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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

DigitalOcean vs Oracle Cloud

DigitalOcean logo

DigitalOcean

Cloud & Infrastructure

The developer cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Oracle Cloud logo

Oracle Cloud

Cloud & Infrastructure

Enterprise cloud computing services

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; Oracle Cloud the free trial gives US$300 of credit that expires when consumed or after 30 days, whichever comes first
  • They diverge on capability: DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Oracle Cloud covers Autonomous Database.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DigitalOcean and Oracle Cloud actually diverge.

Attributes where DigitalOcean and Oracle Cloud differ
AttributeDigitalOceanOracle Cloud
PlatformsLinux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend)Linux, Windows, Api, Cli
Founded20112019

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
  • Firewalls
  • Git

Only in Oracle Cloud

  • Autonomous Database
  • Compute Instances
  • MySQL Database Service
  • Object Storage
  • Block Volume
  • Virtual Cloud Network
  • API Gateway
  • Ansible

Both cover

  • Load Balancers
  • Terraform
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • SOC2
  • ISO27001
  • Cloud deployment

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

Oracle Cloud

  • Running virtual machines, databases and storage on Oracle's cloud infrastructurenot DigitalOcean
  • Hosting Oracle Database workloads on infrastructure from the same vendornot 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

Oracle Cloud

  • The free trial gives US$300 of credit that expires when consumed or after 30 days, whichever comes first
  • The US$300 cloud credit is available only in select countries
  • Only one Oracle Cloud Free Trial or Always Free account is permitted per person
  • Accounts left idle for 30 days or more are eligible for suspension or termination as abandoned
  • Always Free NoSQL Database is restricted to the Phoenix region
  • Free Tier availability is subject to capacity limits, and the published per-service capacity figures are estimates that assume the entire credit is spent on that one service

Pricing, plan by plan

DigitalOcean

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the DigitalOcean review.

Oracle Cloud

Free
  • Always FreeFree
    • Oracle Autonomous Database
    • 2 compute instances
    • 100 GB storage
  • Pay-as-You-GoFree
    • Flexible pricing
    • No long-term commitment
    • Enterprise support

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 Oracle Cloud if

  • You need autonomous database.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
  • You also want compute instances.
Oracle Cloud review

Questions people ask

Is DigitalOcean or Oracle Cloud better?
Neither clearly leads. DigitalOcean starts at Free and Oracle Cloud at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DigitalOcean or Oracle Cloud?
DigitalOcean starts at Free and Oracle Cloud at Free.
Does DigitalOcean or Oracle Cloud run on more platforms?
DigitalOcean runs on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend). Oracle Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
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 Oracle Cloud is typically brought in for.
What can DigitalOcean do that Oracle Cloud cannot?
DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Managed Kubernetes, App Platform, Managed Databases. Oracle Cloud covers Autonomous Database, Compute Instances, MySQL Database Service, Object Storage. Both handle Load Balancers, Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes.
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