In this blog post, I’ll be conducting a comparison of DigitalOcean vs Linode, Vultr, Google Cloud, and AWS. I will break down all the key factors, from performance and pricing to scalability and support. So, if you’re looking for the best hosting solution, stick with this post as we explore these giants and help you make an informed choice.
In today’s digital age, picking the perfect hosting provider can be a challenge. With so many other hosting options out there, it can be overwhelming. That’s why I am here to simplify things for you.
Let’s dive in!
Digital Ocean Inc
DigitalOcean is a top cloud provider known for its scalable cloud services and websites, which can be a great fit for businesses. They make it easy to handle heavy workloads by deploying applications across multiple cloud servers without sacrificing performance.
However, it’s important to note that DigitalOcean might not be the ideal choice for everyone. There are several alternatives in the market that might better suit your business needs.
Here are some key advantages of DigitalOcean in simpler terms:
User-Friendly
DigitalOcean stands out for its user-friendly approach. They offer advanced features that are easy to use and scale without complications. Plus, they provide one-click tools that help developers and small teams work quickly and integrate with other tools.
Performance
DigitalOcean’s virtual machines (called droplets) are powered by SSDs, which means they have a fast boot time of just 55 seconds. Their Hex Core machines further enhance the performance of cloud servers.
Affordable Pricing
DigitalOcean offers flexible pricing starting at just $4 per month for their basic plan. They also have hourly and monthly payment options, providing scalability for developers and businesses.
While we’ve highlighted some of DigitalOcean’s strengths here, there’s more to explore about their data centers, security, and ease of installation in other articles.
However, it’s essential to consider other options too. There might be DigitalOcean alternatives that are a better fit for your business. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of these alternatives.
If you want to stick with DigitalOcean but need additional support for managed security and application management, you can also explore Cloudways‘ managed hosting services for DigitalOcean.
When we refer to “DigitalOcean alternatives,” we mean cloud providers designed for development and scalability. Many companies make the mistake of choosing shared providers like DreamHost or Bluehost in search of cheaper services. However, these shared providers lack the unique cloud hosting features that contribute to business success.
The alternatives we’ll discuss in this article are excellent options because they offer scalable hosting, a robust server network, enhanced security, and high performance. There’s no sharing of resources, ensuring you get the best experience and top-notch security. Let’s dive into the details.
List of DigitalOcean Alternatives & Competitors
Our list includes 4 major industry names:
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Google Cloud
- Linode (Akamai)
- Vultr
Now let us have a detailed comparison of each of them with DigitalOcean.
DigitalOcean vs. AWS Cloud Hosting
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a powerhouse in the world of cloud computing. It outshines not only DigitalOcean but also other competitors in terms of its sheer computing capabilities. While DigitalOcean is known for being developer-centric, AWS’s vast scale means it can serve a wide range of users with various cloud hosting services.
One of the prominent services within AWS is Amazon EC2, which directly competes with DigitalOcean’s products.
AWS offers various pricing options, including different instance families and payment plans (On-Demand, Reserved Instances, Spot Instances, etc.).
Here’s how the two compare.
Amazon Cloud Hosting Pricing
Digital Ocean
- Entry-level: $6/month for 1GB memory, 25GB SSD, 1 Core CPU and 1TB bandwidth.
- Intermediate (a): $24/month for 4GB memory, 2 Core CPUs, 80GB SSD and 4TB bandwidth.
- Intermediate (b): $42/month for 8GB, 4 Core CPUs, 160GB SSD, 8GB memory and 5TB bandwidth.
- Premium (b): $336/month for 192GB, 32 Core CPUs, 3.84TB SSD and 12TB bandwidth.
- Hourly and monthly rates.
Amzaon AWS
t2.micro: vCPUs: 1, Memory: 1 GB, Storage: EBS-Only (Variable, based on EBS volume size), Approximate Hourly Price: $0.0116 per hour
t2.small: vCPUs: 1, Memory: 2 GB, Storage: EBS-Only (Variable, based on EBS volume size), Approximate Hourly Price: $0.023 per hour
m5.large: vCPUs: 2, Memory: 8 GB, Storage: EBS-Only (Variable, based on EBS volume size), Approximate Hourly Price: $0.096 per hour
m5.xlarge: vCPUs: 4, Memory: 16 GB, Storage: EBS-Only (Variable, based on EBS volume size), Approximate Hourly Price: $0.192 per hour
c5.large: vCPUs: 2, Memory: 4 GBm, Storage: EBS-Only (Variable, based on EBS volume size), Approximate Hourly Price: $0.085 per hour
c5.xlarge: vCPUs: 4, Memory: 8 GB, Storage: EBS-Only (Variable, based on EBS volume size), Approximate Hourly Price: $0.17 per hour
r5.large: vCPUs: 2, Memory: 16 GB, Storage: EBS-Only (Variable, based on EBS volume size), Approximate Hourly Price: $0.126 per hour
r5.xlarge: vCPUs: 4, Memory: 32 GB, Storage: EBS-Only (Variable, based on EBS volume size), Approximate Hourly Price: $0.252 per hour
g4dn.xlarge: vCPUs: 4, Memory: 16 GB, Storage: EBS-Only (Variable, based on EBS volume size), Approximate Hourly Price: $0.526 per hour
Performance
AWS has data centers all over the world, in 31 different regions. Inside these regions, they have 99 Availability Zones. These data centers are located in 245 countries and territories, and they also have more than 400 Edge Locations, 34 Local Zones, and 115 Direct Connect Locations. AWS is expanding, with plans to add 5 more regions and 15 more Availability Zones in the near future.
When it comes to performance, both AWS and DigitalOcean are strong players. DigitalOcean is a go-to choice for developers, while AWS has become a serious contender among many providers. They both promise an impressive 99.99% uptime, which is backed by a service level agreement (SLA).
A significant study found that DigitalOcean delivers more CPU performance per dollar compared to other cloud providers, including AWS, with almost 40% better value. However, AWS has some advantages too.
In terms of performance, your choice between DigitalOcean and AWS largely depends on your business size. If you’re a small business or developer, DigitalOcean might be your sweet spot. But if you’re a large enterprise looking for top-notch performance and have the resources for AWS, don’t dismiss it. You can opt for managed AWS hosting with Cloudways, simplifying the management of applications, servers, and support with just a single click.
Security
AWS and DigitalOcean take security seriously when it comes to their cloud services. They provide tools to install SSL certificates, SSH keys, and firewalls, which help protect your data. While neither of them offers automatic backups by default, they offer tutorials to assist you in setting up backups.
DigitalOcean offers a free firewall that you can use as you create your Droplets (virtual servers). On the other hand, AWS provides a firewall that may incur some costs, but it comes with extra protection against DDoS attacks, which DigitalOcean doesn’t provide. This makes AWS a preferred choice for companies that prioritize security compliance.
Scalability
AWS and DigitalOcean are both excellent for making your applications handle a lot of traffic. They can scale up when needed. However, they do it differently to suit their users.
AWS offers a wide range of tools like AWS RDS and Amazon Aurora to simplify your app, which is great for big global businesses. They also have Amazon Cloudfront CDN to smoothly deliver your images and videos as your website gets more visitors.
DigitalOcean, on the other hand, is simpler and flexible, but it’s more focused on developers. Here, your team can customize your app’s setup using tools like DO API and CLI to create the best configuration for your needs.
Support
Fast and reliable support is crucial for a successful cloud setup, and DigitalOcean excels in this area. They offer three levels of support:
Developer Support: It’s free and available 24/7. You can get technical assistance from their support team.
Sales Support: If you spend at least $99 per month, you can access additional support. This includes help and guidance from customer success managers.
Premier Support: Designed for businesses, it comes with a monthly fee of $999. With Premier Support, you get top-quality assistance, a rapid response time within 30 minutes, and direct access to the engineering team for the best setup.
AWS also provides solid support, with options to match your needs:
Basic Support: This is free and offers decent assistance.
Developer Support: With monthly fee of $24, you get support with a minimum response time of 8 hours.
Business Support: This level guarantees a response within 2 hours during system failure events. It costs $99 monthly fee.
Enterprise Support: For critical incidents, you’re guaranteed a lightning-fast 30-minute response time. However, this advanced level comes at approximately monthly fee of $999.
Both DigitalOcean and AWS offer various support options to cater to different needs, so you can choose the one that suits your budget and requirements best.
DigitalOcean vs Google Cloud
Google Cloud is a significant competitor in the cloud computing world. They provide the same powerful cloud services they use for their own services like Google Search and YouTube. Just like AWS, Google Cloud is better suited for big companies rather than smaller ones.
Now, let’s talk about pricing.
Pricing
Digital Ocean
- Entry-level: $6/month for 1GB memory, 25GB SSD, 1 Core CPU and 1TB bandwidth.
- Intermediate (a): $24/month for 4GB memory, 2 Core CPUs, 80GB SSD and 4TB bandwidth.
- Intermediate (b): $42/month for 8GB, 4 Core CPUs, 160GB SSD, 8GB memory and 5TB bandwidth.
- Premium (b): $336/month for 192GB, 32 Core CPUs, 3.84TB SSD and 12TB bandwidth.
- Hourly and monthly rates.
Google Cloud
- Offers a free plan with limited usability
- 90-day free trial with up to $300 in credits on joining
- Pricier than DigitalOcean
- Pricing calculator helps you calculate cost
- Pay-as-you
Google Cloud has both free and paid plans. The free plan allows you to use some services like Cloud Storage and Compute Engine without charges, but there are monthly usage limits, so it’s not ideal for small businesses. When you sign up, new customers get a 90-day free trial with up to $300 in credits to test their apps (compared to DigitalOcean’s $100 credit). Both new and existing customers can use over 20 products for free, but they have monthly limits. Similar to AWS, Google Cloud also offers a pay-as-you-go model, which is better suited for big companies.
Google Cloud can be pricier than DigitalOcean, mainly because of how they charge for specific services like BigTable and BigQuery.
To figure out how much you’ll spend, you can use a price calculator that requires inputting certain details. You can also opt for a limited use agreement to finance or use specific configurations, storage, and service settings. On the other hand, DigitalOcean charges on an hourly basis, but the rate is fixed monthly.
Performance
Google Cloud has an edge when it comes to data centers with 44 locations worldwide, compared to DigitalOcean’s 15. Both promise a 99.99% uptime guaranteed by a service level agreement (SLA) and offer compensation for emergencies and downtime. This translates to speedy performance worldwide.
Google Cloud’s disk space and bandwidth are flexible, meaning you only pay for what you actually use. With DigitalOcean, it depends on the bandwidth allocated to your Droplet, although you can buy extra storage if needed. Plus, since all Google services are integrated with Google Cloud Platform (GCP), it’s easy to deploy your services on their available servers. The setup is straightforward and user-friendly.
Security
Google is a strong choice for protecting your data from hackers and cyberattacks. Google Cloud provides a robust security suite that goes beyond what DigitalOcean offers, safeguarding your data from high-level attacks. This includes features like firewalls, protected virtual machines (VMs), binary permissions, and more. They keep these security measures up to date with the latest internet security standards. However, it’s your responsibility to set up and use SSL and other security tools, just like with DigitalOcean.
It’s important to note that Google Cloud doesn’t provide free backup or SSL security. If you want these features, along with an integrated Content Delivery Network (CDN), server and application monitoring, and more, you can consider using Cloudways Managed Hosting for Google Cloud.
Scalability
As we mentioned before, DigitalOcean is great for scaling and is well-suited for production purposes.
On the flip side, Google Cloud, with its massive infrastructure, including the highly scalable BigQuery data warehouse, can handle business scalability on a much larger scale.
Support
Both DigitalOcean and Google Cloud have active user communities and provide free online documentation and support at different levels. Here’s a breakdown of Google Cloud’s support options:
Backup Support: It’s free for Google Cloud users who have a billing account or need help with billing and payment issues. You can get assistance through chat, community support, and phone.
Standard Support: This level is suitable for small and medium-sized businesses. It gives you access to technical support teams for troubleshooting and fixing bugs. The response time is around 4 hours, and it costs $29 per month.
Enhanced Support: Designed for larger companies that offer third-party services, Enhanced Support provides one-on-one technical assistance. You get faster help with a response time of about 1 hour, and it includes API Cloud Support. This option costs $500 per month and 3% of your Google Cloud bill with 1 hour response time.
Premium Support: This is the highest level of support, ideal for high-productivity businesses. It offers a super-fast response time of just 15 minutes. You also get dedicated technical account management and access to Technical Solutions engineers. Premium Support costs about 4% of your Google Cloud bill and $12,500 per month charges.
These support options cater to various business needs, so you can choose the one that fits your requirements and budget best.
DigitalOcean vs Linode
Linode has a loyal global following among Linux users because they offer a variety of products and smooth services. They are a strong competitor to DigitalOcean, especially in terms of being developer-friendly. So, their offerings are quite similar. If you’re new to cloud servers, Linode makes it straightforward to get started, even if you’re a beginner.
Linode is also offering $100 credit to try.
Pricing
Digital Ocean
- Entry-level: $6/month for 1GB memory, 25GB SSD, 1 Core CPU and 1TB bandwidth.
- Intermediate (a): $24/month for 4GB memory, 2 Core CPUs, 80GB SSD and 4TB bandwidth.
- Intermediate (b): $42/month for 8GB, 4 Core CPUs, 160GB SSD, 8GB memory and 5TB bandwidth.
- Premium (b): $336/month for 192GB, 32 Core CPUs, 3.84TB SSD and 12TB bandwidth.
- Hourly and monthly rates.
Linode (Akamai)
- A monthly $5 per 1 core, 1GB RAM, 25GB SSD and 1TB transfer
- A monthly $12 per 1 core, 2GB RAM, 50GB SSD and 2TB transfer
- A monthly $24 per 2 cores, 4GB RAM ,80 GB SSD and 4TB transfer
- A monthly $48 per 2 cores, 8GB RAM, 160 GB SSD and 5TB transfer
- Pay-as-you
Linode (Akamai) pricing is straight forward with no hidden fees or limits. Their starting plan costs $5 per month for 1 GB of resources, and the highest-tier plan is $1152 per month for 192 GB.
Lowest premium plan for dedicated cores memory-intensive applications starts from $60 for 24GB Ram, 2 CPU Cores, 20 GB Storage, 5 TB Transfer and goes up to $960
Similar to DigitalOcean, Linode also offers hourly billing. But, like AWS, they follow a pay-as-you-go model, meaning you only pay for the resources you actually use.
Performance
Linode and DigitalOcean are quite similar when it comes to performance and being developer-friendly.
Linode has 12 data center locations worldwide, slightly fewer than DigitalOcean’s 15. They use multiple load balancers to evenly distribute website traffic among servers, ensuring excellent uptime.
Just like DigitalOcean, Linode guarantees an impressive 99.99% uptime with a service level agreement (SLA). Linode’s Cloud VPS is a strong competitor to DigitalOcean, thanks to its speedy Intel E5 processors and native SSDs for top-notch performance. It boasts a 40-gigabyte network with various backup systems.
Linode offers automatic server upgrades for free and does service credits instead of refunds if there’s any downtime.
However, unlike DigitalOcean, Linode doesn’t have a built-in Content Delivery Network (CDN) to boost webpage loading times. You’d need to set up a CDN yourself.
But here’s the good news: you can fill in those missing features by using Cloudways‘ managed Linode hosting. With this service, you’ll get access to the top-notch CloudFlare CDN, plus 1-Click advanced server management, easy application control, and free SSL installation and automatic renewal.
Security
Linode stands out by providing free DDOS protection for all its servers, which shields them from cyberattacks. Similar to DigitalOcean, Linode also offers a cloud firewall service.
On the other hand, DigitalOcean is enhancing its features to resemble a private cloud, making it more appealing for big organizations and services that handle sensitive data.
Both Linode and DigitalOcean require you to handle important security tasks like monitoring and updates on your own. Alternatively, you can opt for a managed hosting service like Cloudways to take care of these tasks for you.
Scalability
Both Linode and DigitalOcean are robust when it comes to encryption and security.
DigitalOcean leans towards a vertical platform approach, which they think is less complicated and may not result in significant performance improvements.
With Linode, upgrading your server is easy. You simply choose your new amount of RAM and click Reset. That’s it; your server moves to the new setup smoothly.
Both Linode and DigitalOcean offer shared distribution plans that make it simple to transition to more powerful hardware as your requirements expand.
Support
Linode doesn’t provide live chat support like DigitalOcean does. However, you can reach their support team through phone calls from the US or international numbers. They also offer support via tickets, IRC, and email, and these options are available around the clock every day of the year.
Furthermore, Linode has a valuable Q&A community where users help each other by offering answers and solutions to various issues. They also have a section called “Find Books and Resources” that you can refer to for helpful guidance and answers.
DigitalOcean vs Vultr
Vultr is a relatively new player in the game, but it has rapidly caught up with the big names. It’s gaining recognition for its top-notch performance and strong SSD storage, just like DigitalOcean.
Vultr focuses on developers and is suitable for businesses of all sizes. Plus, it’s one of the closest price competitors to DigitalOcean on this list.
Pricing
Digital Ocean
- Entry-level: $6/month for 1GB memory, 25GB SSD, 1 Core CPU and 1TB bandwidth.
- Intermediate (a): $24/month for 4GB memory, 2 Core CPUs, 80GB SSD and 4TB bandwidth.
- Intermediate (b): $42/month for 8GB, 4 Core CPUs, 160GB SSD, 8GB memory and 5TB bandwidth.
- Premium (b): $336/month for 192GB, 32 Core CPUs, 3.84TB SSD and 12TB bandwidth.
- Hourly and monthly rates.
Vultr
- Entry-level: $5/month for 1GB RAM, 1 Core CPU, 25GB SSD, and 1TB bandwidth
- Intermediate (a): $12/month for 1 Core CPUs, 64GB SSD, 2GB memory and 2TB bandwidth.
- Intermediate (b): $40/month for 4 Core CPUs, 160GB SSD, 8GB memory and 4TB bandwidth.
- Premium (a): $240/month for 8 Core CPUs, 32GB memory, 160GB NVMe Disk and 7TB bandwidth.
- Premium (b): $480/month for 16 Core CPUs, 320GB NVMe Disk, 64GB memory and 8TB bandwidth.
Performance
Vultr has 17 data centers globally, which is more than DigitalOcean’s 15. However, both companies are similar when it comes to minimizing delays in data transfer.
While DigitalOcean promises an impressive 99.99% uptime, Vultr claims to provide 100% uptime based on their stringent standards, and they back it up with a service level agreement (SLA). If there’s any downtime, they compensate you with SLA credits based on your hourly rate.
Moreover, Vultr enhances application performance by offering 100% SSD storage and dedicated, fully automated servers. This means your hosted applications run smoothly and efficiently on their platform.
Security
Vultr and DigitalOcean take security very seriously. They use cloud firewalls and various security measures like monitoring, backups, and logging to safeguard your data. Your information is well protected with them.
Scalability
DigitalOcean simplifies scalability with its three plan categories: standard, general-purpose, and CPU-optimized.
Vultr, on the other hand, doesn’t use tiers but provides 10 distinct features for enterprise scalability. This means whether you’re upgrading from a 512MB plan with 0.5TB bandwidth to an 8GB plan with 4TB bandwidth, it’s straightforward with Vultr. Both DigitalOcean and Vultr offer great scalability options, but Vultr can also accommodate custom plans, giving you even more flexibility.
Support
Support is an area where Vultr falls short. Unlike DigitalOcean, which offers three tiers of support, Vultr doesn’t provide contact information on its website. They do have a forum where you can seek assistance, but it may not be suitable for critical issues.
However, there’s no need to give up on Vultr due to its support limitations. You have an alternative. You can choose Cloudways to manage your Vultr hosting. Cloudways offers expert 24/7/365 technical support and convenient 1-click service, making it a great solution for your hosting needs.
To conclude, there are many DigitalOcean competitors to choose from.
When it comes to DigitalOcean alternatives, you’ve got plenty of options to choose from. Your decision should depend on the nature of your business, how much scalability and support you require, and finding the right price.
The best part is, you don’t have to switch providers if you don’t want to. With Cloudways managed services, you can enjoy all these benefits and more, whether you’re using DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Linode, or Vultr. It’s a convenient way to get the services you need for your business.
Related: To learn more about Cloudways, you can check out my in-depth review of Cloudways here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who competes with DigitalOcean?
DigitalOcean’s main competitors are Linode and Vultr. Additionally, they also support Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform.
Is DigitalOcean expensive?
Not at all! In fact, DigitalOcean offers very budget-friendly pricing plans, especially for beginners.
However, some might consider Block Storage a bit costly. To tackle this, you can use Cloudways to manage your DigitalOcean Hosting and enhance security.
Is it cheaper to purchase DigitalOcean Droplets?
DigitalOcean Droplets are quite cost-effective, starting at just $6 per month for 1GB RAM, 1 CPU, and 25GB SSD. You can select different droplet sizes without worrying about unexpected expenses because DigitalOcean’s hourly pricing is quite predictable.
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Thank you for this detailed comparison. It help me to find what i was looking for. Thanks
I am glad you found what you were looking for.
This post is a gem! I’ve been struggling with choosing the right host, and this has been incredibly helpful. Thanks