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DigitalOcean vs Portworx Backup

DigitalOcean logo

DigitalOcean

Cloud

The developer cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Portworx Backup logo

Portworx Backup

Backup

Kubernetes application backup with a free tier up to one terabyte

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; Portworx Backup the paid tier carries a 1,000 node hour monthly minimum, so a cluster that only needs occasional protection still pays a floor.
  • They diverge on capability: DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Portworx Backup covers Application-level backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DigitalOcean and Portworx Backup actually diverge.

Attributes where DigitalOcean and Portworx Backup differ
AttributeDigitalOceanPortworx Backup
Pricing modelusage-basedPer node hour
PlatformsLinux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend)Web, Linux
CategoryCloudBackup
Founded2011Unknown

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 Portworx Backup

  • Application-level backup
  • Any CSI provider
  • Cross-cluster restore
  • Namespace and label selection
  • Scheduled policies
  • Role-based access
  • Free tier

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

Portworx Backup

  • A platform team running Velero that needs an accountable vendor for restore failuresnot DigitalOcean
  • Protecting Kubernetes applications across EKS, GKE and on premises clusters under one policy setnot DigitalOcean
  • Restoring a namespace into a different cloud provider as a disaster recovery testnot DigitalOcean
  • A small team that wants real Kubernetes backup within the free one terabyte tier before committing budgetnot 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

Portworx Backup

  • The paid tier carries a 1,000 node hour monthly minimum, so a cluster that only needs occasional protection still pays a floor.
  • It is licensed separately from Portworx Enterprise, so organisations that assumed storage and backup came together find a second subscription in the quote.
  • The free tier caps at one terabyte of protected data, which is quickly exceeded by any database of consequence and forces a jump straight to the minimum commitment.
  • Backup targets are object stores you provide, so restore egress charges from your cloud provider are outside the vendor price and appear during a recovery rather than in procurement.
  • Application-consistent backup of databases still depends on correct pre and post hooks, so the product does not remove the requirement to understand and rehearse your own restore ordering.

Pricing, plan by plan

DigitalOcean

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the DigitalOcean review.

Portworx Backup

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to one terabyte of protected data
    • No feature restrictions
    • Fully managed service
  • Portworx Backup$0.2/node hour
    • Minimum 1,000 node hours per month
    • Unlimited protected capacity
    • Any Container Storage Interface provider

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 Portworx Backup if

  • You need application-level backup.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want any csi provider.
Portworx Backup review

Questions people ask

Is DigitalOcean or Portworx Backup better?
Neither clearly leads. DigitalOcean starts at Free and Portworx Backup at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DigitalOcean or Portworx Backup?
DigitalOcean starts at Free and Portworx Backup at Free.
Does DigitalOcean or Portworx Backup run on more platforms?
DigitalOcean runs on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend). Portworx Backup runs on Web, 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 Portworx Backup is typically brought in for.
What can DigitalOcean do that Portworx Backup cannot?
DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Managed Kubernetes, App Platform, Managed Databases. Portworx Backup covers Application-level backup, Any CSI provider, Cross-cluster restore, Namespace and label selection.

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
Portworx Backup: Is the free tier real?

Yes, up to one terabyte of protected data with no feature restrictions as a managed service. It is a usable production tier for small footprints, not a trial.

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
Portworx Backup: Does it only protect Portworx volumes?

No. It works across Container Storage Interface providers, including cloud provider storage and other vendors' drivers.

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
Portworx Backup: Is it included with Portworx Enterprise?

No. It is a separate licence at 0.20 USD per node hour with its own minimum.

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