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Cloud · head to head

DigitalOcean vs Mullvad VPN

DigitalOcean logo

DigitalOcean

Cloud

The developer cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mullvad VPN logo

Mullvad VPN

Cybersecurity

Privacy-first VPN with one flat price and no email required to sign up

From
$5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only DigitalOcean has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: DigitalOcean data transfer overage charged at $0.01 per GiB beyond included allowances; Mullvad VPN offers no free trial or free tier, unlike several consumer VPN competitors.
  • They diverge on capability: DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Mullvad VPN covers Flat single pricing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DigitalOcean and Mullvad VPN actually diverge.

Attributes where DigitalOcean and Mullvad VPN differ
AttributeDigitalOceanMullvad VPN
Starting priceFree$5/month
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend)windows, mac, linux, ios, android
CategoryCloudCybersecurity
Founded20112009

Identical on both: 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 Mullvad VPN

  • Flat single pricing
  • Account-number signup
  • Cash and crypto payments
  • WireGuard support
  • Independent audits

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

Mullvad VPN

  • Paying for a VPN anonymously with cash or cryptocurrencynot DigitalOcean
  • Avoiding tiered upsells with a single flat-rate plannot DigitalOcean
  • Signing up without providing an email addressnot DigitalOcean
  • Verifying a provider's privacy claims via independent auditsnot 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

Mullvad VPN

  • Offers no free trial or free tier, unlike several consumer VPN competitors.
  • Lacks a bundled tiered structure, so there is no cheaper limited plan for occasional users.
  • Server network and streaming-unblocking performance is smaller than large mainstream VPN providers.
  • No annual discount, meaning long-term subscribers pay the same monthly rate as short-term users.

Pricing, plan by plan

DigitalOcean

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the DigitalOcean review.

Mullvad VPN

$5/month
  • Mullvad VPN$5/month
    • Flat rate regardless of subscription length
    • 5 simultaneous devices
    • No email required

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 Mullvad VPN if

  • You need flat single pricing.
  • You work on windows, mac, linux, ios, android.
  • You also want account-number signup.
Mullvad VPN review

Questions people ask

Is DigitalOcean or Mullvad VPN better?
Neither clearly leads. DigitalOcean starts at Free and Mullvad VPN at $5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DigitalOcean or Mullvad VPN?
DigitalOcean has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for DigitalOcean and $5/month for Mullvad VPN.
Does DigitalOcean or Mullvad VPN run on more platforms?
DigitalOcean runs on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend). Mullvad VPN runs on windows, mac, linux, ios, android.
Can I use DigitalOcean for free?
Yes. DigitalOcean has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Mullvad VPN starts at $5/month.
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 Mullvad VPN is typically brought in for.
What can DigitalOcean do that Mullvad VPN cannot?
DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Managed Kubernetes, App Platform, Managed Databases. Mullvad VPN covers Flat single pricing, Account-number signup, Cash and crypto payments, WireGuard support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DigitalOcean: How much does a DigitalOcean Droplet cost?

The cheapest Basic Droplet is $4.00 per month, or $0.00595 per hour, and includes 1 vCPU, 512 MiB of memory, 10 GiB of SSD and 500 GiB of transfer. The next step up is $6.00 per month with 1 GiB of memory, 25 GiB of SSD and 1,000 GiB of transfer.

Source
DigitalOcean: How is DigitalOcean billed?

Droplets are billed hourly as well as monthly, and DigitalOcean states that Bundled Plan and v5 Droplets are billed on a per second basis with a 60 second minimum charge.

Source
DigitalOcean: What does the cheapest DigitalOcean plan include?

At $4.00 per month you get a single vCPU, 512 MiB of memory, 10 GiB of SSD storage and 500 GiB of outbound transfer. That is the smallest Basic Droplet DigitalOcean sells.

Source
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