Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head
Lambda (AWS Serverless) vs DigitalOcean
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Cloud & Infrastructure
Run code without thinking about servers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Lambda (AWS Serverless) billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does; DigitalOcean data transfer overage charged at $0.01 per GiB beyond included allowances
- They diverge on capability: Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS).
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Lambda (AWS Serverless) and DigitalOcean actually diverge.
| Attribute | Lambda (AWS Serverless) | DigitalOcean |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, Api | Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend) |
| Founded | 2014 | 2011 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud & Infrastructure).
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 Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Function-as-a-Service
- Event-driven execution
- Auto-scaling
- Pay-per-use
- Multiple languages
- Concurrency limits
- Dead Letter Queues
- Environment variables
Only in DigitalOcean
- Droplets (VPS)
- Managed Kubernetes
- App Platform
- Managed Databases
- Spaces (Object Storage)
- Floating IPs
- Load Balancers
- Firewalls
Both cover
- Encryption
- Cloud deployment
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Event-driven functions without managing serversnot DigitalOcean
- API backends behind API Gatewaynot DigitalOcean
- Processing S3, DynamoDB, SQS and Kinesis eventsnot DigitalOcean
- Scheduled jobs without a always-on instancenot DigitalOcean
- Edge compute through Lambda@Edgenot DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean
- Developers seeking affordable VPS starting at $4/month for small applicationsnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Teams deploying containerised workloads with Kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster costnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Data scientists and ML engineers requiring NVIDIA GPU access at $1.91/GPU/hour (committed)not Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does
- Provisioned concurrency, used to avoid cold starts, is charged separately at $0.0000041667 per GB-second whether or not the function runs
- Ephemeral storage beyond the included 512 MB is metered
- Lambda@Edge costs $0.60 per million requests, three times the standard request rate
- VPC use and cross-region data transfer carry EC2 charges on top
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
Lambda (AWS Serverless)
Free- Free TierFree
- 1M free requests/month
- 400,000 GB-seconds/month
- Always free
DigitalOcean
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the DigitalOcean review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Lambda (AWS Serverless) if
- You need function-as-a-service.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want event-driven execution.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Lambda (AWS Serverless) or DigitalOcean better?
- Neither clearly leads. Lambda (AWS Serverless) 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, Lambda (AWS Serverless) or DigitalOcean?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) starts at Free and DigitalOcean at Free.
- Does Lambda (AWS Serverless) or DigitalOcean run on more platforms?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) runs on Web, Api. DigitalOcean runs on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend).
- Can I use Lambda (AWS Serverless) for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Lambda (AWS Serverless) best used for?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) is most often used for event-driven functions without managing servers, api backends behind api gateway, processing s3, dynamodb, sqs and kinesis events, scheduled jobs without a always-on instance. Of those, event-driven functions without managing servers and api backends behind api gateway are not what DigitalOcean is typically brought in for.
- What can Lambda (AWS Serverless) do that DigitalOcean cannot?
- Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Event-driven execution, Auto-scaling, Pay-per-use. DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Managed Kubernetes, App Platform, Managed Databases. Both handle Encryption, Cloud deployment, Web support.