Side by side
Heroku vs Vela
Both stand on continuous integration software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Paid APIWeb
Visit Heroku Paid APILinuxMac+3
Vela combines containerized pipeline execution, reusable workflow features, plugins, and secret controls in a self-hosted framework. Its GitHub activation requirements and deployment responsibilities matter when assessing fit.
Visit VelaThe facts
| Heroku | Vela | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | Not published |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Web | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Eco dyno: $5 a month | Not published |
| Plans published | 4 | None |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | heroku.com | go-vela.github.io |
| On continuous integration software | #53 of 58 | #57 of 58 |
Heroku: what it does well
Vela: what it does well
- Free and open source
- Ephemeral containers isolate pipeline steps
- Sequential, parallel, and matrix workflows
- Custom Docker plugins supported
- Pull request checks and self-hosted runners
What to know first
- GitHub admin access required for repository activation
- Local CLI runs cannot access stored secrets
- Merge queues require GitHub SCM
- Kubernetes runtime lacks artifact collection