VPS and app hosting · head to head
DigitalOcean vs Vultr
What each costs, whether there's a free plan, and what each is best for, from prices checked on their own sites.
| Fact |  DigitalOcean |  Vultr |
|---|---|---|
| From | $4/mo | $2.50/mo |
| Free plan | Yes · $5 signup credit, applied automatically when you create your first team | Yes · Up to $300 free credit for new customers, with a code from Vultr's coupons page |
| Best for | Simple managed apps next to other DigitalOcean services | Cheap servers in many regions |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Website | Visit | Visit |
The difference in short
- Vultr costs less to start: $2.50/mo against $4/mo for DigitalOcean.
- Both have a free plan, trial or credit to start with.
- DigitalOcean is best for simple managed apps next to other DigitalOcean services; Vultr for cheap servers in many regions.
DigitalOcean pricing
All about DigitalOcean| Plan | Price | Specs / includes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Droplet 512 MiB | $4/mo | 1 vCPU · 0.5 GB RAM · 10 GiB SSD | hourly/per-second billing, capped at the monthly price ($0.00595/hr). Regular CPU option. |
| Basic Droplet 1 GiB | $6/mo | 1 vCPU · 1 GB RAM · 25 GiB SSD | hourly/per-second billing, capped at the monthly price ($0.00893/hr) |
| Basic Droplet 2 GiB (1 vCPU) | $12/mo | 1 vCPU · 2 GB RAM · 50 GiB SSD | hourly/per-second billing, capped at the monthly price ($0.01786/hr) |
| Basic Droplet 2 GiB (2 vCPU) | $18/mo | 2 vCPU · 2 GB RAM · 60 GiB SSD | hourly/per-second billing, capped at the monthly price ($0.02679/hr) |
| Basic Droplet 4 GiB | $24/mo | 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM · 80 GiB SSD | hourly/per-second billing, capped at the monthly price ($0.03571/hr) |
| Basic Droplet 8 GiB | $48/mo | 4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM · 160 GiB SSD | hourly/per-second billing, capped at the monthly price ($0.07143/hr). 16 GiB / 8 vCPU / 320 GiB is $96/mo ($0.14286/hr). |
Vultr pricing
All about Vultr| Plan | Price | Specs / includes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud Compute Regular Performance, IPv6-only 0.5 GB | $2.50/mo | 1 vCPU · 0.5 GB RAM · 10 GB SSD | hourly billing, capped at the monthly price ($0.004/hr). IPv6 only. The same size with IPv4 is $3.50/mo ($0.005/hr). |
| Cloud Compute Regular Performance 1 GB | $5/mo | 1 vCPU · 1 GB RAM · 25 GB SSD | hourly billing, capped at the monthly price ($0.007/hr). Regular = previous-generation Intel CPUs and regular SSD. |
| Cloud Compute Regular Performance 2 GB | $10/mo | 1 vCPU · 2 GB RAM · 55 GB SSD | hourly billing, capped at the monthly price ($0.015/hr). A 2 vCPU / 2 GB plan is $15/mo (65 GB, 3 TB). |
| Cloud Compute Regular Performance 4 GB | $20/mo | 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM · 80 GB SSD | hourly billing, capped at the monthly price ($0.03/hr, truncated in my read) |
| Cloud Compute High Frequency 1 GB | $6/mo | 1 vCPU · 1 GB RAM · 32 GB NVMe | hourly billing, capped at the monthly price ($0.009/hr). 3 GHz+ Intel Xeon, NVMe. |
| Cloud Compute High Frequency 4 GB | $24/mo | 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM · 128 GB NVMe | hourly billing, capped at the monthly price ($0.036/hr). High Frequency 2 GB (1 vCPU, 64 GB NVMe, 2 TB) is $12/mo; 2 vCPU / 2 GB is $18/mo. |
What's good, and what to watch for
DigitalOcean
- Billed per second with a one-minute minimum; jobs bill only while running
- The transfer allowance is pooled across all apps in the team
- Development Postgres database for $7 a month
- Autoscaling works only on dedicated-CPU plans, from $29/month
- The $5 size can't scale; transfer beyond the allowance is $0.02/GiB
- Autoscaling works only on dedicated-CPU instances, not shared ones
Vultr
- Hourly billing, with no long-term contracts
- Bandwidth over your quota is $0.01/GB
- 33 data center regions, and a free Kubernetes control plane
- Some locations have different hourly and monthly prices
- The $2.50 plan is IPv6-only, and automatic backups add 20%
Other VPS and app hosting options
Cheapest first where the prices compare.
Fly.io
Hostinger
UpCloud
KamateraFAQ
Which is cheaper, DigitalOcean or Vultr?
Vultr costs less to start: $2.50/mo against $4/mo for DigitalOcean. Prices checked Oct 18, 2026 on each company's own site.
Do DigitalOcean and Vultr have a free plan?
DigitalOcean: Yes: $5 signup credit, applied automatically when you create your first team. Vultr: Yes: Up to $300 free credit for new customers, with a code from Vultr's coupons page.
What else should I compare with DigitalOcean and Vultr?
Other VPS and app hosting options we've checked: Fly.io ($2.19/mo), Hostinger ($2.99/mo), UpCloud ($3.50/mo), Kamatera ($4/mo).
Keep comparing
Built from the prices and facts we checked on each company's own site. We haven't tested either hands-on.How we work