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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

DigitalOcean vs Monday.com

DigitalOcean logo

DigitalOcean

Cloud & Infrastructure

The developer cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Monday.com logo

Monday.com

Technology

A platform built for a new way of working

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; Monday.com expensive at scale with 3-seat minimum and costs increasing quickly with team size
  • They diverge on capability: DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Monday.com covers Customizable workflows.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DigitalOcean and Monday.com actually diverge.

Attributes where DigitalOcean and Monday.com differ
AttributeDigitalOceanMonday.com
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsLinux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend)Web, iOS, Android
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureTechnology
Founded20112012

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Monday.com

  • Customizable workflows
  • Multiple views (Kanban, Gantt, Calendar)
  • Automation engine
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Mobile apps
  • Forms
  • Dashboards
  • Workload management

Both cover

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

Monday.com

  • Project managementnot DigitalOcean
  • Sales CRMnot DigitalOcean
  • Marketing campaignsnot DigitalOcean
  • HR processesnot DigitalOcean
  • IT ticketingnot 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

Monday.com

  • Expensive at scale with 3-seat minimum and costs increasing quickly with team size
  • Limited free plan with only 2 users and 3 boards
  • Mobile app provides reduced functionality compared to web version
  • Email CC/BCC limitations for looping in stakeholders without full board access
  • WorkForms can only create new items, not update existing ones

Pricing, plan by plan

DigitalOcean

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the DigitalOcean review.

Monday.com

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Monday.com 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 Monday.com if

  • You need customizable workflows.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want multiple views (kanban, gantt, calendar).
Monday.com review

Questions people ask

Is DigitalOcean or Monday.com better?
Neither clearly leads. DigitalOcean starts at Free and Monday.com at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DigitalOcean or Monday.com?
DigitalOcean starts at Free and Monday.com at Free.
Does DigitalOcean or Monday.com run on more platforms?
DigitalOcean runs on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend). Monday.com runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 Monday.com is typically brought in for.
What can DigitalOcean do that Monday.com cannot?
DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Managed Kubernetes, App Platform, Managed Databases. Monday.com covers Customizable workflows, Multiple views (Kanban, Gantt, Calendar), Automation engine, Real-time collaboration. Both handle SOC2, ISO27001.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Monday.com: Does Monday.com have a free plan?

Yes, Monday.com offers a free plan limited to 2 users and 3 boards. Paid plans start at around $9 per seat per month and require a minimum of 3 seats.

Source
Monday.com: Can I use Monday.com on mobile?

Monday.com is available on iOS and Android, but the mobile app lacks the full depth of the desktop version, making complex board management more difficult on the go.

Source
Monday.com: Does Monday.com support offline work?

Monday.com is primarily a cloud-based platform and does not have robust offline capabilities. You need an internet connection to access and edit boards.

Source
Monday.com: What is Monday.com's pricing based on?

Pricing is based on the number of seats and which product module you choose (Work Management, Sales CRM, Dev, or Service). Each module has different features and pricing.

Source
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Related pages

More on DigitalOcean

More on Monday.com

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