Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head
DigitalOcean vs AWS (Amazon Web Services)
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
Cloud & Infrastructure
The leading cloud computing platform
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: DigitalOcean data transfer overage charged at $0.01 per GiB beyond included allowances; AWS (Amazon Web Services) data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills
- They diverge on capability: DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which DigitalOcean and AWS (Amazon Web Services) actually diverge.
| Attribute | DigitalOcean | AWS (Amazon Web Services) |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend) | Web, Api, Cli, Mobile |
| Founded | 2011 | 2006 |
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 DigitalOcean
- Droplets (VPS)
- Managed Kubernetes
- App Platform
- Managed Databases
- Spaces (Object Storage)
- Floating IPs
- Load Balancers
- Firewalls
Only in AWS (Amazon Web Services)
- EC2 - Virtual Servers
- S3 - Object Storage
- RDS - Managed Database
- Lambda - Serverless Computing
- CloudFront - CDN
- VPC - Virtual Network
- IAM - Access Management
- CloudWatch - Monitoring
Both cover
- Terraform
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- SOC2
- ISO27001
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
DigitalOcean
- Developers seeking affordable VPS starting at $4/month for small applicationsnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
- Teams deploying containerised workloads with Kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster costnot AWS (Amazon Web Services)
- Data scientists and ML engineers requiring NVIDIA GPU access at $1.91/GPU/hour (committed)not AWS (Amazon Web Services)
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
- Web hostingnot DigitalOcean
- Data storagenot DigitalOcean
- Machine learningnot DigitalOcean
- Big data analyticsnot DigitalOcean
- Application developmentnot DigitalOcean
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
- Data transfer in is free and data transfer out is charged, which is the standard source of unexpected bills
- Discounts require one or three year Savings Plan commitments rather than being automatic
- Every service is priced separately, so a working architecture has no single published cost
- The free tier is a promotional allowance rather than an ongoing free plan
Pricing, plan by plan
DigitalOcean
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the DigitalOcean review.
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
Free- AWS Free TierFree
- EC2 750 hours/month
- 5GB S3 storage
- 20GB data transfer
- Pay-As-You-GoFree
- No upfront payment
- No long-term commitments
- Pay only for what you use
Which should you pick?
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.
Choose AWS (Amazon Web Services) if
- You need ec2 - virtual servers.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile.
- You also want s3 - object storage.
Questions people ask
- Is DigitalOcean or AWS (Amazon Web Services) better?
- Neither clearly leads. DigitalOcean starts at Free and AWS (Amazon Web Services) at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, DigitalOcean or AWS (Amazon Web Services)?
- DigitalOcean starts at Free and AWS (Amazon Web Services) at Free.
- Does DigitalOcean or AWS (Amazon Web Services) run on more platforms?
- DigitalOcean runs on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend). AWS (Amazon Web Services) runs on Web, Api, Cli, Mobile.
- Can I use DigitalOcean for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is DigitalOcean best used for?
- DigitalOcean is most often used for developers seeking affordable vps starting at $4/month for small applications, teams deploying containerised workloads with kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster cost, data scientists and ml engineers requiring nvidia gpu access at $1.91/gpu/hour (committed). Of those, developers seeking affordable vps starting at $4/month for small applications and teams deploying containerised workloads with kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster cost are not what AWS (Amazon Web Services) is typically brought in for.
- What can DigitalOcean do that AWS (Amazon Web Services) cannot?
- DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Managed Kubernetes, App Platform, Managed Databases. AWS (Amazon Web Services) covers EC2 - Virtual Servers, S3 - Object Storage, RDS - Managed Database, Lambda - Serverless Computing. Both handle Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, SOC2.