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Software · head to head

Pulumi vs DigitalOcean

Pulumi logo

Pulumi

Software

Modern infrastructure as code using programming languages

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
DigitalOcean logo

DigitalOcean

Software

The developer cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Pulumi the free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update; DigitalOcean data transfer overage charged at $0.01 per GiB beyond included allowances
  • They diverge on capability: Pulumi covers Multi-language support, DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS).

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pulumi and DigitalOcean actually diverge.

Attributes where Pulumi and DigitalOcean differ
AttributePulumiDigitalOcean
Pricing modelfreemiumusage-based
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, ApiLinux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend)
Founded20172011

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 Pulumi

  • Multi-language support
  • Multi-cloud
  • State management
  • Secrets management
  • RBAC
  • Stacks
  • Automation API
  • Policy as Code

Only in DigitalOcean

  • Droplets (VPS)
  • Managed Kubernetes
  • App Platform
  • Managed Databases
  • Spaces (Object Storage)
  • Floating IPs
  • Load Balancers
  • Firewalls

Both cover

  • Kubernetes
  • GitHub
  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Pulumi

  • Defining cloud infrastructure as code in TypeScript, Python, Go, C# or Java rather than a DSLnot DigitalOcean
  • Managing Pulumi state and secrets in a hosted backend instead of self-managed storagenot DigitalOcean
  • Policy, drift detection and deployment workflows for platform engineering teamsnot DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean

  • Developers seeking affordable VPS starting at $4/month for small applicationsnot Pulumi
  • Teams deploying containerised workloads with Kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster costnot Pulumi
  • Data scientists and ML engineers requiring NVIDIA GPU access at $1.91/GPU/hour (committed)not Pulumi

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Pulumi

  • The free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update
  • The Team plan is $40 per month base including 40 credits, and caps the organisation at 10 users
  • SAML/SSO, RBAC, audit logs and drift detection require the Enterprise plan at $400 per month base
  • The per-resource rate rises from $0.1825 per resource per month on Team to $0.365 on Enterprise, so upgrading raises the unit price as well as the base fee
  • Managed secrets are billed separately at $0.50 per secret per month on Team and $0.75 on Enterprise
  • Self-hosting, SCIM user sync, audit log export and 24x7 support are only in Business Critical, which is custom priced with no published rate
  • Team includes up to 500 resources and Enterprise up to 2,000, with everything beyond billed on demand as credits

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

Pulumi

Free
  • Pulumi CommunityFree
    • Open source
    • Community support
    • Self-hosted
  • Pulumi Cloud$10/month
    • Hosted backend
    • Team collaboration
    • RBAC

DigitalOcean

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the DigitalOcean review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Pulumi if

  • You need multi-language support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
  • You also want multi-cloud.
Pulumi review

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

Questions people ask

Is Pulumi or DigitalOcean better?
Neither clearly leads. Pulumi 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, Pulumi or DigitalOcean?
Pulumi starts at Free and DigitalOcean at Free.
Does Pulumi or DigitalOcean run on more platforms?
Pulumi runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api. DigitalOcean runs on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend).
Can I use Pulumi for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Pulumi best used for?
Pulumi is most often used for defining cloud infrastructure as code in typescript, python, go, c# or java rather than a dsl, managing pulumi state and secrets in a hosted backend instead of self-managed storage, policy, drift detection and deployment workflows for platform engineering teams. Of those, defining cloud infrastructure as code in typescript, python, go, c# or java rather than a dsl and managing pulumi state and secrets in a hosted backend instead of self-managed storage are not what DigitalOcean is typically brought in for.
What can Pulumi do that DigitalOcean cannot?
Pulumi covers Multi-language support, Multi-cloud, State management, Secrets management. DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Managed Kubernetes, App Platform, Managed Databases. Both handle Kubernetes, GitHub, Cloud deployment.
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