Heroku has stopped innovating. Your platform shouldn't.
The Flexera 2026 State of the Cloud report found that 45% of organisations now run generative AI extensively in production, up from 36% a year earlier. The platform your applications run on needs to keep pace. Heroku, by its own admission, is no longer that platform.
Showoff is a certified Render partner. We migrate Heroku customers across the UK, Ireland, EMEA and the US to a faster, more cost-effective platform with near-zero downtime and a clear path for every piece of your stack, including Salesforce integrations.
What Heroku's February 2026 announcement actually means
On 6 February 2026, Heroku CPO Nitin T Bhat published An Update on Heroku confirming the platform is transitioning to a sustaining engineering model focused on stability and security, with an explicit shift away from introducing new features. Enterprise Account contracts are no longer offered to new customers.
A follow-up March 2026 update confirmed the direction: "Our mission is simple: to provide the most stable, secure, and reliable environment for your apps and data." There is no mention of new product investment.
In plain terms: Heroku is not being shut down today, but its innovation roadmap has ended. Teams that stay face rising costs with no capability growth and a harder migration the longer they wait.
Why the time to move is now
No new features
Heroku has explicitly committed to a feature freeze, as confirmed in both the February and March 2026 announcements. Competitors widen the capability gap every quarter
High and rising cost
Heroku has always carried a premium price tag. Without innovation to justify it, the cost-value equation is increasingly difficult to defend. The Flexera 2026 State of the Cloud report found that 29% of cloud spend is now wasted on idle, over-provisioned infrastructure, its first rise in five years, driven by AI workloads. Moving to Render's load-based autoscaling directly addresses this.
Enterprise contracts closed to new customers
As stated in the February 2026 announcement: "Enterprise Account contracts will no longer be offered to new customers." Teams that need expanded SLAs or dedicated support have no path forward on Heroku.
Migration debt compounds
Every sprint you stay, you add more Heroku-specific patterns that cost more to unwind. The longer you wait, the harder the move.
AI and modern tooling gap
Modern platforms offer AI-assisted deployment, MCP integration, and LLM-native workflows. Heroku's roadmap offers none of these. Gartner projects that 80% of large software-engineering organisations will run dedicated platform teams to abstract infrastructure by 2026, up from 45% in 2022. Teams on a frozen platform will struggle to meet that expectation.
Why Render is the natural landing spot
Render delivers the developer simplicity that made Heroku famous, without the cost and with an active feature roadmap. Read Render's full migration guide for a detailed technical comparison.
Key Render advantages over Heroku (2026):
- Zero-downtime deploys (not available on Heroku)
- Full-stack PR preview environments (not available on Heroku)
- Persistent disks (Heroku filesystem is ephemeral)
- Autoscaling on all plans (Heroku requires Enterprise tier)
- Private networking built-in at no extra cost (Heroku charges for Private Spaces)
- SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA on all tiers, not just Enterprise
- Up to $10,000 in migration credits for teams moving from Heroku
- Actively shipping new features
| Capability | Heroku (2026) | Render |
|---|---|---|
| Git-push deployments | Yes | Yes, with zero-downtime deploys |
| Managed PostgreSQL | Available, expensive | Included, with point-in-time recovery |
| Autoscaling | Enterprise tier only | Load-based, all plans |
| Private networking | Private Spaces (expensive) | Built-in, no extra cost |
| PR preview environments | Not available | Full-stack PR previews |
| Persistent disks | Not available | Available |
| DDoS mitigation | Add-on required | Built-in, all services |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 / HIPAA | Enterprise tier only | All tiers |
| New feature development | Frozen | Actively shipping |
| Enterprise contracts | Closed to new customers | Available |
| Migration credits | None | Up to $10,000 |
| Infrastructure as Code | Limited | Native (render.yaml) |
Replace Heroku Connect with StackSync
If you use Heroku Connect to sync Salesforce data with your Postgres database, this migration is the right time to upgrade to a modern alternative.
Why StackSync over Heroku Connect
Heroku Connect provides near-real-time, limited-direction replication between Salesforce and Heroku Postgres. StackSync replaces this with real-time, bidirectional sync at millisecond latency across Salesforce, your Postgres database on Render, and over 1,000 other connectors.
| Feature | Heroku Connect | StackSync |
|---|---|---|
| Sync direction | One-way / limited | True bidirectional |
| Sync latency | Near real-time (minutes) | Milliseconds |
| Non-Salesforce connectors | None | 1,000+ |
| Platform dependency | Heroku only | Any platform |
| AI workflow agents | No | Yes |
| Compliance | n/a | SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA |
| Future roadmap | Frozen | Actively shipping |
Real-world migration: ACERTUS migrated from Heroku Connect to StackSync as part of a broader platform modernisation, achieving real-time bidirectional Salesforce sync without any Heroku dependency.
Why Showoff
Showoff is uniquely placed for this migration. Most Heroku customers are also Salesforce customers. We are a Salesforce Crest Partner and a certified Render partner, meaning we handle the full migration across platform, data, and integrations, without handoffs between multiple vendors.
Salesforce Crest Partner
Certified across Salesforce, MuleSoft, and Agentforce since 2017. We know your existing Salesforce stack.
Certified Render Partner
Qualified to plan and execute Heroku-to-Render migrations, including access to Render's migration credit programme.
UK, Ireland, EMEA and US
Based in Ireland, experienced with GDPR, UK data protection, and cross-border data residency, all of which are relevant when migrating cloud infrastructure.
Integration specialists
MuleSoft and custom API experts. We replace Heroku Connect with StackSync and ensure your integration layer is more capable after migration, not just equivalent.
"Showoff has really gone the extra mile in understanding our in-depth business processes to deliver this vital project. No ask has been too big or small and the agility and customer focused approach has been a breath of fresh air." Andy Lane, Marketing Director, Kwik Fit
"Showoff helped us navigate an incredibly complex project and built the digital foundation that lets us analyse our customer profiles and target them directly. As a result, we have been able to sell more and retain more customers." Mark Kelly, Digital Director, National Express
"We see Showoff as trusted advisors in dealing with highly technical data issues. They helped us create a 360 degree view of our customers and the advice and guidance to both the in-house team and third parties has been invaluable." David Watson, Head of CRM Transformation, British Airways
The migration process
Stage 1 - Discovery and scoping
We audit your Heroku dynos, Postgres databases, add-ons, and Heroku Connect configuration. Every component is mapped to its Render equivalent and risks are identified before work begins.
Stage 2 - Render environment build
We provision your Render services, databases, private networking, and environment variables using infrastructure as code (render.yaml). Preview environments are configured for your CI/CD pipeline.
Stage 3 - Data migration and integration switch
Database migration with point-in-time recovery. Heroku Connect is replaced with StackSync. Custom domains and TLS certificates are issued automatically by Render.
Stage 4 - Cutover and stabilisation
Old and new environments run in parallel until confidence is established, then a near-zero-downtime cutover is executed. Monitoring, logging, and autoscaling are validated before handover.
Migration credits note: Render offers up to $10,000 in migration credits for teams moving from Heroku. As a certified Render partner, Showoff can help you apply for and maximise this credit as part of your migration engagement.
Frequently asked questions
Is Heroku shutting down completely?
No. As confirmed in the February 2026 announcement, Heroku is moving to a sustaining engineering model. No new features, Enterprise contracts closed to new customers, but existing services continue. The concern is the long-term direction and value trajectory, not an immediate shutdown.
Will we experience downtime?
Near-zero-downtime is achievable for most workloads using parallel environments and DNS switching. For very large databases, Render's team (engaged via Showoff) offers a dedicated low-downtime path. See Render's migration guide for detail.
We use Heroku Connect for Salesforce data sync. What replaces it?
Showoff recommends StackSync as the replacement for Heroku Connect. StackSync provides real-time, bidirectional sync between Salesforce and your Postgres database on Render, with millisecond latency rather than Heroku Connect's near-real-time polling. StackSync also supports 1,000+ additional connectors, is SOC 2 / ISO 27001 / HIPAA certified, and runs independently of any hosting platform.
What replaces Heroku add-ons?
Most have direct equivalents: Heroku Postgres becomes Render Postgres; Heroku Redis becomes Render Key Value; Heroku Scheduler becomes Render Cron Jobs; Heroku Connect is replaced by StackSync; Papertrail is replaced by Render log streaming. Showoff maps every add-on during discovery.
How long does a Heroku-to-Render migration take?
A simple web service with a Postgres database can be done in days. Larger environments with Heroku Connect, multiple services, and custom add-ons typically take two to six weeks. Showoff scopes this accurately during discovery before any commitment.
Are migration credits available from Render?
Yes, up to $10,000. As a Render partner, Showoff can help you apply and structure the engagement to maximise what is available.
Does Showoff work with clients in the UK and US?
Yes. We serve clients across the UK, Ireland, EMEA, and the US. Clients include Kwik Fit, National Express, British Airways, and Bentley.
Ready to move on your own terms?
Get a free scoping call. We will assess your Heroku environment, map the migration path, and give you a clear picture of what it takes with no surprises.
