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Google App Engine vs Heroku vs Microsoft Azure comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the PaaS Clouds category, the mindshare of Google App Engine is 2.1%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Heroku is 3.3%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure is 18.8%, down from 19.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
PaaS Clouds
 

Featured Reviews

OmkarPatil - PeerSpot reviewer
Simplifies app development process for businesses
The product simplifies app development processes since once the local development is completed, my company has a common configuration in place where we can specify the requirements to run an application, after which we need to do a one-click GCP deployment for the entire application. In general, the two offer managed deployment options, so we don't have to worry about deployment. In my company, we just configure the servers and check if anything needs to be containerized, after which GCP handles everything for us. A project where Google App Engine scalability was essential was when, recently, my company was involved with Golang to build a web application, after which deploying that application on Google App Engine was really easy. In my company, we also had a Django application in Python, and it was easy to deploy. As my company deals with small-scale projects, the automated scaling feature of Google App Engine is not something we thought about. I wouldn't recommend the product to others unless the potential end users use GCP and have a word with their vendors about their plans. One specific recommendation from me would be that the product's potential uses should stick with a particular vendor. If someone wants a product that is easy to deploy and scalable, then multiple options are available in the market. The product integrates very well with other Google solutions. I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten.
Cristian-Molina - PeerSpot reviewer
Has a quick development cycle and continuous integration
The initial setup is straightforward. Heroku integrates well. You only have to push the code, and it automatically deploys the new version. Whether you have permission depends on the application. Currently, I have one application that I deploy myself. I rate the initial setup a nine out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.
Nicolas Chabrier - PeerSpot reviewer
Promotes clear, logical structures preventing impractical configurations and offers seamless integration
The only thing is regarding the management of multi-cloud environments. That's not really possible. So basically, it's wonderful if you manage Microsoft clearly and if you manage Microsoft Azure, but if you need to consume external services and have a global overview of all your consumption, it's not the case. Google, for instance, has tools that help you manage multiple environments, which makes sense because Google is really the cloud provider. So that's why they need to be compliant with the others. But for sure, Microsoft's approach is different, and it's wonderful when you're one hundred percent on Azure. But if you'd like to have something more of a multi-cloud strategy, that's a bit of a gap where they could improve.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The WhatApp feature is the most valuable."
"What I find most valuable about Google App Engine is its support for open-source development."
"The product's setup and deployment phases are easy."
"What I find most beneficial about Google App Engine is that we do not need to manage it since it's a fully managed serverless platform, allowing us to spend more time on development rather than managing and maintaining configurations."
"What I appreciate most about Google App Engine is that the deployment is significantly easier compared to a conventional Linux platform."
"The initial setup is okay. It's not too complex. Deployment took about one day."
"The features of Google App Engine that I have found most valuable for my use cases include its easy deployment process, where there is minimal configuration required, allowing a few details in a configuration file before pushing it to Google App Engine, which auto-scales and requires less maintenance with no downtime over three years."
"The functions and features of Google App Engine that I have found most valuable are that it is serverless, and the learning curve is easy to follow."
"Thanks to Heroku, we don't need to do as much direct management in AWS."
"The most valuable feature of Heroku is the continuous integration and applications it provides."
"The product is stable."
"One of the best things about Heroku is that it is very easy and straightforward to deploy an application."
"What I found most valuable about this solution is that it's easy to use and integrate with GitHub actions."
"I like the tool's scalability, CLI, and dashboards."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the auto maintenance of databases."
"It's easy to push a change and to deploy new things."
"The performance of Azure DevOps services is really impressive."
"In general, the entire suite of PaaS is valuable. It enables a true breakdown of IT siloes and allows an organization to embrace DevOps."
"The monitoring features are very good."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure is its ease of use."
"It's very easy to build a new service and get it into production."
"The valuable features of Microsoft Azure are that it is cloud-based and has good storage. The storage is completely managed by Azure. We do not need to do any patching of security because it is handled by Azure which is a benefit. The solution is fully compatible with the Microsoft technology stack and is very scalable."
"Active Directory is a good feature. The infrastructure features that Azure provides are also good."
"I know there have been a lot of improvements and a lot of new services lately. I'm really not aware of all of them."
 

Cons

"The main drawback with Google App Engine's standard environment was its restrictions. We could not work with file systems, run shell scripts from the environment, or use WebSockets."
"The areas of Google App Engine I would to see improved or enhanced in the future include expanding inbuilt support for more programming languages than the current limited options such as Python, Go, and Node, ideally adding support for languages such as Java."
"There are two versions of Google App Engine: flexible and standard versions. I think they can improve by having only one version."
"Currently, we have to use Google CLI and utilize Google App CLI SDKs for deployment. If options were available to enable these SDKs for Terraform and CloudFormation, it would be more helpful for executing one-click deployments."
"There needs to be more directions in terms of how to use the solution."
"Some features of runtime don't work well in App Engine."
"Google Cloud support for Google App Engine is very poor, with unresponsive and unaware agents. It took them almost a month to inform me that SSH is not possible with private instances."
"Some clients don't use it because Google is very unstable with their products. Google has terminated many promising products in the past, and some clients have stated, 'This is from Google, we don't trust it because Google can change their mind any day.'"
"They could flesh out some of their analytics a little more."
"Heroku had an authentication problem a few months ago, but they solved it."
"Heroku doesn't support Docker images on the CI infrastructure."
"We don't find the pipelines intuitive. The user experience could be better. Having to set up multiple apps, then a pipeline, seems like an overkill on the amount of work to do."
"I think this solution would be improved if free demos were available indefinitely."
"The tool's configuration is complex."
"We would like to be notified when something goes wrong in the process. When something is not working, we should get an alert."
"We have to do daily restarts of some processes, which is annoying, and the support for custom CI could be better."
"The technical support is good, but the response time is poor."
"A problem with Azure is that the architecture that they have is not really compliant — not really connecting with the endpoint Cloud."
"The product's initial setup process and stability need improvement."
"Technical support could be improved."
"The security must be improved."
"It is pretty secure, but it can always be more secure."
"Something that could be added to the solution is the use of deep learning, which is going to grow in the near future."
"There are always new features to add in terms of additional indicators, improving the looks of the dashboard and stuff. There are some dashboards that are not attractive, we are looking to make them fancier and nice-looking."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay the license yearly. It's about $6 a month, which is $72 a year per person, so it's about $500."
"If we don't know how to work with the tool, we might have some spikes in price."
"I would like to have more free application with it. Some of the applications, I am paying more for them. I think that they must be free."
"The price of Heroku could be less expensive."
"There is a standard fee for a processing unit, they call them "dynos," and then you pay for add-ons."
"Its price is very good."
"The tool is free."
"I rate the tool's pricing a three out of ten."
"It's a pay-as-you-go subscription."
"Their licensing costs might be a little bit lower, compared to AWS, but I'm not sure. I think we get licenses, especially on long-term projects, on a yearly basis. It could be cheaper."
"Its pricing model can be improved. It is variable, and if you do a simulation now, within a few months, the price can change, and your simulation would no longer be valid."
"As of now, there are no monthly or yearly subscription fees."
"Microsoft Azure overall is an expensive solution."
"The product is expensive."
"The licensing price is fine."
"It has the pay-as-you-go model. Its pricing should be better."
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Comparison Review

it_user8586 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 14, 2013
Amazon vs Rackspace vs Microsoft vs Google: Cloud Hosting Services Comparison
Amazon Web Services, Rackspace OpenStack, Microsoft Windows Azure and Google are the major cloud hosting and storage service providers. Athough Amazon is top of them and is oldest in cloud market, Rackspace, Microsoft and Google are giving tough competition to each other and to Amazon also for…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Google App Engine?
The product's setup and deployment phases are easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google App Engine?
I haven't been involved on the pricing side, so I'm not exactly aware of the costs, although we did analyze log reten...
What needs improvement with Google App Engine?
I have not yet used the real-time logging feature.
What do you like most about Heroku?
I like the tool's scalability, CLI, and dashboards.
What needs improvement with Heroku?
I don't like that the web server crashes every day, every 24 hours. The pricing could be improved because scaling the...
What is your primary use case for Heroku?
We use the solution for web applications and web APIs.
Which is preferable - IBM Public Cloud or Microsoft Azure?
IBM Public Cloud is IBM’s Platform-as-a-Service. It aims to provide organizations with a secure cloud environment to ...
Which is better - SAP Cloud Platform or Microsoft Azure?
One of the best features of SAP Cloud Platform is that it is web-based and you can log in from anywhere in the world....
How does Microsoft Azure compare to Google Firebase?
I would recommend Google Firebase instead of Microsoft Azure, simply for the array of features that it has to offer. ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
No data available
Windows Azure, Azure, MS Azure
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Khan Academy, Best Buy, Gigya, MetOffice, Getaround, Mimiboard, NewsLimited, WebFilings, and CloudLock.
Facebook, UrbanDictionary, Code for America, Mailchimp, Rapportive, GitHub, TED, and Lyft.
BMW, Toyota, easyJet, NBC Sports, HarperCollins, Aviva, TalkTalk Business, Avanade, and Telenor.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Red Hat and others in PaaS Clouds. Updated: July 2025.
865,140 professionals have used our research since 2012.