Looking for a Heroku Alternative?
Heroku popularised git push-to-deploy, but it runs on centralized cloud, retired its free tier, and locks you into one provider. Orbit brings the same push-to-deploy simplicity to the decentralized Flux cloud — with dedicated resources, no single point of failure, a free tier that stays free, and pricing from $0.99/mo.
Why developers look for a Heroku alternative
Heroku is the platform that made "git push heroku main" famous, and the developer experience is still excellent. But the reasons teams migrate away are well known:
- No more free tier. Heroku removed its free dynos in November 2022, so hobby projects and demos now cost money.
- Centralized on one cloud. Your app runs in a single provider's data centers — a single point of failure and a single company in control.
- Dyno pricing and sleeping. Paid dynos and add-ons add up, and lower tiers historically slept when idle.
- Vendor lock-in. Buildpacks and add-ons tie your workflow to the platform.
How Orbit is different
Orbit keeps the part of Heroku everyone loves — connect a repo, push, get a live URL — and runs it on the Flux decentralized cloud: thousands of independent nodes across many countries with no single point of failure. Framework detection is automatic via Nixpacks, so most Node, Python, Go, Ruby, static and full-stack apps deploy from GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket with no Dockerfile required. Every app gets dedicated CPU and RAM, there are no egress fees, the free tier is genuinely free forever, and paid plans start at $0.99/mo — no vendor lock-in.
Orbit vs Heroku at a glance
| Feature | Orbit | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | Decentralized (Flux, thousands of nodes) | Centralized (single cloud) |
| Single point of failure | No | Yes |
| Git push-to-deploy | Yes (GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket) | Yes |
| Framework auto-detect | Yes (Nixpacks, no Dockerfile) | Yes (buildpacks) |
| Free tier | Free forever | Removed in 2022 |
| Dedicated resources | Yes | Dyno-based |
| Egress / bandwidth fees | None | Possible |
| Vendor lock-in | None | Buildpacks & add-ons |
| Paid pricing | From $0.99/mo | Dyno tiers |
Which should you choose?
If you want a mature, centralized PaaS with a large add-on marketplace, Heroku remains a capable choice. If you want the same push-to-deploy flow on decentralized infrastructure with no single point of failure, a free tier that stays free, no egress fees, and no lock-in, Orbit is built for that. Your repo is the source of truth — point Orbit at it and deploy.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best Heroku alternative?
- Orbit is a decentralized Heroku alternative: git push-to-deploy on the Flux cloud with automatic framework detection, dedicated CPU and RAM, no single point of failure, no egress fees, and a free tier that stays free — paid plans from $0.99/mo.
- Does Orbit have a free tier like old Heroku?
- Yes. Orbit has a free tier that is genuinely free forever — no credit card required — unlike Heroku, which removed its free dynos in 2022. Paid plans with dedicated resources start at $0.99/mo.
- Can I deploy my Heroku app to Orbit without a Dockerfile?
- Yes. Orbit uses Nixpacks to detect your framework and build a container straight from your repository, so most apps deploy as-is from GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket with no Dockerfile.
- Is Orbit really decentralized?
- Yes. Orbit deploys your app to the Flux network — thousands of independent nodes run by many operators — so there is no single data center or company whose failure takes your app offline.