heroku: set SSL certificates on Free Plan?

Question

I would like to set some SSL certificates for one app I have on heroku (a simple application based on nodeJS + Vue).

I know if I upgrade to the Hobby Plan (7$ for mo

Answer 1

Here's how you get FULL SSL using Cloudflare for FREE.

Step 1: Point Your domain to CloudFlare. You basically open an account an enter your domain when prompted. You may be given instructions to change your domain name servers.

Step 2: Add Cname Record of Heroku Server in DNS of Cloudflare. Instructions are here. Here You will get Some SSL Security Issue.

Step 3: Now Change Your SSL/TLS encryption mode to Full

Step 4: In your DNS settings, you’ll want to create a CNAME: yourdomain.com -> yourapp.herokuapp.com.

(I learned about the general approach here https://mikecoutermarsh.com/adding-ssl-to-heroku-with-cloudflare/ Although it's old, it still works.

Answer 2

Get your free certificate at https://letsencrypt.org/.

Works very fine!

Answer 3

I had this issue also. I wanted to set up a custom domain for my free account on Heroku for my React App. I searched so much info on the web and read loads of documents from Heroku support.

The conclusion is that on the Heroku free account, a custom domain name with SSL certificate cannot be setup. If you need SSL with your custom domain name, you need to upgrade to any of their paid hosting accounts.

Heroku does provide SSL certificate for their free account as long as it is not using a custom domain name. So the standard free account URL will be something like this "https://your-app-name.herokuapp.com"

NB. Google Firebase allows free hosting and Custom Domain name with SSL, for up to a certain amount of traffic before charging. For testing an app, this will be a perfect alternative. I am using it. And it was easy to set up my custom domain.

I hope this saves you hours of searching.

Answer 4

If you are using

1]free heroku,

You can't use 1)free ssl or 2)paid ssl

2]paid heroku

1)you get free ssl 2)you can use paid ssl also

Solution 1]get paid heroku 2]move to netlify or other alternatives

Answer 5

Since you don't make explicit if you need to apply the SSL certificate to a custom domain, I think it's necessary to say that according to the Heroku documentation:

Apps using free dynos can use the *.herokuapp.com certificate if they need SSL.

https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/ssl

Maybe future readers could find this answer helpful...

Answer 6

Late response but I'm adding here I just spent an hour trying to setup SSL with Heroku - resulting in a dead end.

The bottom line is that Heroku mentions they offer free SSL certificates but that's really not the case unless you have a Hobby ($7/mo) or Pro plan.

This link has more details and feedback from other users facing the same issue.

The answer above about LetsEncrypt is incorrect. Although you can get a free certificate, it cannot be included in a free Heroku app.

Other users have pointed to this article with a step-by-step guide but the guide is outdated and the 'Labs' option mentioned does not work with Heroku anymore.

see comments below for some alternative suggestions

In my specific case, I was able to get a free SSL on zeit.