Heroku to Kamal Migration
Heroku bills can creep up on you. What starts as a convenient way to deploy your Rails applications is now costing hundreds or even thousands per month. You've thought about moving to your own infrastructure, but the migration feels risky and time-consuming, and you don't want your team spending time figuring out Docker, load balancers, and deployment pipelines from scratch instead of shipping features.
I migrate Rails applications from Heroku to self-hosted infrastructure using Kamal, typically cutting hosting costs 60-80% while keeping deployments simple.
Who needs a Heroku to Kamal migration?
A migration is a good fit if:
- Your Heroku bill has grown to the point where it's hard to justify
- You want more control over your application's infrastructure
- Your team doesn't have time to figure out the migration themselves
- You want fast and easy deployments without Heroku's pricing
What's included with the migration
Kickoff call
We discuss your current Heroku setup, infrastructure requirements, and any concerns about the migration.
Assessment
I review your application's dependencies and create a migration plan tailored to your stack.
Migration
I set up your new infrastructure, configure Kamal, migrate your database, and get your application running on the new setup with zero downtime.
What you'll get
- A working Rails application on your own infrastructure
- Kamal configured for zero-downtime deployments
- Database migration with minimal or no downtime
- Documentation and a deployment runbook for your team
- Typical hosting cost reduction of 60-80%
Pricing
Final pricing depends on your application's complexity and the number of services involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
What cloud providers do you work with?
I'm most experienced with Hetzner, DigitalOcean, and AWS. If you have a preferred provider, we can discuss during the initial call.
How long does the migration take?
Typically 2 to 4 weeks depending on your application's complexity and the number of services involved.
Will there be downtime during the migration?
The goal is zero downtime by setting up the new infrastructure separately from your production application and switching over to the new environment once everything is tested thoroughly.
What about Heroku add-ons we're using?
I'll review all your add-ons during the assessment. Some will have direct replacements, but others may require self-hosted alternatives or staying with a third-party service.
Do we need to know Docker?
Not in depth, since Kamal handles most of the Docker complexity for you. I'll document what you need to know for day-to-day deployments and troubleshooting.
Ready to cut your hosting costs?
Book a free consultation so we can review your current Heroku setup and see how much you could save.
Request a Free Consultation