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Organizations relying on Heroku Connect face a critical operational challenge: Heroku's Production Starter Package includes 200 dynos, 10,000 add-on credits, 1 billion rows of Heroku Connect, but accessing this enterprise-grade synchronization requires substantial investment in Heroku's platform infrastructure.
With pricing typically $2,500-$3,000/month for moderate usage, teams need cost-effective alternatives that deliver superior capabilities without platform lock-in.
Stacksync eliminates these constraints by delivering enterprise-grade, bi-directional synchronization starting at $1,000/month - positioned at the threshold of true affordability while providing capabilities that surpass legacy integration tools in performance, flexibility, and operational impact.
Heroku Connect is a data integration tool designed specifically for syncing Salesforce with a Postgres database hosted on Heroku. It works by polling Salesforce for changes at regular intervals and syncing those updates to Postgres. This architectural constraint creates multiple operational limitations:
Platform Lock-In: You'll also need a Heroku Enterprise license - an annual or multi-year contract, forcing organizations into specific hosting arrangements regardless of infrastructure preferences.
Database Restrictions: It only connects Salesforce and Heroku Postgres, offering no flexibility to integrate with other databases (like MySQL, Snowflake, BigQuery) or applications (like NetSuite, HubSpot).
Performance Degradation: Heroku Connect's performance can deteriorate at higher data volumes. For large datasets, sync times may slow significantly, failing to meet the real-time requirements of mission-critical applications.
Heroku Connect is not a real-time sync service, but an eventually consistent one. This means updates don't always happen instantly: Heroku Connect is designed to be eventually, but not immediately, consistent with Salesforce.
Polling-Based Architecture: Synchronization relies on polling mechanisms. Heroku Connect polls Postgres for changes to write back to Salesforce at intervals (minimum 10 seconds under certain conditions, but often polling every two minutes) and polls Salesforce for changes based on configured frequency (minimum 10 minutes for the demo plan).
Silent Failure Patterns: Some sync issues fail silently and aren't flagged. These are things like mismatched data types, formatting issues, timezones instead of timestamps, or using 1/0 vs. boolean flags.
Stacksync delivers true real-time, bi-directional synchronization that eliminates Heroku Connect's fundamental limitations. At $1,000/month for the Starter plan, Stacksync provides enterprise-grade capabilities without infrastructure dependencies or system restrictions.
True Bi-Directional Synchronization: Unlike Heroku Connect's polling-based approach, Stacksync implements field-level change detection with sub-second latency across all connected systems.
Database-Agnostic Architecture: Stacksync supports PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, and 20+ database systems hosted anywhere - eliminating Heroku's platform requirements.
200+ Connector Ecosystem: Beyond Salesforce-Postgres synchronization, Stacksync integrates CRMs (HubSpot, Zoho), ERPs (NetSuite, SAP), and data warehouses (Snowflake, BigQuery).
Operational Focus: Stacksync powers real-time and two-way sync between CRMs, ERPs and Databases. Engineers use Stacksync to sync and consolidate data at scale, automate workflows and focus on what makes their business competitive, not dirty API plumbing.
Documented Cost Savings: Customer reports indicate significant cost savings after migrating from Heroku Connect to purpose-built alternatives, not including the reduction in engineering overhead.
Implementation Efficiency: Stacksync is very easy to set up and use, all done in no-code, we did it in minutes! You don't need any specialized knowledge or skills to get started, and there is no need to hire expensive Salesforce consultants.
Performance Improvements: Stacksync powers real-time bi-directional sync that can sync up to millions of records per minute.
Real-time bi-directional sync with operational excellence
Stacksync's Value Proposition: Stacksync is a much better alternative to Heroku Connect for companies looking for a Salesforce-Postgres synchronization solution. Stacksync provides a seamless, bi-directional synchronization between Salesforce and Postgres, just like Heroku Connect. However, the key difference is that Stacksync is much more affordable, making it accessible to small and medium-sized businesses that might find Heroku Connect too expensive.
Reverse ETL for operational data activation
Data warehouse activation platform
SaaS-to-SaaS synchronization
A key limitation with Heroku Connect is its sync performance. Heroku Connect polls data changes at regular intervals from both Salesforce and Postgres to sync it to the other app. The frequency depends on settings, but does not offers real-time performance.
Latency Issues: Factors like the physical distance between your Heroku Connect cell and your Salesforce instance also introduce latency.
Consistency Problems: With read-write mappings, Postgres may temporarily fall out of sync when multiple updates are made to the same field. This behavior is expected and can vary.
Change Data Capture (CDC): Stacksync implements non-invasive CDC that detects changes at the field level without requiring database modifications or polling mechanisms.
Event-Driven Processing: Data changes trigger immediate workflows including HTTP endpoints, database queries, and multi-system updates.
Conflict Resolution: Built-in logic handles simultaneous changes across systems, preventing data corruption and synchronization failures.
Scalable Performance: Stacksync is designed to maintain low latency even at high volumes, supporting data consistency for mission-critical workflows. It is built to scale to high throughput without requiring infrastructure management.
For environments requiring synchronization beyond Salesforce-Postgres combinations, Stacksync supports sophisticated integration patterns:
Hub-and-Spoke Architecture: Central database serves as the source of truth for CRM, ERP, and data warehouse systems.
Intermediate Database Transformation: Beyond Salesforce and PostgreSQL, Stacksync supports a wide range of connectors, including NetSuite, HubSpot, Oracle DB, Snowflake, and BigQuery, providing a future-proof integration strategy.
Workflow Automation: With Stacksync, setting up triggers is simple and code-free. You can easily configure events like sending a welcome email when a new contact is added in Salesforce - without writing any custom logic. Our no-code trigger editor enables you to notify HTTP REST endpoints automatically, streamlining processes that would otherwise require custom code with Heroku Connect.
Comprehensive Certifications: SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001, and CCPA compliance included in base plans.
Data Protection: End-to-end encryption without persistent data storage, ensuring security for sensitive operational data.
Regional Processing: Data sovereignty options with processing region selection for compliance requirements.
Heroku Connect's polling-based approach creates operational bottlenecks that directly impact business agility:
Batch Processing Delays: Scheduled synchronization creates 10-minute to 2-hour delays between operational events and data availability across systems.
Resource Consumption: Performance can degrade significantly as the number of mappings (synced objects/tables) increases.
Silent Failures: The sales team could enter any deal value in a Salesforce deal via the Salesforce UI. However, PostgreSQL had a restriction on decimal precision (0). When a sales rep entered $2500.50 into a deal, Salesforce tried to sync the data to Postgres but wasn't allowed. The sync failed, and the data inconsistency wasn't flagged.
Real-time bi-directional synchronization eliminates data latency through event-driven architecture:
Immediate Propagation: Changes appear across all connected systems within seconds, enabling real-time operational decisions.
Operational Consistency: When CRM, ERP, and database records are out of sync, the consequences range from operational inefficiencies and poor customer experiences to flawed decision-making. Real-time synchronization prevents these issues entirely.
Automated Business Processes: Data changes trigger immediate workflows including customer notifications, approval processes, and financial calculations.
Engineering Resource Optimization: Teams spend valuable resources managing API rate limits, error handling, and conflict resolution instead of building core product features. Real-time platforms eliminate this operational overhead.
Organizations implementing real-time synchronization report measurable operational improvements:
Two-way sync tools have become essential in 2025 as businesses struggle with data consistency across specialized systems, offering real-time, bi-directional data flow that eliminates silos and manual reconciliation. Modern solutions like Stacksync provide sub-second synchronization with no-code setup across 200+ connectors, representing the fastest-growing segment in enterprise data management.
Ready to eliminate Heroku Connect's costly limitations and infrastructure dependencies? Stacksync delivers enterprise-grade real-time synchronization at $1,000/month with comprehensive platform capabilities across 200+ systems.
Start your 14-day free trial and experience true bi-directional synchronization without the operational constraints of legacy integration tools. Our implementation guides demonstrate how real-time data consistency transforms business operations across your entire technology stack.
