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DigitalOcean vs Vault

DigitalOcean logo

DigitalOcean

Software

The developer cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vault logo

Vault

Software

Manage Secrets and Protect Sensitive Data

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; Vault vault 1.15.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, not an OSI open source licence, with IBM Corporation as licensor
  • They diverge on capability: DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Vault covers Secrets management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DigitalOcean and Vault actually diverge.

Attributes where DigitalOcean and Vault differ
AttributeDigitalOceanVault
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsLinux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend)Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
Founded20112015

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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
  • Managed Databases
  • Spaces (Object Storage)
  • Floating IPs
  • Load Balancers
  • Firewalls

Only in Vault

  • Secrets management
  • Authentication
  • Authorization
  • Audit logging
  • API access
  • High availability
  • Replication
  • Ansible

Both cover

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

Vault

  • Centrally storing and rotating secrets, API keys and database credentialsnot DigitalOcean
  • Issuing short-lived dynamic credentials to applications instead of static passwordsnot DigitalOcean
  • Encryption as a service and PKI certificate issuancenot 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

Vault

  • Vault 1.15.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, not an OSI open source licence, with IBM Corporation as licensor
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Vault to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Vault
  • Each version only converts to MPL 2.0 four years after that version is published, and the Change Date is tracked per version
  • Replication, HSM support, namespaces, performance standby nodes, FIPS builds, control group authorisation, multi-factor authentication, secrets sync and lease count quotas all require a Vault Enterprise licence
  • A Vault Enterprise licence must be applied to the cluster before any Enterprise feature can be used

Pricing, plan by plan

DigitalOcean

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the DigitalOcean review.

Vault

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Secrets management
    • Encryption as a service
    • Identity management
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Advanced features
    • Premium support
    • Dedicated updates

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 Vault if

  • You need secrets management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want authentication.
Vault review

Questions people ask

Is DigitalOcean or Vault better?
Neither clearly leads. DigitalOcean starts at Free and Vault at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DigitalOcean or Vault?
DigitalOcean starts at Free and Vault at Free.
Does DigitalOcean or Vault run on more platforms?
DigitalOcean runs on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend). Vault runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
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 Vault is typically brought in for.
What can DigitalOcean do that Vault cannot?
DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Managed Kubernetes, App Platform, Managed Databases. Vault covers Secrets management, Authentication, Authorization, Audit logging. Both handle Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, Encryption.
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