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Google App Engine vs Heroku: What are the differences?
- Scalability: Google App Engine and Heroku have different approaches to scalability. App Engine provides automatic scaling where it dynamically allocates resources based on the application's needs. On the other hand, Heroku allows manual scaling by letting developers choose the number of dynos, which are containers where applications run. This gives developers more control over scalability but requires manual adjustments.
- Pricing model: Google App Engine uses a pay-as-you-go model, where you only pay for the resources you use. It offers a free tier for basic usage. Heroku, on the other hand, has a more transparent pricing model with fixed plans for different levels of usage. This can be advantageous for predictable workloads but may not be as cost-effective for fluctuating usage patterns.
- Ease of deployment: Heroku makes deployment easy with its simple and streamlined process. Developers can push their code to the Heroku Git repository, and the platform handles the rest, automatically building and deploying the application. App Engine also provides an easy deployment process, but it requires developers to use the App Engine SDK and configure the deployment settings.
- Supported languages: Heroku offers support for a wide range of programming languages, including Ruby, Node.js, Java, Python, and more. App Engine also supports several languages, but it has a more limited selection compared to Heroku. This can be a key factor for developers who prefer working with a specific language.
- Backend services: Google App Engine provides built-in support for various backend services like Cloud Datastore for NoSQL databases, Cloud Storage for file storage, and more, making it easier for developers to build and integrate these services into their applications. Heroku, on the other hand, does not offer such built-in services and requires developers to integrate with external providers.
- Vendor lock-in: While both platforms allow you to build and deploy applications, there is a difference in vendor lock-in. Heroku is a platform built on top of infrastructure providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), which means you can easily switch to another provider if needed. Google App Engine, however, is a more integrated platform and comes with some level of vendor lock-in, as the backend services and infrastructure are tightly linked to Google Cloud Platform.
In Summary, Google App Engine and Heroku differ in their approach to scalability, pricing model, ease of deployment, supported languages, availability of built-in backend services, and level of vendor lock-in.
As I was running through freeCodeCamp's curriculum, I was becoming frustrated by Replit's black box nature as a shared server solution for Node app testing. I wanted to move into a proper workflow with Git and a dedicated deployment solution just for educational or non-commercial purposes. Heroku solved that for me in spades.
Not only does Heroku support free app deployment if you don't use their extra service handlers, but you can directly hook into your GitHub repos and automatically update the app whenever you commit to the main branch. It's a simple way to get an app running as fast as possible if you wish to share a proof of concept or prototype before moving to dedicated servers.
The Friendliest.app started on Heroku (both app and db) like most of my projects. The db on Heroku was on the cusp of becoming prohibitively expensive for this project.
After looking at options and reading recommendations we settled on Render to host both the application and db. Render's pricing model seems to scale more linearly with the application instead of the large pricing/performance jumps experienced with Heroku.
Migration to Render was extremely easy and we were able to complete both the db and application moves within 24 hours.
The only thing we're really missing on Render is a CLI. With Heroku, we could manage everything from the command line in VSCode. With Render, you need to use the web shell they provide.
I'm transitioning to Render from heroku. The pricing scale matches my usage scale, yet it's just as easy to deploy. It's removed a lot of the devops that I don't like to deal with on setting up my own raw *nix box and makes deployment simple and easy!
Clustering I don't use clustering features at the moment but when i need to set up clustering of nodes and discoverability, render will enable that where Heroku would require that I use an external service like redis.
Restarts The restarts are annoying. I understand the reasoning, but I'd rather watch my service if its got a memory leak and work to fix it than to just assume that it has memory leaks and needs to restart.
Pros of Google App Engine
- Easy to deploy145
- Auto scaling106
- Good free plan80
- Easy management62
- Scalability56
- Low cost35
- Comprehensive set of features32
- All services in one place28
- Simple scaling22
- Quick and reliable cloud servers19
- Granular Billing6
- Easy to develop and unit test5
- Monitoring gives comprehensive set of key indicators4
- Really easy to quickly bring up a full stack3
- Create APIs quickly with cloud endpoints3
- Mostly up2
- No Ops2
Pros of Heroku
- Easy deployment703
- Free for side projects459
- Huge time-saver374
- Simple scaling348
- Low devops skills required261
- Easy setup190
- Add-ons for almost everything174
- Beginner friendly153
- Better for startups150
- Low learning curve133
- Postgres hosting48
- Easy to add collaborators41
- Faster development30
- Awesome documentation24
- Simple rollback19
- Focus on product, not deployment19
- Natural companion for rails development15
- Easy integration15
- Great customer support12
- GitHub integration8
- Painless & well documented6
- No-ops6
- I love that they make it free to launch a side project4
- Free4
- Great UI3
- Just works3
- PostgreSQL forking and following2
- MySQL extension2
- Security1
- Able to host stuff good like Discord Bot1
- Sec0
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Cons of Google App Engine
Cons of Heroku
- Super expensive27
- Not a whole lot of flexibility9
- No usable MySQL option7
- Storage7
- Low performance on free tier5
- 24/7 support is $1,000 per month2
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