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Amazon Lightsail vs Heroku comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon Lightsail
Ranking in PaaS Clouds
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Heroku
Ranking in PaaS Clouds
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the PaaS Clouds category, the mindshare of Amazon Lightsail is 1.5%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Heroku is 2.8%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
PaaS Clouds
 

Featured Reviews

Vitor Gabriel Reis Lux Barboza - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides preconfigured templates for common setups and allows for easy configuration of firewall settings directly from the console
There were templates for Ubuntu, for instance, that I used. I used it if I remember, going to 20.04, I guess. It was ready, and I just used the template and it worked well. There is a template for Windows Server, but I didn't test them. Also, the configurations over the firewall in the console work very good for the purpose that we need to isolate it from the internet but allow the connection from specific IP addresses in specific ports. So the filtering in the Lightsail Firewall works good. And I am able to isolate the virtual machine well from the internet in order to avoid DDoS attacks and stuff like that.
Faizan Haider - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for server deployment and provides auto maintenance of databases
Heroku is deployed on the cloud. We can deploy our private and public projects over at Heroku. Most of the time, when we are starting any new project from scratch, we have to implement our MVP for that project or the core idea. We are unsure how our traffic flow will go or the actual production environment requirements. We don't want to spend the most on the server sites, so then we can use it with our go-to plan for Heroku, and all the resources are available in the basic plan with the minimum expenses. So, it helps us to deploy and make our features available online at the minimum cost. Once we know our needs, we can add the professional add-ons and shift it to another platform. Heroku supports any resource listed in the marketplace. We just have to deploy our AI solutions, and Heroku can also support AI projects. I would recommend the solution to other users. I advise users not to purchase extra add-ons but to make scalable resources so that they can use all the resources efficiently. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"EC2 instances are pre-configured and upgraded, so you can simply select and instantly pay for an EC2 instance to set up WordPress, Node.js, or a server container using Docker."
"The most valuable features are the usability and customer service."
"The instances optimized for WordPress are very lightweight and straightforward in configuration."
"One of the product's most valuable features is its fixed pricing, which makes it ideal for small projects and websites that do not require scaling."
"In Lightsail, they simplified to do it in as few clicks as possible. So, around ten clicks, I have a virtual machine deployed."
"We use Amazon Lightsail for hosting security components in-house and AI modules."
"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"We use Heroku to run generic data. We also use it for our customer development environment. It helps us to build and test websites."
"What I found most valuable about this solution is that it's easy to use and integrate with GitHub actions."
"One of the best things about Heroku is that it is very easy and straightforward to deploy an application."
"The most valuable feature of Heroku is the continuous integration and applications it provides."
"Valuable for us was the fast deployment. This means the time to market is improved without pain for developers."
"The platform is very Node.js-friendly, which is something that is important to us."
"It is easy to deploy applications, and we don't need to bother about software updates on the server. We don't need to bother about machines, servers, and hardware. We only need to care about the system and functionality that we need or want to develop. They take care of everything else. It provides high availability. It is a pretty good solution that provides everything that we need. It has everything that we need to run our applications. We have many different applications, and we generate three million bills for a company in Brazil. We see more than a billion requests per day in another application. Everything works just fine, and it is very good."
"The product is stable."
 

Cons

"When you need to add some custom rules to Amazon Lightsail, the auto scaling feature is a bit difficult."
"Backward compatibility and the flexibility to choose software versions while installing would be improvements."
"The product's network features need enhancement."
"The solution could be smoother than it is."
"Currently, there is limited support available while installing or configuring it, and resources are primarily available through community-contributed articles."
"I don't see this solution as enterprise-ready, for bigger companies like banks."
"To improve, I feel the disk management is too basic. I can't easily partition the disk for the operating system. I have to follow the main configuration that is already set up in the template. To partition the disk, I would need to deploy the operating system first and then make changes, but it's not an ideal method. I would recommend improving the disk management."
"We would like to be notified when something goes wrong in the process. When something is not working, we should get an alert."
"I think this solution would be improved if free demos were available indefinitely."
"I improved the application performance by monitoring and adjusting the cleaner configuration to help set better lightweight limits on containers that run the app instances."
"Heroku should increase its slug size limits."
"The pricing could be improved because scaling the database becomes costly."
"We have to do daily restarts of some processes, which is annoying, and the support for custom CI could be better."
"Their support is good, but they can improve their response time."
"Heroku doesn't support Docker images on the CI infrastructure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The services that it provides are good for the price."
"The prices are better than EC2 machines, for instance, because they are simplified management, but it works well, and I am able to run everything that I need on it."
"A few months ago, Lightsail's pricing increased, likely due to the addition of the new VPC feature."
"It's very cheap."
"Amazon Lightsail is a bit cheaper than Amazon EC2."
"The tool is free."
"I rate the tool's pricing a three out of ten."
"There is a standard fee for a processing unit, they call them "dynos," and then you pay for add-ons."
"Its price is very good."
"The price of Heroku could be less expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Educational Organization
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Educational Organization
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon Lightsail?
In Lightsail, they simplified to do it in as few clicks as possible. So, around ten clicks, I have a virtual machine deployed.
What needs improvement with Amazon Lightsail?
Backward compatibility and the flexibility to choose software versions while installing would be improvements. Currently, only the latest versions are available, which is good for security, however...
What do you like most about Heroku?
I like the tool's scalability, CLI, and dashboards.
What needs improvement with Heroku?
I don't like that the web server crashes every day, every 24 hours. The pricing could be improved because scaling the database becomes costly. The Docker features are not great. You cannot use any ...
What is your primary use case for Heroku?
We use the solution for web applications and web APIs.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Facebook, UrbanDictionary, Code for America, Mailchimp, Rapportive, GitHub, TED, and Lyft.
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Lightsail vs. Heroku and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.