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Heroku vs Parse
March 19, 2025 | Author: Sandeep Sharma
13★
Heroku is the leading platform as a service in the world and supports Ruby, Java, Python, Scala, Clojure, and Node.js. Deploying an app is simple and easy. No special alternative tools needed, just a plain git push. Deployment is instant, whether your app is big or small.
2★
The complete mobile app platform. Focus on creating unique & engaging apps on any platform. We take care of everything else your app needs, from the core of your app to analytics and push notifications.
Heroku and Parse, two rather clever bits of cloud-based wizardry, exist to spare developers from the ghastly realities of infrastructure. Both allow people to deploy code without developing a stress-induced eye twitch, support multiple programming languages and come with databases so your precious data doesn’t just float off into the void. Heroku, appearing in 2007 and Parse, making its grand entrance in 2011, both hail from the United States, a land where software companies appear at a rate that suggests some sort of cosmic clerical error.
Heroku, the older and arguably more responsible sibling, operates as a Platform as a Service, which in simpler terms means "somewhere nice for your web applications to live without you having to keep poking them." Snatched up by Salesforce, it specializes in making enterprise applications behave in an orderly fashion while letting developers scale things up without having to sacrifice their sanity to the server gods. It gets along well with databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL and Redis, making it a fine choice for businesses that like choices and dislike surprises.
Parse, on the other hand, took one look at backend development and decided, "What if we just didn’t?" Designed for mobile developers who would rather focus on shiny front-end things, it handled the grim business of push notifications, cloud functions and user authentication so they wouldn’t have to. Facebook bought it, presumably in a moment of enthusiasm, then later shut it down, presumably in a moment of boredom. It ran on MongoDB, a database designed for people who like JSON and an undercurrent of mild uncertainty. Mobile developers adored it because it let them blissfully ignore infrastructure—at least until they couldn’t anymore.
See also: Top 10 Mobile App Builders
Heroku, the older and arguably more responsible sibling, operates as a Platform as a Service, which in simpler terms means "somewhere nice for your web applications to live without you having to keep poking them." Snatched up by Salesforce, it specializes in making enterprise applications behave in an orderly fashion while letting developers scale things up without having to sacrifice their sanity to the server gods. It gets along well with databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL and Redis, making it a fine choice for businesses that like choices and dislike surprises.
Parse, on the other hand, took one look at backend development and decided, "What if we just didn’t?" Designed for mobile developers who would rather focus on shiny front-end things, it handled the grim business of push notifications, cloud functions and user authentication so they wouldn’t have to. Facebook bought it, presumably in a moment of enthusiasm, then later shut it down, presumably in a moment of boredom. It ran on MongoDB, a database designed for people who like JSON and an undercurrent of mild uncertainty. Mobile developers adored it because it let them blissfully ignore infrastructure—at least until they couldn’t anymore.
See also: Top 10 Mobile App Builders
