Capabilities()
Infrastructure
Provision, manage, and monitor servers.
Compute
Run containers, VMs, and functions easily.
Networking
Built-in load balancing, DNS, & service discovery.
Storage
Integrated support for LVM, iSCSI, & Ceph.
Observability
Real-time metrics, events, and logs.
Automation
Automatic updates, pipelines, and IaC.
Reference()
Platform DocumentationAPI Reference
Objectives()
For Serious Builders
Read the manifesto and reclaim your sanity.
Developers
Focus on code, not config.
DevOps Engineers
Automate the boring stuff.
Infrastructure Teams
Manage everything from a single control plane.
Compare()
vs. Kubernetesvs. Herokuvs. Portainervs. Nomadvs. VMware
Documentation()
Quick Start GuidePlatform DocumentationPortal DocumentationLearn CenterAPI Reference
Resources()
Changelog
Platform releases, features, and fixes.
Platform Status
Live uptime data and incident reports.
About Us
The team building Cycle and why we built it.
Our Blog
Engineering deep-dives, product updates, and industry takes.
DevOps Toolbox
Free converters and utilities for everyday DevOps work.
Partners
Native integrations with the providers you already use.
Community()
Cycle CommunitySlack CommunityGithubContact Us
PricingLogin
Get Started
Cycle
Cycle.io
vs
Heroku

Experience the difference.

Stop struggling with expensive dynos and black-box infrastructure. Discover why teams are leaving the limitations of Heroku behind for Cycle's automated control plane.

>_COMPARE.TRADEOFFS()

The orchestration trade-off.

Evaluating the balance between power, maintenance, and usability.

Simplicity

CycleHigh
HerokuHigh

Pioneered the git-push-to-deploy developer experience, abstracting away infrastructure entirely so teams can ship apps without touching servers, networks, or runtimes.

Customizability

CycleHigh
HerokuLow

Opinionated buildpack and dyno model intentionally constrains low-level control, limiting custom networking, OS-level tuning, and bring-your-own-infrastructure scenarios.

Operational Burden

CycleMinimal
HerokuMinimal

Fully managed runtime handles patching, scaling, and platform upgrades automatically, though add-on sprawl and dyno costs can grow unpredictably at scale.'

>_COMPARE.CAPABILITIES()

What's in the box.

The platform is the product here. Integrated, supported, and kept current for you.

Features & Capabilities
Cycle
Heroku
Infrastructure & Compute
Bring Your Own Infrastructure (BYOI)
Yes
No
Managed platform only
Automated OS / Kernel Updates
Yes
Yes
Container, VM, & Serverless Support
Yes
No
Dynos / containers only
Networking & Security
Zero-Config Encrypted Mesh Network
Yes
No
Private Spaces only on Enterprise
Automated Let's Encrypt TLS
Yes
Yes
Automated Certificate Management
Built-in Dynamic Load Balancing & WAF
Yes
Partial
Built-in routing, WAF via add-ons
Storage & Telemetry
Seamless Stateful Volume Migration
Yes
No
Ephemeral filesystem, no persistent volumes
Agentless Metrics, Logs & Events
Yes
No
Built-in metrics, deeper visibility via add-ons
Developer Experience
Immutable Configuration (No Drift)
Yes
Partial
app.json / Procfile driven
Native Two-Way SSH / Secure Console
Yes
Partial
heroku run / heroku ps:exec
>_DEPLOYMENT.AUTOMATION()

Want to see what Cycle can do for you?

Experience the only control plane that natively orchestrates Containers, VMs, and Functions across any provider with a fully automated networking fabric.

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