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Software · head to head

Alibaba Cloud vs DigitalOcean

Alibaba Cloud logo

Alibaba Cloud

Software

Asia's leading cloud computing provider

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
DigitalOcean logo

DigitalOcean

Software

The developer cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Alibaba Cloud technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included; DigitalOcean data transfer overage charged at $0.01 per GiB beyond included allowances
  • They diverge on capability: Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS).

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alibaba Cloud and DigitalOcean actually diverge.

Attributes where Alibaba Cloud and DigitalOcean differ
AttributeAlibaba CloudDigitalOcean
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Api, CliLinux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend)
Founded20092011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Alibaba Cloud

  • Elastic Compute Service
  • Object Storage Service
  • RDS Database
  • MaxCompute
  • Function Compute
  • CDN
  • Load Balancer
  • API Gateway

Only in DigitalOcean

  • Droplets (VPS)
  • Managed Kubernetes
  • App Platform
  • Managed Databases
  • Spaces (Object Storage)
  • Floating IPs
  • Load Balancers
  • Firewalls

Both cover

  • Terraform
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • SOC2
  • ISO27001
  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in China and Asia Pacificnot DigitalOcean
  • Pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitmentnot DigitalOcean
  • Committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloadsnot DigitalOcean
  • CDN and data transfer packages for content deliverynot DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean

  • Developers seeking affordable VPS starting at $4/month for small applicationsnot Alibaba Cloud
  • Teams deploying containerised workloads with Kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster costnot Alibaba Cloud
  • Data scientists and ML engineers requiring NVIDIA GPU access at $1.91/GPU/hour (committed)not Alibaba Cloud

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
  • Service prices are not shown as a rate card and route through a calculator or sales
  • Committed discounts require savings plans, reserved instances or capacity packages rather than being automatic

DigitalOcean

  • Data transfer overage charged at $0.01 per GiB beyond included allowances
  • Free tier includes only 3 static sites; additional static sites require paid upgrade
  • Container registry free tier capped at 500 MiB storage; exceeding requires paid tier
  • Functions free tier allows 90,000 GiB-seconds monthly; overages billed on usage basis
  • GPU Droplets require minimum monthly commitment for lower hourly rates; on-demand significantly more expensive

Pricing, plan by plan

Alibaba Cloud

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • Free tier credits
    • ECS instances
    • Cloud storage
  • Pay-as-You-GoFree
    • Flexible billing
    • No commitments
    • Global reach

DigitalOcean

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the DigitalOcean review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Alibaba Cloud if

  • You need elastic compute service.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
  • You also want object storage service.
Alibaba Cloud review

Choose DigitalOcean if

  • You need droplets (vps).
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend).
  • You also want managed kubernetes.
DigitalOcean review

Questions people ask

Is Alibaba Cloud or DigitalOcean better?
Neither clearly leads. Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and DigitalOcean at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alibaba Cloud or DigitalOcean?
Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and DigitalOcean at Free.
Does Alibaba Cloud or DigitalOcean run on more platforms?
Alibaba Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli. DigitalOcean runs on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend).
Can I use Alibaba Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Alibaba Cloud best used for?
Alibaba Cloud is most often used for cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific, pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment, committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloads, cdn and data transfer packages for content delivery. Of those, cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific and pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment are not what DigitalOcean is typically brought in for.
What can Alibaba Cloud do that DigitalOcean cannot?
Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Object Storage Service, RDS Database, MaxCompute. DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Managed Kubernetes, App Platform, Managed Databases. Both handle Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, SOC2.
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