Heroku Private Spaces vs AWS: security, networking, and pricing compared

Heroku Private Spaces provide a managed, single-tenant application runtime on AWS with private networking, VPC peering, stable outbound IPs, managed data services, and minimal operational overhead, while self-managed AWS deployments offer greater control over cloud accounts, VPC topology, IAM, customer-managed KMS keys, audit logs, regions, instance types, GPUs, and services such as Transit Gateway and PrivateLink. The comparison emphasizes that security differences center on ownership of encryption keys, compliance evidence, audit trails, and HIPAA BAA arrangements rather than certifications alone; Shield Spaces support HIPAA and PCI-oriented controls through Salesforce, whereas AWS customers can retain direct control of keys and logs. Heroku uses fixed dyno-based pricing with no access to AWS Savings Plans, Reserved Instances, Spot capacity, credits, or enterprise discounts, while AWS infrastructure can be less expensive at scale but requires teams to build and operate the platform layer. The article positions Heroku as suitable for smaller teams with predictable, single-region workloads and no dedicated infrastructure staff, AWS as preferable for organizations needing advanced networking, multi-region deployment, cost-discount eligibility, or direct governance control, and bring-your-own-cloud platforms such as Qovery, Northflank, and Porter as a middle path that combines developer-friendly deployment workflows with infrastructure running in the customer’s own cloud account.

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