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# Hosting options to deploy a Ruby app
- URL: https://www.jvrc.ca/hosting-options-to-deploy-a-ruby-app/
- Published: 2026-03-25T14:41:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-18T21:20:08.000Z
- Author: Javier Cervantes
- Tags: existing-topic, rubyforum

You want to deploy your a small app or you’re working on your portfolio and need to get it deployed somewhere quickly, but you’re still deciding what PAAS provider to use, below you’ll find different providers so **you can choose the best option for you**.

I selected the 3 most popular options and compare them using the following requirements:

- Always on instances
- RAM: 500MB
- CPU: 1x - shared
- Database: Cheapest available

All of the selected providers offer the following features:

- Quick setup and deployment of your application
- Built in metrics dashboards, logging basics, and standard machine health checks
- CLI to manage and configure your applications from the CLI
- SSL certificates and domain configuration (out of the box)
- Security and updates of your servers and applications.

## Heroku

#### **Pros**

- Generally easy to use.
- Build-packs allow you to push your code and the platform takes care of the rest.
- Reliable and familiar, it’s been around for 15 years.

#### **Cons**

- No free trial.
- Price can scale quickly if you need to deploy multiple apps or need more resources.
- Salesforce [announced](https://www.heroku.com/blog/an-update-on-heroku/?ref=jvrc.ca) recently that it’s going into a “*sustaining engineering model*”.

#### **Monthly pricing**

- **1 app - $13** ($7 compute + $5 storage)
- **3 apps - $36** ($21 compute + $15 storage)

#### Documentation

- [Ruby support](https://devcenter.heroku.com/categories/ruby-support?ref=jvrc.ca)
- [Student offer](https://www.heroku.com/github-students/?ref=jvrc.ca)

## Fly

#### **Pros**

- Option to use a SQLite database to get started.
- Pricing based on usage and 40% discount when you reserve compute in advance.
- Deployment based on Dockerfile, making it easier to switch to a different provider if needed.
- Provides more fine-grained controls for scaling horizontally and vertically (RAM, CPU, storage, regions, etc).

#### Cons

- No cheap/basic [managed Postgres database](https://fly.io/docs/postgres/getting-started/what-you-should-know/?ref=jvrc.ca).
- Additional charges for data transfer (Bandwidth).
- Flexibility makes configuration more complex, so you’ll need to work with extra concepts.

#### Monthly pricing

- **1 app - $6.15** ($4 compute + $2 bandwidth + $.15 storage)
- **3 apps - $18.45** ($12 compute + $6 bandwidth + $.45 storage)

#### Documentation

- [Run a Ruby App](https://fly.io/docs/languages-and-frameworks/ruby/?ref=jvrc.ca)
- [Free trial](https://fly.io/docs/about/free-trial/?ref=jvrc.ca)

## Render

#### Pros

- Same philosophy, cost structure and concepts as Heroku but cheaper as you scale
- Offers [native, fully customizable cron jobs](https://render.com/docs/cronjobs?ref=jvrc.ca).
- Native support for Docker, you can deploy using a Dockerfile in your repository.

#### Cons

- Basic database only has 256mb of storage and 256MB of RAM.
- Price can scale quickly if you need to deploy multiple apps or need more resources.
- Documentation is a bit difficult to navigate.

#### Monthly pricing

- **1 app - $13** ($7 compute + $6 storage)
- **3 apps - $39** ($21 compute + $18 storage)

#### Documentation

- [Deploy a Sidekiq Worker](https://render.com/docs/deploy-sidekiq-worker?ref=jvrc.ca)
- [Free trial](https://render.com/docs/free?ref=jvrc.ca)

If you find this information helpful, please share it with others. Any feedback or experiences deploying apps to these SaaS providers is welcomed too.