Since Heroku's free tier ended, several platforms have picked up the teams looking to move.

1. 1.Render — a simpler, more affordable option for smaller projects and side projects, with predictable pricing, though it lacks the edge footprint of the larger platforms ¹
2. 2.Railway — known for a clean UI and a genuinely fast setup, popular with indie developers and small teams, though it's a newer platform with a smaller track record at scale
3. 3.Netlify — a close alternative with similar developer experience and a strong plugin ecosystem, particularly popular for static sites and Jamstack, though its serverless function limits are tighter than some competing platforms' ²

Pricing model is worth comparing closely — usage-based billing can get expensive fast during a traffic spike, while some of these platforms cap costs more predictably. ³