Introduction
In this technological era, cloud computing has become essential for many businesses. It not only helps in data storage but also enables easy and quick accessibility to numerous applications. When it comes to cloud computing, Heroku and AWS Elastic Beanstalk are two of the leading platforms for developers. As a cloud consulting agency, we've encountered clients weighing the pros and cons of each platform. To provide clarity, we decided to compare them side by side.
Deployment
Both Elastic Beanstalk and Heroku offer quick and straightforward deployment processes for applications. With Elastic Beanstalk, users can deploy their application with a single click. This automated process starts up an Amazon EC2 instance, installs the required software and dependencies, and deploys the application code. With Heroku, deployment is also simple and fast, and the platform provides an intuitive UI for managing application deployment.
Deployment Time
When it comes to deployment time, AWS has the upper hand. AWS Elastic Beanstalk takes significantly less time in launching an instance when compared to Heroku. Elastic Beanstalk takes around 5-7 minutes to launch an instance, while Heroku takes roughly 20-30 seconds longer.
Deployment Limit
Between the two platforms, Heroku has a 30-minute deployment time limit, while Elastic Beanstalk can take up to 60 minutes. If your application requires long deployment times, Elastic Beanstalk might be a better choice.
Pricing
Pricing is a crucial factor in choosing a cloud computing platform. Elastic Beanstalk, like most AWS offerings, follows a pay-per-use model, meaning you only pay for what you use. Heroku, on the other hand, follows a dyno-based model, where you pay for the dyno-hours you use. Dyno-hours are calculated by the amount of time your application spends running.
Comparing Prices
For those crunching numbers, let's dive into the specifics of pricing comparison between Heroku and Elastic Beanstalk. For a Ruby on Rails app with a PostgreSQL database, the following were the costs:
- Elastic Beanstalk: $32.78 for 300 hours of usage
- Heroku: $50 for 300 hours of usage
Elastic Beanstalk is the clear winner in terms of cost, costing almost 34% lower than Heroku in this scenario.
Support
Both Heroku and AWS Elastic Beanstalk have extensive documentation and support for their platforms, including forums, FAQs, tutorials, and detailed documentation. They also offer enterprise-level support.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, the better platform for your application depends on your specific needs. Elastic Beanstalk provides more flexibility and lower costs, while Heroku is more user-friendly with a shorter learning curve.
We hope this unbiased comparison of AWS Elastic Beanstalk and Heroku has provided clarity for those evaluating the two cloud computing platforms. Keep in mind that every application has unique needs, and it is essential to consider all factors before making a decision.