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DigitalOcean vs Duplicati

DigitalOcean logo

DigitalOcean

Software

The developer cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Duplicati logo

Duplicati

Software

Free open-source backup with encryption

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: DigitalOcean data transfer overage charged at $0.01 per GiB beyond included allowances; Duplicati no managed service or commercial support
  • They diverge on capability: DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Duplicati covers AES-256 encryption.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DigitalOcean and Duplicati actually diverge.

Attributes where DigitalOcean and Duplicati differ
AttributeDigitalOceanDuplicati
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsLinux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend)Windows, macOS, Linux
Founded20112008

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 DigitalOcean

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

Only in Duplicati

  • AES-256 encryption
  • Incremental backup
  • Deduplication
  • Multiple cloud backends
  • Compression
  • Web interface
  • AWS S3
  • Azure

Both cover

  • Web support

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 Duplicati
  • Teams deploying containerised workloads with Kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster costnot Duplicati
  • Data scientists and ML engineers requiring NVIDIA GPU access at $1.91/GPU/hour (committed)not Duplicati

Duplicati

  • Data protectionnot DigitalOcean
  • Disaster recoverynot DigitalOcean
  • Business continuitynot DigitalOcean
  • Ransomware protectionnot DigitalOcean
  • Compliancenot 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

Duplicati

  • No managed service or commercial support
  • Relies on community support
  • No enterprise features

Pricing, plan by plan

DigitalOcean

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the DigitalOcean review.

Duplicati

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Duplicati review.

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.
DigitalOcean review

Choose Duplicati if

  • You need aes-256 encryption.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want incremental backup.
Duplicati review

Questions people ask

Is DigitalOcean or Duplicati better?
Neither clearly leads. DigitalOcean starts at Free and Duplicati at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DigitalOcean or Duplicati?
DigitalOcean starts at Free and Duplicati at Free.
Does DigitalOcean or Duplicati run on more platforms?
DigitalOcean runs on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend). Duplicati runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
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 Duplicati is typically brought in for.
What can DigitalOcean do that Duplicati cannot?
DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Managed Kubernetes, App Platform, Managed Databases. Duplicati covers AES-256 encryption, Incremental backup, Deduplication, Multiple cloud backends. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Duplicati: Is Duplicati free?

Yes. Duplicati is completely free and open-source under the LGPL license. There are no premium tiers, trials, or limitations.

Source
Duplicati: What does Duplicati support?

Duplicati supports zero-trust, fully encrypted backups to local storage, network drives, and cloud services. It includes deduplication and incremental backups.

Source
Duplicati: What are the platforms?

Duplicati runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It can back up data to local storage, network drives, or cloud providers.

Source
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Related pages

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