect the framework and deploy with a git push.
- Staging environments. Create isolated environments with their own domain, branch and resources.
- Automatic SSL certificates. TLS certificates are provisioned and renewed automatically for each environment.
- SSH & SFTP access. Jailed shell access with SSH keys and SFTP for file sync and inspection.
- MCP server & Agent skills. API and CLI allow AI agents or scripts to create environments, sync files and read logs.
- MySQL & backups. Managed MySQL databases with automated backups and restore options.
- Autoscaling. Storage, traffic and MySQL scale up/down automatically based on usage.
- Team collaboration. Invite teammates, share payment methods and hand over apps to clients.
Heroku features
- Dyno containers. Runs apps in smart, isolated containers with automatic scaling and patching.
- Heroku Postgres. Fully managed PostgreSQL database service optimized for developers.
- Heroku Redis. Managed key-value store with a developer-friendly experience.
- GitHub Integration. Creates disposable Review Apps for pull requests and auto-deploys on push.
- Add-ons & Buildpacks. Extend apps with 150+ third-party add-ons and community buildpacks.
- Security & Compliance. Provides PCI, HIPAA, ISO, SOC compliance and optional Shield environments.
fortrabbit vs Heroku FAQ
What is the difference between fortrabbit and Heroku?+
Heroku is a general-purpose PaaS; fortrabbit focuses exclusively on PHP with built-in scaling and no root access.
Should I use fortrabbit or Heroku?+
Pick fortrabbit if you want managed PHP hosting with built-in scaling, a free plan to start with or integrations with Composer, MySQL or SSH (on fortrabbit's list, not Heroku's). Pick Heroku if you want managed containers and data services for web apps, general PaaS for many languages or integrations with Git, Docker or Node.js (on Heroku's list, not fortrabbit's).
Is fortrabbit or Heroku free?+
fortrabbit has a free plan and paid plans. Heroku is paid, from $5/month (Eco).
Do fortrabbit and Heroku integrate with the same tools?+
Partly. Both list GitHub. fortrabbit also lists Composer, MySQL, SSH, SFTP and 9 more; Heroku also lists Git, Docker, Node.js, Ruby and 7 more.
On DevHunt
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.