Is Heroku stack Still Supported? End-of-Life Dates (2026)
Short answer
Heroku stack is supported and new versions continue to ship; the newest version is supported until Apr 2031. HTTP Archive detected Heroku (all versions) on 1,506 mobile home pages (0.017% of all pages crawled) in Aug 2026.
Heroku ends each stack when the Ubuntu LTS release beneath it leaves standard support: heroku-18 (April 2023) and heroku-20 (April 2025) are end of life, heroku-22 is deprecated with support through April 2027, and Heroku publishes these dates by month only.
Legacy Technology Tracker · Status as of 16 Oct 2026. Data checked 7 Oct 2026; refreshed monthly, with quarterly snapshots kept unchanged.
Risk rating
Low: supported, with new release lines continuing; no exploited-vulnerability or licence signal. How ratings work
Key facts
Every value links to its source and shows when we last checked or retrieved it. Data checked 7 Oct 2026; status as of 16 Oct 2026.
| Fact | Value | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support status | SupportedHeroku Cedar-generation stacks (heroku-18 to heroku-26). Heroku publishes support ends by month. | ||
| Newest version supported until | |||
| Known exploited vulnerabilities (CISA KEV) | 0 CVEs all time; 0 added in the last 24 monthsMatched by vendor and product name in the KEV catalog. No CISA KEV entry names Heroku. | ||
| Home pages using Heroku, all versions (HTTP Archive, mobile) | 1,506 (0.017% of the crawl), Aug 2026Sites detected as hosted on Heroku (all stacks). | ||
| Home pages using Heroku, all versions (HTTP Archive, desktop) | 2,157 (0.04% of the crawl), Aug 2026 | ||
| Same measure 12 months earlier (mobile) | 6,111 (0.066% of the crawl), Aug 2025 | ||
| Job postings and salaries | Not published: the job-posting source is on hold pending a data licence. | — | — |
Versions in scope
Heroku Cedar-generation stacks (heroku-18 to heroku-26). Heroku publishes support ends by month. Dates per version, each with its source.
| Version | Status | Standard support ends | Extended support ends | Latest release | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heroku-26 (Ubuntu 26.04) | Supported | — | — | |||
| Heroku-24 (Ubuntu 24.04) | Supported | — | — | |||
| Heroku-22 (Ubuntu 22.04) | Supported | — | — | |||
| Heroku-20 (Ubuntu 20.04) | Unsupported | — | — | |||
| Heroku-18 (Ubuntu 18.04) | Unsupported | — | — |
If you still run Heroku stack
The deadline that matters is the end date of the stack your app runs on. Heroku-18 and heroku-20 are already end of life. Heroku-22 is deprecated and supported through April 2027. Heroku publishes only the month, so treat the whole month as the deadline. Heroku-24 runs to April 2029 and heroku-26 to April 2031.
The realistic options:
- Upgrade the stack. Move to heroku-24 or heroku-26. This is a configuration change plus a deploy, followed by testing of the language runtime, system libraries and any third-party buildpacks. It is the smallest change that clears the deadline.
- Move to Fir. Fir-generation apps use Cloud Native Buildpacks, and the base image is chosen through the builder in project.toml. Heroku notes that switching an existing app from classic buildpacks can need other code changes, so this is a bigger step than changing the stack.
- Leave Heroku. Moving to Kubernetes or another platform removes the dependence on Heroku's stack schedule and takes the base image under your control, along with its patching. Heroku to Kubernetes migration covers buildpack migration, scoping and cost ranges.
Heroku's heroku-20 notice shows what end of life means in practice: the app keeps running without security updates, and new deployments are blocked, so the first sign of trouble is a failed release when you need a hotfix.
For suppliers, see cloud modernization companies. Modernization costs gives budget context.
Frequently asked questions
Is the heroku-22 stack still supported?
Yes, but it is marked deprecated. Heroku's stack page lists heroku-22 (Ubuntu 22.04) as supported through April 2027. Heroku-24 is supported through April 2029 and heroku-26 through April 2031.
What happens when a Heroku stack reaches end of life?
Using heroku-20 as the example, Heroku says apps keep running but receive no security updates and only limited technical support. From 1 May 2025 it allowed no new builds, so no new code deployments (Heroku-20 end-of-life FAQ). Heroku also started failing the first build of each app in the months before the date.
Which Heroku stack should I use?
The latest supported stack. Heroku-24 is the default for new Cedar apps, and heroku-26 is the newest. Fir-generation apps set the stack to cnb and choose the base image through the Cloud Native Buildpacks builder instead (stack page).
How do I move an app to a newer stack?
For Cedar apps on classic buildpacks, run heroku stack:set with the new stack name and deploy. Heroku says its own buildpacks work with all supported stacks but third-party buildpacks are not guaranteed to, so test before switching production.