Migrate Buildpack Apps Without Rewriting
Keep buildpack compatibility while deploying to your own servers or cloud VMs, eliminating dyno pricing.
Move beyond dyno pricing constraints
Heroku
A classic managed platform that made app deployments accessible for developers who wanted to ship quickly with minimal setup.
Billing ModelUsage-based dyno pricing
Best FitTeams prioritizing simplicity
Infra ControlHeroku-managed
Scaling ModelDyno-based scaling
Recommended
dFlow
A portable deployment platform for teams that want Heroku-like workflow speed with deeper infrastructure ownership and lower long-term lock-in.
Platform FeeFree (self-hosted)
Deployment ScopeApps, workers, and services
Infra ControlOwn nodes or managed option
Scaling ModelPolicy control by your team
Trade-offs that matter
side by side
Heroku simplified deployments for a generation of developers. dFlow extends that model with modern infrastructure, predictable costs, and lower lock-in portability.
| Capability | Heroku | |
|---|---|---|
| Shipping Experience | ||
| Hosting model | Fully managed platform hosting | Self-hosted or dFlow-managed hosting |
| Git-based deploys | Built in | Built in |
| Custom domains and SSL | Supported | Supported with custom config options |
| Developer Workflow | ||
| Team permissions | Basic role controls | Granular roles and access controls |
| Build and runtime flexibility | Platform conventions first | More control over runtime and service behavior |
| Database strategy | Managed add-ons | Bring your own or choose managed |
| Control & Operations | ||
| Infrastructure ownership | Heroku-managed | You can fully own and run it |
| Scaling model | Dyno-based scaling | Worker-node and service-based scaling |
| Monitoring and logs | Limited by plan or add-ons | Worker-node level visibility |
| Vendor lock-in risk | Higher platform dependency | Lower lock-in with portable, self-hosted options |
| Cost model | Usage-based dyno billing | No platform fee on self-hosted; pay infrastructure costs |
| Open-source foundation | Closed-source platform | Open source core with self-hosting option |
Built for real-world Heroku use cases
Everything you run on Heroku can run on dFlow with stronger infrastructure ownership, modern operations control, and cleaner long-term economics.
Replace Dyno Workers With Real Scaling
Run worker and scheduler processes with explicit resource allocation instead of Heroku's dyno-per-process model.
Keep release simplicity with infra ownership
Private Networking Without Private Spaces Cost
Get encrypted service-to-service networking via Tailscale at a fraction of Heroku Private Spaces pricing.
Private networking for internal workloads
Consolidate Add-ons Into Your Own Stack
Run Postgres, Redis, and other services directly on your nodes instead of paying per-add-on platform margins.
Portable database and add-on strategy
Heroku BuildpacksDokkuDockerGitHubNext.jsRedisPostgreSQLTailscaleCloudflareMySQLMongoDBMariaDBHeroku BuildpacksDokkuDockerGitHubNext.jsRedisPostgreSQLTailscaleCloudflareMySQLMongoDBMariaDB
