Moving from Heroku to Linode
Heroku's pricing has crept up, and you're wondering if there's a better option. Linode (now part of Akamai) offers indie cloud pricing backed by enterprise-grade infrastructure with recently relaunched managed databases. Here's an honest breakdown of what you'd gain, what you'd lose, and whether the switch makes sense for your team.
Cost Comparison
Estimated Monthly Savings
~$45/month
That's approximately 22% less per month
Managed PostgreSQL services are available, but there's no managed Redis. You'll need to self-host Redis on your compute instance.
What You'll Gain
Managed PostgreSQL is back
Linode relaunched managed databases in late 2024. You get automatic backups, high availability options, and professional database management.
Enterprise infrastructure at indie prices
Akamai's 2022 acquisition brought CDN-tier networking economics and global infrastructure investment to Linode's already-competitive pricing.
More resources per dollar
A G6 Dedicated instance with 4 GB RAM and 80 GB NVMe costs $36/month. Compare that to a single Standard-2x dyno at $50/month with 1 GB RAM.
Exceptional high-memory options
The High Memory 24 GB plan at $60/month provides 6x the RAM of Heroku's Standard-0 PostgreSQL tier at roughly the same price, ideal if you prefer self-managing your database.
Global data center coverage
25+ data centers including 8 US locations (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Fremont, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, Seattle). Full capacity available across most regions.
What You'll Lose
Managed Redis
Linode's managed database offering includes PostgreSQL and MySQL, but no Redis. You'll need to self-host Redis on your compute instance.
Integrated logging and metrics
Heroku's dashboard shows logs and metrics by default. You'll configure your own observability stack or use Linode's basic monitoring.
Built-in autoscaling
You'll monitor and scale manually, or build automation yourself.
Review apps and pipelines
Heroku's PR-based review environments don't have a direct equivalent, so you'd need to build something similar.
Add-on ecosystem
Need to send emails? Monitor errors? You'll provision and configure these services yourself.
Hands-off server maintenance
OS updates, security patches, and firewall configuration are your responsibility for compute instances. Heroku handles this invisibly.
Should You Switch?
- Cost reduction is a priority
- You're comfortable self-managing Redis (or don't need it)
- You want enterprise-grade infrastructure without enterprise pricing
- Database performance matters and you'd benefit from high-memory instances
- Your team has (or wants to develop) solid DevOps skills
- Your time is worth more than the cost savings
- You need managed Redis
- You have zero interest in any infrastructure management
- You heavily depend on Heroku add-ons that don't have easy replacements
- You need features like review apps for your development workflow
Ready to Make the Switch?
Want help with the migration? I offer a done-for-you Heroku Exit Plan service that handles the entire transition—infrastructure setup, deployment configuration, database migration, and ongoing support.
Learn more about the Heroku Exit Plan