Top Heroku Add-ons for App Development In 2024

In 2024, the Heroku platform continues to serve as a base for developers looking to build, deploy, and scale applications with ease and precision.

Central to this endeavor are the Heroku add-ons.

Add-ons, and particularly our top picks of 2024, extend the capabilities of applications, so devs can build more sophisticated, efficient, and user-friendly solutions.

These add-ons, covering everything from data management to user engagement, aren’t just optional extras but essential elements that address every facet of modern application requirements.

They allow developers to focus on innovation and core functionalities, while the add-ons take care of the specialized services that make apps more powerful and versatile.

From enhancing user interactions to simplifying backend processes, managing vast data sets, and automating routine tasks—by integrating these tools, developers unlock new potentials for their applications, ensuring they remain competitive and relevant in the ever-evolving world of tech.

If you’re on the market for add-ons outside of Heroku, pay a visit to Addons.io, as many of these add-ons are available for your non-Heroku apps as well.

The add-ons we've covered not only offer a way to enhance app functionality and user experience but also streamline the development process, making it more efficient and less time-consuming.

They make our apps more competitive, scalable, and secure.

So, while we can’t compare them to each other (because they all bring unique functionality), we can assure you that each option on our list has been tried, tested, and found to be awesome. In fact, we use most of these tools to back our own websites and services!

Without further ado, let’s dive into these add-ons:

1. Optimizing user experience and app functionality

Cloudinary and Redis Cloud embody the essence of modern app development by enhancing the user experience through faster load times and seamless session management. This is what add-ons are all about!

These add-ons are not just about adding features; they're about crafting an app environment where speed, efficiency, and reliability are a “given”.

Cloudinary: learn the secret to managing visual content

In app development, efficient management and on-the-fly optimization of images and videos aren't just nice to have; they're a must. Cloudinary is a game-changer in this space.

Its real value is in its ability to transform and optimize media content dynamically, making it indispensable for developers who need to navigate the visually intensive demands of today's digital ecosystem—and do it efficiently.

With Cloudinary, the challenge of maintaining speed and quality amidst media-rich app content becomes a manageable aspect of development workflow.

https://youtu.be/GOmnM83Awds?si=2Si2HY6tzZiedgwH&embedable=true

Key Features

• Rapid media optimization: Cloudinary's toolkit for image and video processing empowers developers to quickly adapt media content to fit various contexts, enhancing responsiveness and engagement.

• AI-driven performance: Leveraging AI algorithms, Cloudinary ensures media is automatically delivered in the most efficient format and resolution, optimizing app performance and user experience.

• Dynamic manipulation: The flexibility to apply real-time manipulations via a URL-based API—be it overlays, watermarks, or video edits—offers unparalleled control over media content.

• Global delivery: With its integration of multiple CDNs, Cloudinary guarantees swift and reliable worldwide media delivery, dynamically selecting the optimal network route.

• Extensive integration options: Compatibility with numerous systems and availability of SDKs for different programming languages facilitate seamless integration of Cloudinary into any app development project.
  

For developers poised to enhance their app's media handling capabilities in 2024, Cloudinary is a strategic solution that marries simplicity with killer features.

Its adaptive pricing and broad developmental support position it as a preferred choice for streamlining app functionality and elevating user experience.

Redis Cloud: enjoy scalable, high-performance data management

Redis Cloud really stands at the forefront of addressing one of the most pressing challenges in modern app development: achieving instantaneous data access while maintaining scalability and reliability.

This managed service takes the powerful in-memory data structure store, Redis, and elevates it into a fully-managed cloud service. It offers devs not just a database but a sophisticated environment optimized for speed, scalability, and ease of integration.

Redis Cloud ensures that, as your application grows, its data layer doesn't just keep up but becomes a driver of performance and user satisfaction.

By handling everything from session storage and caching to real-time analytics, Redis Cloud acts as a critical component in the tech stack of high-performing applications.

https://youtu.be/871XKYuG5O0?si=g4OfPLrRvF7CSWUl&embedable=true

Key Features

• Instantaneous scalability: Redis Cloud's infrastructure allows for seamless scaling, ensuring that your application can grow without ever hitting a bottleneck in data processing speed or volume.

• Guaranteed uptime with auto-failover: High availability is a hallmark of Redis Cloud, with systems designed to automatically switch to standby nodes in the event of a failure, minimizing potential downtime.

• Optimized performance: Leveraging the inherent speed of Redis, Redis Cloud enhances performance with multi-core processing and optimized cloud hardware, ensuring rapid data access and manipulation.

• Comprehensive data security: Automatic backups and data persistence give you peace of mind, knowing your data is secure and recoverable in any scenario.

• Enhanced data models with Redis Modules: Redis Cloud expands Redis's capabilities with additional modules for search, graph, JSON, time series, and more, enabling complex data operations directly within the database.

Redis Cloud is a truly robust solution for developers looking to build or scale high-performance applications. With its extensive range of plans, advanced features, and commitment to reliability, it’s obvious why it remains a staple of modern app development.

2. Streamlining development and operations

For those looking to refine the development process and operational efficiency, Papertrail, Sentry, and Judoscale offer solutions that simplify logging, error detection, and scaling.

These tools are indispensable for maintaining the high performance and reliability of applications in a competitive digital space.

Papertrail: superior log management for clarity and speed

Amidst the intricacies and knife edges of app development, log management is a cumbersome yet critical task. Papertrail transforms this chore into an insightful and, dare we say, relatively quick part of your development process.

Papertrail isn't just about collecting logs; it's about making sense of them fast and efficiently. It offers a bird's-eye view of your app's operational data, simplifying troubleshooting and monitoring in real-time.

Imagine being able to pinpoint the root cause of an issue with just a few clicks, or effortlessly monitoring your app's health. That's the promise of Papertrail.

https://youtu.be/gFFtrzoQEfI?si=m8aGEVL06KZzWhRJ&embedable=true

Key features

• Log velocity analytics: Quickly visualize your app's log throughput to identify trends or anomalies, significantly reducing troubleshooting times.

• Real-time insight: Experience truly real-time log tailing and searching, ensuring you're always up to the moment.

• Broad integration: From Slack to Amazon S3, Papertrail plays nicely with a plethora of tools, streamlining your workflow.

• Seamless infrastructure & APM integration: Toggle between logs, metrics, and traces without losing context, thanks to the integration with SolarWinds' AppOptics for end-to-end visibility.

• Adaptable access: Whether through a web browser, command line, or API, Papertrail offers a unified and simple search format, catering to diverse team preferences.

• Collaborative intelligence: Save searches and set alerts, building a collective knowledge base that leverages the entire team's insights.

• Engineer-driven design: Born from real-world needs, Papertrail's development is guided by the practical insights of engineers who use it daily.

• Effortless setup: Get started in seconds. Papertrail's straightforward integration means you're only a few clicks away from advanced log management.

For developers and teams seeking a log management solution that marries depth with simplicity, Papertrail is a winner.

It offers the tools to transform log data into actionable insights, backed by a flexible pricing model that accommodates projects of any size.

With Papertrail, you're not just managing logs; you're gaining a deeper understanding of your application's performance and behavior.

Sentry: see what matters, solve quicker, and learn about your applications

Sentry transforms the daunting task of error tracking into a more streamlined and painless part of your development workflow. It's designed to notify you of exceptions as they happen, integrating seamlessly with your existing tools and processes.

Whether it's an app error, a customer service ticket, or a problematic deployment, Sentry brings the issue to your attention immediately, allowing for swift action.

This tool isn’t just about catching errors; it's about understanding them and their impact on your application's health and user experience.

https://youtu.be/4djseRVSan8?si=95lf3-dWa7zkuMmf&embedable=true

Key features

• Immediate exception notifications: Integrating Sentry with your Heroku app takes less than a minute, and you can receive notifications through email, SMS, or chat.

• Efficient error resolution in your workflow: Sentry's tools are designed to streamline the triage, reproduction, and resolution of errors, making your development cycle faster and more efficient.

• Insight into each release's impact: Sentry integrates with your commit and deploy workflows, providing aggregate event data to help you understand the frequency, location, and impact of bugs.

• Community-driven error tracking: Sentry remains a 100% open-source project, ensuring its development aligns with the real-world needs of its extensive user base.

• Seamless integrations: From GitHub to Jira, Sentry works with the tools you're already using, enhancing your workflow without adding complexity.

• Dedicated to application security: Sentry prioritizes security and compliance, safeguarding your application data and offering peace of mind.

For over a million developers, Sentry has become an indispensable tool for real-time error tracking and resolution. Its ability to provide immediate insights and actionable data makes it a critical component of modern application development.

You may be looking to enhance your debugging process or gain a deeper understanding of your app's performance, either way, Sentry offers the features and flexibility to support your goals.

Judoscale: master autoscaling for dynamic applications

Judoscale brings a refined approach to autoscaling, focusing on the unique needs of dynamic applications.

Unlike Heroku's native autoscaler, Judoscale provides a nuanced and effective solution that scales your application based on actual demand, ensuring your resources are optimized for both performance and cost.

It's an advanced tool designed to adapt to various dyno types and workloads, making it indispensable for applications that experience fluctuating traffic or have complex background job requirements.

https://youtu.be/rjd3LTflz7o?si=KTCDgZpk8pmMAXwG&embedable=true

Key features

• Comprehensive dyno support: Judoscale scales all dyno types, including standard, performance, private, and shield, offering a versatile solution that fits any Heroku application.

• Intelligent worker dyno scaling: It keeps job queues running smoothly by autoscaling worker dynos, ensuring tasks are processed efficiently without delays.

• Advanced monitoring: By focusing on request queue time instead of response time, Judoscale provides a more accurate measure of when to scale, capturing the true demand on your application.

• Rapid response scaling: Its algorithm adjusts dyno counts within seconds, ensuring your application responds quickly to changing loads.

• Customizable scaling schedules: Tailor your scaling strategy with custom schedules and a comprehensive API, allowing for precise control over your application's performance.

• User-friendly controls: Simple yet powerful controls make it easy to fine-tune your autoscaling settings, ensuring optimal application performance without unnecessary complexity.

For devs who need a more intelligent and responsive autoscaling solution, Judoscale brings a compelling alternative to Heroku's native autoscaler. It ensures that your application scales accurately in response to actual demand, not just traffic predictions.

With Judoscale, you gain not only a tool but a partner that grows with your application, providing peace of mind and freeing you to focus on development, not operations.

Whether you're managing a small app or a large-scale enterprise system, Judoscale's autoscaling capabilities are designed to keep your application performing at optimal, no matter the workload.

3. Advancing data management and storage

When it comes to handling vast amounts of data, Heroku Postgres, SFTP To Go, and Bucketeer provide strong and scalable solutions that ensure data integrity and security.

Effective data management is the backbone of any successful app and, to put it politely, these add-ons are designed to ensure you don’t mess the big stuff up.

Heroku Postgres: the backbone of reliable data management

Heroku Postgres is more than a database service; it's a foundational component for applications requiring reliability, scalability, and comprehensive management without the overhead.

Leveraging PostgreSQL, one of the most advanced open-source databases, Heroku Postgres encapsulates the power and sophistication of PostgreSQL into a streamlined, fully-managed service.

This platform is engineered to support your application's growth from its nascent stage in development to the high demands of production, ensuring data integrity, availability, and performance are always in sync with your needs.

Key Features

• Universal connectivity: Heroku Postgres supports connections from any location, be it cloud, PaaS, or your local development environment, simplifying the integration process across various platforms.

• Adaptable scalability: Easily scale your database vertically by selecting plans based on your active dataset needs or horizontally to manage read loads with read-only followers, ensuring your application can handle varying loads with grace.

• Guaranteed uptime: The service boasts up to 99.95% uptime for production plans, affirming the availability of your application for critical operations.

• Integrated ecosystem: Heroku Postgres is built to seamlessly integrate into your development lifecycle, offering support for a wide array of languages and frameworks, thus enhancing the overall efficiency of managing your database operations.

Heroku Postgres is a core service for devs who’re after a robust, scalable, and managed database solution.

It combines the advanced features of PostgreSQL with the ease of a managed platform, ensuring your database operations are as refined and efficient as your application development.

It makes no difference whether your project is just beginning or scaling exponentially to meet a rush of user demand, Heroku Postgres brings the reliability, security, and performance necessary to support your application's data management requirements comprehensively.

SFTP To Go: cloud storage with seamless SFTP, FTPS, and S3 integration for your app

SFTP To Go offers a lean and entirely streamlined cloud storage solution, seamlessly integrating SFTP, FTPS, and S3 protocols to provide a versatile platform for all of your file management needs.

Emphasizing security, ease of use, and flexibility, it caters to a wide range of applications, from enterprise-level needs to startup agility. This add on simplifies the managing of file storage and sharing, with a focus on automating and integrating into your existing workflows.

Bolstered by the sturdy infrastructure of Amazon Web Services and S3 for storage, SFTP To Go brings high reliability and scalability, accommodating any file size or user load with ease.

Beyond its primary function as a managed file transfer service, SFTP To Go offers a significant boost to security and compliance.

Offering encryption both in transit and at rest, multi-factor authentication, and adherence to stringent standards such as HIPAA and GDPR, it's a must for handling sensitive data—on any scale.

https://youtu.be/xrygiKDZSvA?si=jtc2Af3CkejKSSxL&embedable=true

Key Features

• Secure cloud storage: Leverages AWS's robust infrastructure for high durability and uptime, ensuring your data is safe and always available.

• Flexible file access and management: Access and manage files through SFTP, FTPS, or Amazon S3, using your preferred tools and clients.

• Convenient web portal: a full-featured web portal makes SFTP To Go accessible to anyone—from anywhere!

• Easy automation and integration: Automate file transfers and integrate with your existing systems using SFTP command line or Amazon S3 APIs, enhanced by Webhooks for real-time notifications.

• Customizable user experience: Tailor access protocols, manage user permissions easily, and enhance your web portal with your brand's look and feel.

• Comprehensive security features: Includes encryption at rest and in transit, multi-factor authentication, and options to restrict access by IP, ensuring compliance with HIPAA, GDPR, and other regulations.

• Scalable and cost-effective: Automatically scales to handle any load, with transparent pricing and soft limits to keep you in control of your costs.

SFTP To Go simplifies cloud storage, making it secure, scalable, and seamlessly integrated into your workflow. This service combines the scalability and reliability of AWS with the peace of mind that comes from top-tier data protection.

Suitable for startups, SMBs and large enterprises, it provides the tools and reliability you need to manage your files efficiently and securely.

Bucketeer: simplify cloud storage for your app with Amazon S3

Bucketeer is a bridge that connects the hardy, scalable storage capabilities of Amazon S3 directly to your application environment on Heroku, offering an uncomplicated setup and immediate access to S3 resources.

From managing static assets for a web application to handling extensive data processing backends, Bucketeer provides a seamless solution.

However, unlike solutions like SFTP To Go that provide S3 storage with additional features and secure transfer functions, this option only provides the storage bucket.

Key Features

• Instant credential Management: Bucketeer simplifies credential management, allowing you to quickly roll credentials directly from the dashboard, ensuring security even when credentials are compromised.

• Simplified cloud Storage Access: Directly access Amazon S3's dependable storage capabilities, leveraging S3 for a wide range of applications without complex setup processes.

• Effortless configuration: Upon provisioning Bucketeer, your Heroku config is automatically populated with an S3 Bucket and IAM Credentials, making the setup process straightforward.

• Consolidated billing: Manage fewer accounts by paying for your S3 usage directly through your Heroku bill, simplifying account management.

• Complete control: Enjoy full access to manage your S3 bucket through the Amazon S3 API, providing flexibility to tailor the storage to your needs.

• Adaptable usage limits: Bucketeer's soft limit policy means you're free to exceed plan quotas without immediate restrictions, offering flexibility during traffic spikes.

Bucketeer merges the reliability and scalability of Amazon S3 with the simplicity of Heroku's platform.

No matter the phase or scale of your application, Bucketeer's range of plans and features offer the tools needed to efficiently handle your cloud storage requirements.

4. Enhancing automation and integration

Automation and integration play a primary role in modern app development, with add-ons like Cron To Go and CloudAMQP facilitating seamless background tasks and inter-service communication.

Mailer To Go further enhances app functionality by offering comprehensive email management tools that support everything from transactional emails to large-scale campaigns. Let’s see!

Cron To Go Scheduler: run scheduled tasks on your Heroku apps

Cron To Go is designed to run scheduled jobs on all dyno types, offering a breadth of scheduling options that surpass the standard offerings of Heroku's own scheduler.

With Cron To Go, you gain access to precision scheduling down to the minute, the ability to set jobs in any timezone, and a suite of monitoring tools that provide real-time logs and notifications for your tasks.

This makes it a comprehensive solution for managing your application's background tasks with ease and efficiency—which is exactly what we look for in add-ons!

Where Heroku's scheduler offers a basic, no-cost solution, Cron To Go elevates the concept of scheduled tasks to a production-grade service. It ensures that your jobs run reliably and efficiently, with the added peace of mind that comes from premium support options, including real-time chat and email assistance.

https://youtu.be/zTawOzCCCsI?si=_R2uPh06Egp6pNAZ&embedable=true

Key Features

• Flexible Job Scheduling: Define your jobs with 60-second precision in any time zone using Unix cron format.

• Monitoring and Logging: Keep an eye on your job executions with real-time logs, email, and webhook notifications.

• Enterprise-Grade Security: Enjoy peace of mind with comprehensive security measures compliant with GDPR and HIPAA.

• One-Off Dynos Support: Save on costs by running commands in one-off dynos without needing a clock or web dyno running round the clock.

• Fully Managed and Reliable: Cron To Go is a distributed, scalable cloud scheduler ensuring your tasks run without being a single point of failure.

• Comprehensive Management Tools: Easily manage all your tasks with an intuitive UI, API, and Heroku CLI plugin.

The advanced capabilities of Cron To Go will help you optimize your Heroku application's scheduled tasks. While its suite of features and dedicated support will ensure your scheduled tasks run smoothly and reliably.

With its easy setup, detailed monitoring, and flexible scheduling options, it's an awesome tool for developers looking to automate their workflows effectively.

CloudAMQP: effortlessly manage RabbitMQ on Heroku

CloudAMQP offers a fully managed RabbitMQ service that simplifies the process of deploying, managing, and scaling RabbitMQ clusters. This service allows you to focus on developing your product by handling server management, monitoring, and the complexities of scaling.

With CloudAMQP, you benefit from exceptional 24/7 support, drawing on years of operational experience across a broad customer base. This expertise ensures that CloudAMQP can address any scaling or implementation challenges you may encounter.

https://youtu.be/SQs5T0isWes?si=tDo1eWv3wyfeJyLG&embedable=true

Key Features

• Fully managed clusters: Automates the setup, operation, and scaling of RabbitMQ clusters, freeing you to concentrate on development.

• Exceptional support: Offers round-the-clock support to address any challenges, ensuring reliability and performance.

• High availability: Configurable cluster nodes and automatic management of unhealthy nodes ensure your messaging system is always available.

• Easy monitoring and alerts: Tools for real-time monitoring and setting up custom alarms to proactively manage system performance.

• Flexible message queuing: Supports various message queuing patterns, providing high availability and guaranteeing message order without duplicates.

• Real-time applications: Ideal for the backend of real-time applications, efficiently managing notifications and message streaming.

CloudAMQP offers Heroku users a seamless RabbitMQ management experience.

With its comprehensive plan options and robust feature set, CloudAMQP allows businesses of all sizes to benefit from the power of RabbitMQ for their message queuing needs without the hassle of managing infrastructure.

From small projects to running a large-scale enterprise application, CloudAMQP is a reliable, scalable solution for your messaging requirements.

Mailer To Go: lean and simplified email sending from your Heroku apps

Mailer To Go offers a straightforward, developer-friendly solution for sending emails from your Heroku applications.

This service is designed to eliminate the hassle associated with traditional email services, providing an intuitive, easy-to-use platform that developers can rely on for their transactional email needs.

It’s a hassle-free, scalable solution that grows with your application—and it’s super lean!

Key Features

• Simple onboarding: Get started in minutes with an easy setup process and immediate access to sending emails.

• Domain customization: use your own domains for sending emails by leveraging your Heroku app's verified domains.

• Zero management: Focus on building your product without the burden of managing email servers.

• Security and reliability: Trust in a service designed with security at its core, ensuring your emails are sent securely and reliably.

• Seamless integration: Easily integrate with your applications through SMTP, providing a flexible solution for email sending.

• Compliance ready: Meet various compliance and auditing requirements without additional effort.

• Exceptional support: Access dedicated customer service via chat, ready to assist you at any stage.

Mailer To Go is committed to providing a seamless, reliable, and developer-friendly email solution for your Heroku applications.

No matter your project’s phase or scale, Mailer To Go's wealth of plan options and impressive feature set make it the ideal choice for all your transactional email needs.

In conclusion

And so, our hefty exploration of essential Heroku add-ons for 2024 draws to a close …

These add-ons allow developers to focus on creating unique and innovative applications without getting bogged down by the complexities of backend services.

To make apps more competitive, scalable, and secure, that is the point of them—and to do so with less pain. We simply couldn’t do without them. Well, we could, but we wouldn’t enjoy it nearly as much!

As the technology in business continues to evolve, for those who’ve chosen the benefits of building on Heroku, these add-ons will undoubtedly play a key role in helping devs overcome the inevitable challenges of staying competitive, scalable, and secure.

Frequently asked questions

• What are Heroku add-ons?

  Heroku add-ons are third-party services that enhance Heroku applications by offering specialized functionalities like data management, user engagement, and more. They help developers build sophisticated applications efficiently.
  

• How do I choose the right Heroku add-on for my app?

  Select Heroku add-ons based on your app's specific needs such as user experience optimization, data management, or development process streamlining. Compare each add-on's features and pricing to find the best match.
  

• What are the best Heroku add-ons for enhancing file management capabilities?

  For enhancing file management capabilities, SFTP To Gois a top Heroku add-on. It provides secure, scalable cloud storage and integrates smoothly with SFTP, FTPS, and Amazon S3 protocols, making it ideal for a wide range of applications that require reliable file storage and transfer solutions.
  

• Can I use multiple Heroku add-ons for a single application?

  Yes, multiple Heroku add-ons can be used for a single application. Combining add-ons allows for a versatile approach to address various application needs from frontend to backend.
  

• Are there free Heroku add-ons available?

  Many Heroku add-ons offer free tiers suitable for development, testing, or small-scale applications. These free plans allow developers to access essential functionalities without incurring costs.
  

• How do I add an add-on to my Heroku application?

  To add an add-on to your Heroku application, use the Heroku Dashboard or the Heroku CLI. Search and select the desired add-on from the Heroku Elements Marketplace and configure it for your application.
  

• What should I do if a Heroku add-on I'm using is deprecated?

  If a Heroku add-on you're using gets deprecated, seek alternative add-ons with similar features in the Heroku Elements Marketplace. Check the deprecated add-on's documentation for transition advice.
  

• How can developers automate and monitor scheduled tasks in their Heroku applications?

  Developers looking to automate and monitor scheduled tasks in their Heroku applications can use Cron To Go.This add-on offers precise scheduling, advanced monitoring tools, and is capable of handling tasks across all dyno types, thereby significantly improving application performance and reliability.
  

• How can I manage the costs of using Heroku add-ons?

  To manage costs, choose add-ons with pricing plans that match your usage needs. Monitor your usage regularly and adjust your plans accordingly to avoid unnecessary expenses.