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When I go to the Heroku dashboard it clearly says:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30200856/Screen%20shot%202013-02-13%20at%203.20.03%20PM.png
"Free: Heroku branded domain" "Basic ($18 per month): custom domain"

After extensive searching on google I found others talking about how you can point to a custom domain for free:

  1. http://jayzawrotny.com/blog/host-your-app-for-free-with-heroku
  2. do you use Heroku to write Ruby on Rails app?
  3. http://ididitmyway.herokuapp.com/past/2010/8/3/custom_domain_names_on_heroku_/
  4. Should I deploy my Ruby on Rails application on Heroku
  5. Heroku free account limited?

I followed instructions as found on google to type in my console 

heroku addons:add custom_domains

but it said "App not found"

Did Heroku become un-free a while ago? What is necessary to have a custom domain for free?

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pete
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    I can't believe people mark neg points without taking the effort to answer why the question is supposedly retarded. I'm even more confused now that I know my question is retarded and still don't understand why. – pete Feb 12 '13 at 12:21
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    "This question does not show any research effort" is the guidance given on the downvote popup. Perhaps harsh given that you just weren't looking in the right place. And yes, it is unconstructive when people don't justify their downvote. – Douglas F Shearer Feb 12 '13 at 13:29
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    @PeterJames I think your question shows good research effort :) I have upvoted you – culix Feb 13 '13 at 03:45
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    i don't see any wrong with your question. perhaps i wanted to ask a similar question. i up voted you as well :) – Selvakumar Esra Jul 11 '13 at 09:24
  • @PeterJames- Looks like custom domains are now (as of summer 2013) completely free since the launch Heroku's Cedar stack – Yarin Aug 16 '13 at 19:15
  • Years on, this question is still one of the first search results. For reference, [the Heroku docs](https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/custom-domains) now explain how to do this for free. – rustyDog Jul 17 '21 at 01:14

1 Answers1

17

(1) How do I point to a custom domain for free on Heroku?

The Zeringo DNS addon has a Basic tier, which is free. This provides you with 1 domain per app, 10 host records, and 50,00 queries per month.

(2) I .. typed "heroku addons:add custom_domains" in my console but it said "App not found"

The Heroku Addons Catalog stores details of most Heroku addons. The Custom Domains add-on entry reads: The Custom Domains add-on is now a standard platform feature.

It looks like the 'custom domains' add-on has been discontinued and merged. This could explain the 'App Not Found' error.

(3) Did Heroku [custom domains] become un-free?

The Dev Center Article discusses setting up a custom domain by working with your DNS provider. This likely costs whatever your provider charges, which has nothing to do with Heroku, but might not have been explicitly mentioned in blog articles.

culix
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  • Thanks you for this great effort of an answer. However, I have already added Zeringo DNS and it said I have to upgrade to "Basic plan" to get it. As you can see, "Basic plan" is not free; it says "estimated monthly cost $18 per dyno". In other words even the "free" Zeringo can only be used with the "Basic" $18 plan. – pete Feb 13 '13 at 06:25
  • The custom domains stuff you suggested all does not work unless I upgrade my account to the paid version. See here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30200856/Screen%20shot%202013-02-13%20at%203.20.03%20PM.png – pete Feb 13 '13 at 23:21
  • @culix- Don't know if this has changed in last few months, but adding Zeringo seems unnecessary- looks like you can freely add custom domains without it.. – Yarin Aug 16 '13 at 00:43
  • @Yarin Great! Yes, neither that article nor that ability were available when I posted this answer. Thanks for the note, I have upvoted Douglas' answer. It appears that the Zeringo addon is still there. I wonder if they intend to replace it or just to have multiple options. – culix Aug 16 '13 at 02:18
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    @culix- Yea, Zeringo's still there, and not sure why. Funnily, I first tried adding it after reading your answer, and it *limits* you to one base domain, whereas if you don't add it, you can add as many custom domains as you want... – Yarin Aug 16 '13 at 19:07