Blossom and Hatchbox make for an interesting comparison. Both platforms provide a Heroku-like developer experience while keeping costs manageable, but they take different approaches to achieve this goal.
Here’s a detailed comparison to help you understand the differences:
Hatchbox
- Purpose-built for Ruby on Rails applications
- Clean, easy-to-use UI for deployments
- Ubuntu-based with standard system processes
- Traditional deployment without containers
- Built-in support for PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Redis
- Supports multiple cloud providers: AWS, DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, Hetzner
- Focused on Rails-specific features and optimizations
- Limited to Ruby/Rails ecosystem
- Full SSH access
- Free trial with predictable per-server pricing
Blossom
- Language and framework agnostic platform
- Modern UI with git-based deployments
- Ubuntu-based host OS with containerized apps
- Docker and Docker Compose for service orchestration
- Flexible build options: Buildpacks, Nixpacks, Dockerfile, or pre-built images
- Supports any database or service via containers
- Works with all major cloud providers: AWS, Azure, GCP, DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Linode, Vultr, OVHCloud — even on-prem
- Full SSH access
- 5-day free trial with predictable per-server pricing
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Hatchbox | Blossom |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | Rails only | Any framework or language |
| Deployment Method | Traditional | Container-based |
| Service Management | Serveral built-in services | Any service via Docker |
| Infrastructure | Selected providers | Any provider + on-prem |
| Pricing Model | Per server | Per server |
| Build System | Rails-specific | Multiple build options |
| Server Access | SSH access | Full SSH access |
| Setup Complexity | Simple (Rails only) | Simple (any stack) |
Conclusion
Hatchbox is a solid choice for deploying Ruby on Rails applications. It’s built specifically for Rails and offers a simple, container-free deployment experience tailored to that ecosystem.
Blossom is a more flexible, language-agnostic platform that supports any type of application — not just Rails. It combines Heroku-style simplicity with greater control, predictable per-server pricing, and support for all major cloud providers — without the usual DevOps overhead.
See How Blossom Compares on Cost
Use the calculator to compare Blossom's predictable pricing against other platforms.
Want a deeper dive? Read our comprehensive comparison of popular deployment platforms.