Used For

• +**Your Node app works locally but deploying means 3 hours of server config hell** → Push to Git, auto-deploys in 5 minutes with zero downtime
• +**You're paying Heroku $25/month for a hobby project that makes $0** → Free tier includes PostgreSQL trial and actual compute power
• +**Every code change requires manual server updates and prayer** → Git pushes trigger automatic builds, no SSH or terminal gymnastics
• +Preview environments for pull requests — test changes before they hit production without spinning up separate servers
• +Auto-scaling that actually works — handles traffic spikes without the AWS complexity tax

Best For

• >Your manual deploys take 2 hours and break half the time
• >Hit the Heroku paywall but AWS feels like rocket science
• >Side projects that need databases but can't justify $25/month

Not For

• -Non-developers or teams without Git knowledge — this isn't drag-and-drop, you need actual code
• -Anyone needing always-on free services — the 15-minute sleep timer will ruin your demos
• -Global apps needing edge performance — only 4 regions and no CDN magic like Vercel

Pairs With

• *GitHub (where your code lives and triggers auto-deploys on every push)
• *PostgreSQL (built-in managed database that's free for 90 days then $7/month)
• *Stripe (for payments since you're probably building a SaaS)
• *Vercel (many teams use this for frontend and Render for backend APIs)
• *Supabase (popular combo for auth/database while Render handles the app hosting)
• *Redis (Render's Key-Value store for caching and sessions)

The Catch

• !Free services go to sleep after 15 minutes of inactivity, causing 30-60 second cold starts that kill demos
• !The $19/month Professional plan is basically mandatory — free tier caps at 2 custom domains total
• !Build timeouts hit fast on large projects — that 10-minute limit will bite you with complex dependencies

Bottom Line

Heroku's cheaper sibling that actually sleeps when you're not looking — great for real apps, rough for demos.