What happened to Glitch.com and what is the best alternative?

Glitch.com shut down in July 2025 after years of serving the developer community. WebSlop is the best free alternative, offering the same instant deployment, browser-based editing, and live URLs that made Glitch great — plus AI/MCP integration for the modern era.

Is WebSlop really free?

Yes! WebSlop offers a free tier with generous limits. You can create apps, get live URLs, use the browser-based editor, and connect AI tools — all at no cost. Premium tiers are available for teams and higher resource limits.

Can I deploy Node.js apps for free on WebSlop?

Absolutely. WebSlop supports Node.js app hosting and static site hosting. Create a project, write your code in the browser editor or push via Git, and your app gets a live URL instantly at yourapp.webslop.ai.

How do I use AI to build and deploy apps on WebSlop?

WebSlop integrates with Claude Code, Codex, and any MCP-compatible AI tool. Add WebSlop as an MCP server, authenticate with a simple 6-digit code, and your AI can create projects, edit files, and deploy apps programmatically.

Where can I host my projects now that Glitch shut down?

WebSlop is built specifically as a Glitch.com replacement. It offers the same features — instant deploys, browser-based editing, live URLs, auto-sleep — plus modern additions like AI integration, Git support, and two-factor authentication.

Does WebSlop support custom subdomains?

Yes. Every app on WebSlop gets a unique subdomain at yourapp.webslop.ai with instant DNS resolution and automatic HTTPS. No DNS configuration needed.

10 Best Heroku Alternatives in 2026 (Free & Paid)

WebSlop

Our Pick

WebSlop is a Glitch-inspired platform that combines a browser-based code editor with instant Node.js hosting. Unlike Heroku, it includes a full Monaco editor in the browser, real-time collaboration, and auto-sleep/wake functionality that keeps your free tier apps responsive without running 24/7.

✓Free tier with 75 hrs/mo, 512MB RAM, and auto-sleep/wake (no cold start penalty)

✓Built-in browser code editor with real-time collaboration and version history

✓Git push-to-deploy works seamlessly alongside the browser editor

✓MCP/AI integration lets you manage apps through Claude and other AI assistants

✓Dynamic subdomains assigned automatically for every app

✗Currently supports Node.js only (no Python, Ruby, Java, or Go)

✗Smaller ecosystem and fewer add-ons compared to Heroku Marketplace

✗Free tier has 256MB storage limit per user

Pricing:Free: $0 (75 hrs/mo, 512MB RAM). Starter: $5/mo. Glitch: $8/mo. Pro: $15/mo. Business: $30/mo.

Render

Render is widely considered the most direct Heroku replacement, offering a similar Git-based deployment workflow with automatic builds and managed infrastructure. It supports web services, static sites, background workers, cron jobs, and managed PostgreSQL databases.

✓Very similar workflow to Heroku with Git-based auto deploys

✓Managed PostgreSQL and Redis included with generous free tiers

✓Infrastructure as code with render.yaml blueprint files

✗Free tier services spin down and have 30-60 second cold starts

✗No built-in add-on marketplace like Heroku had

✗Scaling can get expensive compared to raw cloud providers

Pricing:Free tier available. Individual: from $7/mo. Team: from $19/mo per service.

Railway

Railway offers one-click deploys from GitHub with an intuitive dashboard that shows real-time logs, metrics, and environment management. It supports any language with Nixpacks auto-detection and includes built-in database provisioning.

✓Fastest deploy times of any Heroku alternative

✓One-click PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, and MongoDB provisioning

✓Clean usage-based pricing with no surprise charges

✗No persistent free tier; only a one-time $5 trial credit

✗No browser editor for in-place file editing

✗Hobby plan has a $5/mo subscription on top of usage

Pricing:Trial: $5 free credit. Hobby: $5/mo + usage. Pro: $20/mo per seat + usage.

Fly.io

Fly.io deploys applications as lightweight Firecracker VMs across global edge locations, making it ideal for latency-sensitive applications. It runs any Docker image and provides built-in Postgres clusters, persistent volumes, and private networking.

✓True global edge deployment in 30+ worldwide regions

✓Full VM isolation (not shared containers) for better security

✓Supports any Docker image including custom runtimes

✗Requires CLI tooling and Dockerfiles; steeper learning curve than Heroku

✗Free tier requires credit card and has been reduced over time

✗Networking and multi-region setup complexity

Pricing:Free allowance: 3 shared VMs, 3GB storage. Pay-as-you-go from ~$1.94/mo per VM.

DigitalOcean App Platform

DigitalOcean App Platform is a managed PaaS that auto-detects your app type and deploys from GitHub, GitLab, or container registries. It integrates tightly with DigitalOcean's broader infrastructure including Droplets, Managed Databases, and Spaces object storage.

✓Predictable flat-rate pricing with no surprise overage charges

✓Seamless integration with DigitalOcean Droplets and managed databases

✓Supports Node.js, Python, Go, PHP, Ruby, and Docker

✗Free tier limited to static sites only; backend services start at $5/mo

✗No browser-based code editor

✗Auto-scaling options are limited compared to competitors

Pricing:Free for static sites. Basic: from $5/mo. Professional: from $12/mo.

Koyeb

Koyeb is a developer-friendly serverless platform with automatic scaling, global deployment, and a built-in CI/CD pipeline. It supports Git-based deployments, Docker containers, and has a special focus on deploying AI/ML applications.

✓Global edge deployment with automatic scaling to zero

✓Built-in CI/CD from GitHub with zero configuration needed

✓Native GPU instance support for AI/ML workloads

✗Free tier is limited to a single nano instance

✗Smaller community and fewer integrations than Heroku

✗Limited logging and monitoring on lower tiers

Pricing:Free: 1 nano service. Starter: from $5.50/mo. Enterprise: Custom pricing.

Vercel

Vercel excels at deploying frontend frameworks and full-stack applications using serverless functions. Created by the team behind Next.js, it provides instant global CDN deployment, preview environments for every Git branch, and edge functions.

✓Best-in-class deployment experience for Next.js and React apps

✓Automatic preview deployments for every pull request

✓Global edge network with excellent performance

✗Not suitable for traditional long-running server processes

✗Serverless function limits (10s on free, 60s on Pro)

✗Vendor lock-in with Next.js-specific features

Pricing:Hobby: Free. Pro: $20/mo per member. Enterprise: Custom.

Adaptable.io

Adaptable.io focuses on making cloud deployment as simple as possible with auto-detection of your framework and automatic infrastructure provisioning. It supports Node.js, Python, and Go applications with managed PostgreSQL and MongoDB databases.

✓Extremely simple deployment with automatic framework detection

✓Managed databases included at no extra cost on paid plans

✓Straightforward pricing without complex usage calculations

✗Limited language support compared to Heroku

✗Smaller team and community; fewer resources and tutorials

✗Feature set is still maturing compared to established platforms

Pricing:Free tier with limited resources. Starter: $7/mo. Growth: $15/mo.

Deta

Deta offers a forever-free cloud platform focused on lightweight apps and microservices. It provides Deta Space for personal cloud computing and supports Python and Node.js with built-in NoSQL and file storage.

✓Completely free with no credit card required

✓Built-in NoSQL database (Deta Base) and file storage (Deta Drive)

✓Simple CLI-based deployment with near-instant deploys

✗Limited to lightweight apps; not suitable for resource-intensive workloads

✗Only supports Node.js and Python runtimes

✗Limited community size and third-party integrations

Pricing:Free forever with generous limits. No paid tiers currently available.

#10

Heroku

Heroku was the original PaaS that popularized Git-based deployment and coined the term "dyno" for app containers. While it removed its free tier in 2022, it still offers a polished deployment experience with a massive add-on marketplace and support for multiple languages.

✓Largest add-on marketplace with hundreds of integrations

✓Mature platform with excellent documentation and reliability

✓Supports Node.js, Python, Ruby, Java, PHP, Go, Scala, and Clojure

✗No free tier since November 2022; minimum $5/mo per dyno

✗Significantly more expensive than newer alternatives

✗Platform has seen less innovation since Salesforce acquisition

Pricing:Eco: $5/mo (shared, sleeps). Basic: $7/mo. Standard: $25/mo. Performance: $250/mo.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Why did Heroku remove its free tier?▾

Heroku removed its free tier in November 2022, citing abuse from crypto miners, spammers, and bot networks that consumed disproportionate resources. The decision came after Salesforce acquired Heroku and shifted focus toward enterprise customers. Free dynos, free PostgreSQL, and free Redis were all discontinued.

What is the cheapest Heroku alternative for Node.js apps?▾

WebSlop offers the most generous free tier for Node.js apps, with 75 hours per month, 512MB RAM, and a built-in browser editor at no cost. For paid plans, WebSlop starts at $5/mo compared to Heroku's minimum $5/mo Eco dyno, but WebSlop includes more resources and features at each tier.

Can I migrate my Heroku app to another platform easily?▾

Yes, most Heroku alternatives support Git-based deployment, so if your app is in a Git repository you can deploy it to Render, Railway, Fly.io, or WebSlop with minimal changes. You may need to update environment variables and replace Heroku-specific add-ons with equivalent services on the new platform.

Which Heroku alternative is best for production apps?▾

For production Node.js apps, Render and Railway offer the most Heroku-like experience with managed databases and automatic deploys. Fly.io is best for globally distributed applications. WebSlop is ideal if you want the convenience of browser-based editing alongside Git deployment for rapid iteration.

Do Heroku alternatives support add-ons and managed databases?▾

Render offers managed PostgreSQL and Redis. Railway provides one-click PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, and MongoDB. Fly.io has built-in Postgres clusters. While none match Heroku's 200+ add-on marketplace, most platforms now include the essential services (databases, caching, monitoring) directly.

Best Heroku Alternatives in 2026