Heroku Managed PostgreSQL

Heroku Postgres is a fully managed, scalable, and secure SQL database-as-a-service (DBaaS) based on the open-source PostgreSQL. It handles the heavy lifting of database administration, such as patching, failover, and backups, so developers can focus on building applications rather than managing infrastructure. It integrates seamlessly with the Heroku platform and supports a wide range of use cases from development to enterprise-scale workloads.

Heroku provides standard tools to make migration straightforward. You can use the pg_dump and pg_restore utilities to import data from any standard Postgres database. Learn more in our guides on migrating to Heroku Postgres.

For moving data between Heroku databases, the Heroku PGBackups service offers simple commands to copy and restore data. We also support data replication tools for minimizing downtime during large migrations.

Heroku Postgres supports each major version after testing for compatibility with the platform. Our currently supported versions are listed here.

We regularly update our support to align with the PostgreSQL community release cycle, ensuring you have access to the latest features and security improvements.

Heroku makes upgrading the major Postgres version of a Heroku Postgres database simple and safe. You can initiate an upgrade at any time using the pg:upgrade command. This automated process provisions a new database with the newer Postgres version and transfers your data to it with minimal downtime. This allows you to stay current with the latest Postgres features and performance improvements on your own schedule.

Yes. Heroku Postgres includes default security features such as Continuous Protection and encryption-at-rest on all supported plans. For regulated industries requiring higher compliance (such as PCI or HIPAA), Heroku Shield Postgres offers additional isolation, strict SSL enforcement, and keystroke logging to meet rigorous enterprise standards.

Yes, Heroku Postgres is suitable for applications that require PCI or HIPAA compliance. For applications in regulated industries, Heroku Shield Postgres provides the additional security features and controls necessary for building HIPAA and PCI-compliant applications. This includes strict SSL enforcement, data encryption at rest with customer-managed keys, and network isolation within a Shield Private Space.

Yes, Heroku Postgres supports high availability (HA). For production applications that require maximum uptime, Heroku offers Premium and Shield plans that include High Availability (HA). When HA is enabled, Heroku automatically provisions a standby database replica in a physically separate availability zone. If the primary database fails or becomes unreachable, Heroku automatically fails over to the standby, ensuring your application stays online.

Yes, you can easily sync data between Heroku Postgres and Salesforce using Heroku Connect, a powerful, bidirectional data synchronization service designed specifically for this purpose. It virtualizes Salesforce data into Postgres tables, eliminating the need for fragile ETL pipelines or complex API middleware. Updates flow bidirectionally in near real-time without custom code.

Heroku Connect offers several distinct advantages over custom API integrations or third-party ETL tools:

• API limit exemptions: Data synchronization via Heroku Connect (using SOAP and Bulk APIs) does not count toward your Salesforce organization’s daily API request limits, allowing you to sync massive datasets without worry.
• Zero maintenance: It is a fully managed service configured with a simple point-and-click UI, eliminating the need to write, host, and patch custom integration code.
• Performance: By leveraging Salesforce’s streaming APIs and native integration, Heroku Connect provides high-throughput, near real-time synchronization that is difficult to achieve with standard polling methods.

Yes, Heroku Postgres supports a wide variety of PostgreSQL extensions, including PostGIS for geospatial data, pg_stat_statements for performance monitoring, pgcrypto for hashing and encryption, and pgvector for AI/ML vector search capabilities.

You can enable most of these extensions directly on your database using the standard CREATE EXTENSION command. To learn more about how to install, manage, upgrade, and remove extensions, please see our documentation in the Heroku Dev Center.

Yes, you can use Heroku Postgres for AI applications with vector search. Heroku Postgres supports the open-source pgvector extension, which allows you to store, index, and query vector embeddings directly within your database. This turns Heroku Postgres into a powerful vector database for building AI-driven applications, such as semantic search engines, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) workflows, recommendation systems, and chatbots powered by Large Language Models (LLMs).