Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head
Google Cloud Platform vs DigitalOcean
Google Cloud Platform
Cloud & Infrastructure
Trusted by millions of enterprises
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Google Cloud Platform the $300 Free Trial credit expires 90 days from signup, whichever comes first with spending it; DigitalOcean data transfer overage charged at $0.01 per GiB beyond included allowances
- They diverge on capability: Google Cloud Platform covers Compute Engine, DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS).
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Google Cloud Platform and DigitalOcean actually diverge.
| Attribute | Google Cloud Platform | DigitalOcean |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, Api, Cli | Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend) |
| Founded | 2008 | 2011 |
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 Google Cloud Platform
- Compute Engine
- App Engine
- Cloud Run
- Cloud Storage
- Cloud SQL
- BigQuery
- Dataflow
- Cloud Pub/Sub
Only in DigitalOcean
- Droplets (VPS)
- Managed Kubernetes
- App Platform
- Managed Databases
- Spaces (Object Storage)
- Floating IPs
- Load Balancers
- Firewalls
Both cover
- Terraform
- Kubernetes
- Docker
- Git
- SOC2
- ISO27001
- Encryption
- Cloud deployment
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Google Cloud Platform
- Running compute, storage and managed data services on Google's cloudnot DigitalOcean
- Hosting Kubernetes workloads on GKE alongside BigQuery analyticsnot DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean
- Developers seeking affordable VPS starting at $4/month for small applicationsnot Google Cloud Platform
- Teams deploying containerised workloads with Kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster costnot Google Cloud Platform
- Data scientists and ML engineers requiring NVIDIA GPU access at $1.91/GPU/hour (committed)not Google Cloud Platform
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Google Cloud Platform
- The $300 Free Trial credit expires 90 days from signup, whichever comes first with spending it
- Free Tier Compute Engine is limited to one non-preemptible e2-micro instance per month and only in the us-west1, us-central1 or us-east1 regions
- Free Tier Compute Engine includes only 30 GB-months of standard persistent disk and 1 GB of outbound North America data transfer per month
- Free Tier Cloud Storage covers 5 GB-months of regional storage in US regions only, 5,000 Class A and 50,000 Class B operations per month
- Free Tier outbound data transfer allowances exclude destinations in China and Australia
- Compute Engine resources are governed by allocation quotas that require a quota increase request to exceed
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
Pricing, plan by plan
Google Cloud Platform
Free- Free TierFree
- Compute Engine 744 hours/month
- Cloud Storage 5GB
- Cloud SQL 250MB storage
DigitalOcean
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the DigitalOcean review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Google Cloud Platform if
- You need compute engine.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api, Cli.
- You also want app engine.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Google Cloud Platform or DigitalOcean better?
- Neither clearly leads. Google Cloud Platform starts at Free and DigitalOcean at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Google Cloud Platform or DigitalOcean?
- Google Cloud Platform starts at Free and DigitalOcean at Free.
- Does Google Cloud Platform or DigitalOcean run on more platforms?
- Google Cloud Platform runs on Web, Api, Cli. DigitalOcean runs on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend).
- Can I use Google Cloud Platform for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Google Cloud Platform best used for?
- Google Cloud Platform is most often used for running compute, storage and managed data services on google's cloud, hosting kubernetes workloads on gke alongside bigquery analytics. Of those, running compute, storage and managed data services on google's cloud and hosting kubernetes workloads on gke alongside bigquery analytics are not what DigitalOcean is typically brought in for.
- What can Google Cloud Platform do that DigitalOcean cannot?
- Google Cloud Platform covers Compute Engine, App Engine, Cloud Run, Cloud Storage. DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Managed Kubernetes, App Platform, Managed Databases. Both handle Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker, Git.