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Heroku Connect is a well-known service for synchronizing Salesforce data with a Heroku Postgres database [7]. Its main goal is to make Salesforce data easy to access in a Postgres environment, helping developers build apps that use that data. However, while it handles this basic task, many development teams run into major limitations and missing features that hurt performance, scalability, and efficiency.
For any company needing a reliable, real-time data pipeline, these gaps create significant problems. Stacksync is a great alternative to Heroku Connect, designed as a modern solution to overcome these very challenges.
This section covers the most common frustrations and feature gaps that developers and data engineers face when using Heroku Connect, especially as their data needs grow.
Heroku Connect’s sync process works by polling for changes, usually in 10-minute intervals. This delay makes it unsuitable for any application that needs up-to-the-minute data. While it’s described as bidirectional, the sync from Postgres back to Salesforce is often slow, relying on a special trigger log table that can cause performance issues and long delays [3]. Modern apps and operational systems need data to move in milliseconds, a speed that Heroku Connect simply can't deliver.
A major limitation of Heroku Connect is that it’s a point solution, built only to sync Salesforce with Heroku Postgres [1]. Today's businesses rely on a wide range of tools, including other CRMs like HubSpot, ERPs like NetSuite, and different databases such as MySQL or Snowflake. The inability to connect to systems beyond Salesforce and Postgres is a huge missing feature for teams trying to build a unified data infrastructure. It forces them to create and manage fragile, one-off integrations for everything else.
A common and frustrating problem with Heroku Connect is its poor error handling, which often leads to "silent failures" where a sync stops working without any clear warning. Developers are left trying to solve confusing problems, like the "Maximum number of duplicate updates in one batch" error, which can happen when too many updates are made to a single record at once [4]. Even worse, a critical issue with the _trigger_log table can stop all changes to the database entirely [5]. The lack of a simple dashboard to see, manage, or fix failed syncs makes these issues even harder to deal with.
Heroku Connect struggles when dealing with large amounts of data or frequent updates—common scenarios for any growing business. Its performance can drop without warning if data changes don't follow specific patterns. Best practices guides even mention how complex it can be to manage the sync properly to avoid data errors [2]. Hitting Salesforce API rate limits is also a constant battle, and Heroku Connect doesn’t offer smart tools to manage this. You can read a deep dive on these issues in this Heroku Connect post mortem.
Heroku Connect’s job is simply to copy data from one place to another. It doesn't have the ability to trigger custom workflows based on data changes. Modern integration platforms should do more than just move data; they should let you automate actions. For example, when a new customer is added in Salesforce, the platform should be able to automatically call an external API to enrich that data or send a notification. This missing feature means developers have to build and maintain separate apps to handle this logic, which adds extra complexity and cost.
Stacksync is the solution that directly addresses all the missing features and limitations of Heroku Connect. It is an enterprise-grade platform built for real-time sync and automation across your entire tech stack. Unlike point solutions, Stacksync is designed for complex business environments, making it a much better choice for today's integration needs. For a detailed comparison, see Stacksync vs. Workato and Heroku Connect alternatives.
Stacksync moves data in milliseconds, making it possible to build mission-critical tools like real-time internal dashboards and dynamic customer portals. The platform’s two-way sync is reliable and ensures your data is always consistent across all connected systems. This allows you to replace Heroku Connect with an affordable, real-time sync that scales and finally support your operational use cases.
Stacksync includes a dedicated issue management dashboard that gives you a clear view of your data pipelines. Your team can get real-time alerts via Slack or email for any sync problem. The platform lets you examine the data that caused the failure and fix the issue with a single click, which dramatically reduces time spent on debugging.
Stacksync is built to handle millions of records without slowing down. It includes a "Smart API Rate Limits" feature that automatically manages API calls to prevent you from hitting quotas on systems like Salesforce, ensuring your syncs run smoothly no matter how much data you have.
Heroku Connect’s key missing features—like its lack of real-time sync, poor error handling, limited connectivity, and scalability issues—make it the wrong choice for modern, data-driven companies. Its outdated architecture creates operational bottlenecks and adds to your technical debt.
Stacksync solves these problems with its real-time, two-way sync engine, advanced observability, wide range of connectors, and built-in automation. Stop struggling with the limitations of Heroku Connect and upgrade to a platform built for the demands of today's data operations.
Ready to see the difference? Start your free 14-day trial or schedule a demo with one of our cloud architects today.
