How to Deploy Node Applications: Heroku vs Now.sh

Deploying Your Node.js Application: A Comparison of Heroku and Now.sh (Vercel)

Choosing the right platform to deploy your Node.js application can be crucial for its success. This article compares two popular options: Heroku and Now.sh (now Vercel), highlighting their strengths and weaknesses to help you make an informed decision.

Key Differences:

• Heroku: A robust, fully managed Platform as a Service (PaaS) supporting various programming languages. It excels in visual logging, comprehensive monitoring with built-in metrics, and offers a wider range of add-on services.

• Now.sh (Vercel): A cloud platform specializing in serverless functions and static sites, known for its developer-friendly command-line interface (CLI) and streamlined deployment process. It's particularly well-suited for front-end frameworks like Next.js, React, and Vue.js.

Heroku Deployment:

1. Sign-up & CLI: Create a Heroku account and install the Heroku CLI.

2. Procfile: Add a Procfile to your project root with the following line to specify the start command: web: node app.js

3. Create & Deploy: Use heroku login, heroku create, and git push heroku master to create a Heroku app and deploy your code.

4. Managing Your App: Heroku provides a rich set of commands for scaling (heroku ps:scale), viewing logs (heroku logs --tail), running locally (heroku local web), and managing environment variables (heroku config:set).

Heroku Free Plan Limitations:

• Five apps maximum.
• 512MB RAM.
• No upscaling; only one instance can run concurrently.
• Application sleeps after 30 minutes of inactivity.
• Randomly generated app names.

Now.sh (Vercel) Deployment:

1. Sign-up & CLI: Create a Now.sh account and install the CLI using npm install now -g.

2. Deployment: Navigate to your project's root and run now. This single command handles the entire deployment process. Redeployments are equally simple.

3. Customization: Customize your deployment using a now.json file or the CLI, defining environment variables, aliases, and more. You can also integrate environment variables directly into your package.json.

Now.sh (Vercel) OSS Plan Limitations:

• 1GB bandwidth.
• 100MB log storage.
• Unlimited deployments.
• Concurrent instances limited to 3 (may vary).
• No custom domains.
• No auto-scaling.

Comparison Table:

Feature	Heroku	Now.sh (Vercel)
Ease of Use	Moderate (requires Procfile)	Excellent (single now command)
Monitoring	Excellent (built-in metrics)	Good (logs via CLI and dashboard)
Scaling	Manual and autoscaling available (paid)	Automatic scaling (paid plans)
Custom Domains	Yes	Yes (paid plans)
Free Plan Limits	Significant	Bandwidth, storage, and concurrency limits
Best For	Diverse applications, robust monitoring	Front-end focused, serverless functions

Conclusion:

Both Heroku and Now.sh (Vercel) are viable choices, each catering to different needs. Now.sh's simplicity and developer-centric approach make it ideal for quick deployments and front-end projects. Heroku's comprehensive features and monitoring capabilities are better suited for larger, more complex applications requiring robust management and scaling. Consider your project's size, complexity, and your personal preferences when making your decision. Review the pricing plans for both platforms to determine which best fits your budget and resource requirements.

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