Software · head to head
DigitalOcean vs Scaleway
The short version
- Each has a real cost: DigitalOcean data transfer overage charged at $0.01 per GiB beyond included allowances; Scaleway scaleway's entry-level cloud instances start at 4.99 EUR per month, and its consumption-based services (serverless jobs, IoT hub, container functions) bill by vCPU-second and GB-second beyond a fixed free-tier allowance per account per month, so costs scale with usage rather than a flat seat price.
- They diverge on capability: DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Scaleway covers Virtual Instances.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which DigitalOcean and Scaleway actually diverge.
| Attribute | DigitalOcean | Scaleway |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend) | Web, Api, Cli |
| Founded | 2011 | 1999 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), 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
- Spaces (Object Storage)
- Floating IPs
- Load Balancers
- Firewalls
- Git
Only in Scaleway
- Virtual Instances
- Bare Metal
- Kubernetes Kapsule
- Object Storage
- Serverless Functions
- Container Registry
- Load Balancer
- Ansible
Both cover
- Managed Databases
- Terraform
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- SOC2
- ISO27001
- Encryption
- Cloud deployment
- 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 Scaleway
- Teams deploying containerised workloads with Kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster costnot Scaleway
- Data scientists and ML engineers requiring NVIDIA GPU access at $1.91/GPU/hour (committed)not Scaleway
Scaleway
- Web hostingnot DigitalOcean
- Container orchestrationnot DigitalOcean
- Development environmentsnot DigitalOcean
- Data storagenot 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
Scaleway
- Scaleway's entry-level cloud instances start at 4.99 EUR per month, and its consumption-based services (serverless jobs, IoT hub, container functions) bill by vCPU-second and GB-second beyond a fixed free-tier allowance per account per month, so costs scale with usage rather than a flat seat price.
Pricing, plan by plan
DigitalOcean
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the DigitalOcean review.
Scaleway
Free- DEV1-S$7.99/month
- 2 vCPU
- 2GB RAM
- 20GB SSD
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.
Choose Scaleway if
- You need virtual instances.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api, Cli.
- You also want bare metal.
Questions people ask
- Is DigitalOcean or Scaleway better?
- Neither clearly leads. DigitalOcean starts at Free and Scaleway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, DigitalOcean or Scaleway?
- DigitalOcean starts at Free and Scaleway at Free.
- Does DigitalOcean or Scaleway run on more platforms?
- DigitalOcean runs on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend). Scaleway runs on Web, 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 Scaleway is typically brought in for.
- What can DigitalOcean do that Scaleway cannot?
- DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Managed Kubernetes, App Platform, Spaces (Object Storage). Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Bare Metal, Kubernetes Kapsule, Object Storage. Both handle Managed Databases, Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes.