What we like
- Simple hourly billing, no contracts
- Excellent docs and developer tooling
- Same price forever: no renewal jump
Watch out for
- Unmanaged: you run the server yourself
- No control panel or email
The real price of DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean’s cheapest plan, Basic 512 MiB, is advertised at $4 a month, billed monthly. There’s no promotional jump: you renew at the same price. Over three years you’d pay about $144 in total.
Money-back: Billed hourly: stop paying any time. Free domain: no. Backups: Paid add-on. Email: Not included.
DigitalOcean plans and prices
| Plan | Type | Intro | Term | Renews at | 3-yr cost | Sites | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic 512 MiB1 vCPU · 500 GiB transfer | VPS | $4/mo | monthly | $4/mo | $144 | - | 10 GiB SSD |
| Basic 1 GiB1 vCPU · 1,000 GiB transfer | VPS | $6/mo | monthly | $6/mo | $216 | - | 25 GiB SSD |
| Basic 2 GiB1 vCPU · 2,000 GiB transfer | VPS | $12/mo | monthly | $12/mo | $432 | - | 50 GiB SSD |
DigitalOcean price history
No price changes logged since our baseline check on Oct 8, 2026.
Last checked Oct 8, 2026. We re-check every host monthly. See all hosting price changes.
Key facts
| Company | New York, USA · founded 2011 |
|---|---|
| Hosting types | VPS, Cloud hosting |
| Control panel | None (unmanaged) |
| Data centers | Many regions in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia |
| Money-back | Billed hourly: stop paying any time |
| Free domain | No |
| Free SSL | Not included / bring your own |
| Free migration | Not advertised |
| Not included | |
| Backups | Paid add-on |
Verdict
DigitalOcean's Droplets are unmanaged Linux servers from $4 a month, billed hourly with no promotional pricing. Great for developers; not for people who want a control panel. Best for: developers who want a clean, cheap Linux server.
Check today’s price at DigitalOceanDigitalOcean alternatives
Premium plan
Beginners and small sites that want the lowest upfront cost and an easy panel.
- 30-day money-back
- Free domain
- Backups: Weekly on Premium; daily on Busin…
Starter plan
Small sites outside the US that want a nearby data center.
- 45-day money-back
- Free domain
- Backups: Daily (10-30 days retention)
Launch plan
Small businesses that want room to grow and a long trial window.
- 90-day money-back
- Free domain
- Backups: Backup Manager add-on (automated …
Managed Cloud VPS Build #1 plan
Sites outgrowing shared hosting that want a managed VPS without cPanel costs.
- "Anytime" money-back guarantee for unused time
- Backups: Daily
Sources · checked Oct 8, 2026
Ratings are editorial estimates based on published specs, policies and expert and customer consensus, not our own lab tests.