22 August 2026 · 8 min read

Heroku Discord Bot Alternative (2026) — Always-On Without a Dyno

Heroku’s free Discord bot dyno is gone. Compare Basic dyno pricing (~$7/mo) with getDiscordBot Starter at $4.99/mo and paste-to-deploy Python.

Heroku used to mean “git push and the Discord bot stays online.” The free dyno is gone. In 2026 a Heroku Discord bot means a paid dyno (Basic is typically ~$7/mo before add-ons). That is fine if you already live on Heroku. It is a poor default if all you need is a Python gateway process.

Heroku paid cost vs getDiscordBot

Migration (paid → paid)

1. Copy bot.py and requirements.txt
2. Put the token in TOKEN
3. Paste into getDiscordBot and deploy
4. Turn off the Heroku dyno after on_ready looks healthy

Details: how to host without Linux and cheap always-on ranking.

FAQ

What replaced Heroku’s free dyno for Discord bots?

Heroku retired the free dyno. A Basic dyno is paid. Purpose-built always-on Python hosts such as getDiscordBot Starter at $4.99/mo are a common move for discord.py bots.

Can I run a Discord bot on Heroku in 2026?

Yes, on a paid dyno. You still manage a Procfile, buildpacks, and config vars. The bot stays up only while that dyno is paid and running.

How do I migrate a discord.py bot off Heroku?

Copy bot.py and requirements.txt, put the token in TOKEN, paste into getDiscordBot, and deploy. No Procfile or Git remote required.