Cloudways vs DigitalOcean
This is not a like-for-like contest. DigitalOcean sells raw compute and hands you the operating system; Cloudways sells a managed service and charges for the work you no longer do. Compare them only if you genuinely have not decided whether to run the server yourself.
Cloudways
$14.00/mo entry
Freelancers and small agencies hosting several client sites on one managed server.
DigitalOcean
$6.00/mo entry
Developers who want a real server with predictable billing and no surprise egress invoice.
Specification differences
Entry-tier plans compared line by line. Rows marked with a dash are preferences rather than measurable wins, so we do not pick a side on them.
| Attribute | Cloudways | DigitalOcean | Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry plan price / month | $14.00 | $6.00 | DigitalOcean |
| Entry plan vCPU | 1 | 1 | |
| Entry plan RAM | 1 GB | 1 GB | |
| Entry plan storage | 25 GB | 25 GB | |
| Included transfer | 1 TB | 1 TB | |
| Listed regions | 25 | 15 | Cloudways |
| Management model | Managed | Unmanaged (you run the OS) | |
| Support | 24/7 live chat and tickets; premium support tiers cost extra. | Ticket support on all plans; paid support tiers for faster response. | |
| Billing | Hourly metering billed monthly, pay-as-you-go. | Hourly metering, capped at the listed monthly price. | |
| Free tier | Free trial available for new accounts; no permanent free tier. | No permanent free tier. Trial credit is offered to new accounts from time to time. |
Every plan from both providers
Sorted by monthly price so you can see where the two ladders overlap.
DigitalOcean
Basic 1GB
$6.00
per month
- Specification
- 1 vCPU / 1 GB RAM
- Storage
- 25 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 1 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $6
- Cost per GB RAM
- $6
- Annual
- $72
AffiliatePricing pageDigitalOcean
Basic 2GB
$12.00
per month
- Specification
- 1 vCPU / 2 GB RAM
- Storage
- 50 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 2 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $12
- Cost per GB RAM
- $6
- Annual
- $144
AffiliatePricing pageCloudways
DO 1GB (managed)
$14.00
per month
- Specification
- 1 vCPU / 1 GB RAM
- Storage
- 25 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 1 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $14
- Cost per GB RAM
- $14
- Annual
- $168
AffiliatePricing pageDigitalOcean
Basic 2GB / 2 vCPU
$18.00
per month
- Specification
- 2 vCPU / 2 GB RAM
- Storage
- 60 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 3 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $9
- Cost per GB RAM
- $9
- Annual
- $216
AffiliatePricing pageDigitalOcean
Basic 4GB
$24.00
per month
- Specification
- 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM
- Storage
- 80 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 4 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $12
- Cost per GB RAM
- $6
- Annual
- $288
AffiliatePricing pageCloudways
DO 2GB (managed)
$28.00
per month
- Specification
- 1 vCPU / 2 GB RAM
- Storage
- 50 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 2 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $28
- Cost per GB RAM
- $14
- Annual
- $336
AffiliatePricing pageCloudways
Vultr HF 2GB (managed)
$30.00
per month
- Specification
- 1 vCPU / 2 GB RAM
- Storage
- 64 GB NVMe
- Included transfer
- 2 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $30
- Cost per GB RAM
- $15
- Annual
- $360
AffiliatePricing pageDigitalOcean
Basic 8GB
$48.00
per month
- Specification
- 4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM
- Storage
- 160 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 5 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $12
- Cost per GB RAM
- $6
- Annual
- $576
AffiliatePricing pageCloudways
DO 4GB (managed)
$54.00
per month
- Specification
- 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM
- Storage
- 80 GB SSD
- Included transfer
- 4 TB
- Cost per vCPU
- $27
- Cost per GB RAM
- $14
- Annual
- $648
AffiliatePricing page
| Provider & plan | Monthly | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Transfer | / vCPU | / GB RAM | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DigitalOcean Basic 1GBAffiliate | $6.00 | 1 | 1 GB | 25 GB | 1 TB | $6 | $6 | Open |
DigitalOcean Basic 2GBAffiliate | $12.00 | 1 | 2 GB | 50 GB | 2 TB | $12 | $6 | Open |
Cloudways DO 1GB (managed)Affiliate | $14.00 | 1 | 1 GB | 25 GB | 1 TB | $14 | $14 | Open |
DigitalOcean Basic 2GB / 2 vCPUAffiliate | $18.00 | 2 | 2 GB | 60 GB | 3 TB | $9 | $9 | Open |
DigitalOcean Basic 4GBAffiliate | $24.00 | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB | 4 TB | $12 | $6 | Open |
Cloudways DO 2GB (managed)Affiliate | $28.00 | 1 | 2 GB | 50 GB | 2 TB | $28 | $14 | Open |
Cloudways Vultr HF 2GB (managed)Affiliate | $30.00 | 1 | 2 GB | 64 GB | 2 TB | $30 | $15 | Open |
DigitalOcean Basic 8GBAffiliate | $48.00 | 4 | 8 GB | 160 GB | 5 TB | $12 | $6 | Open |
Cloudways DO 4GB (managed)Affiliate | $54.00 | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB | 4 TB | $27 | $14 | Open |
All figures are the providers' own published list prices in USD, on-demand monthly, recorded on 2026-08-30. Nothing here is live or negotiated pricing. Hetzner publishes in euros, so its dollar figure moves with the exchange rate. Check the provider's pricing page before you commit.
Related comparisons
Some links on this page are affiliate links, marked Affiliate, and we may earn a commission if you sign up through them. Hetzner and Akamai Cloud pay us nothing and are included anyway, because a comparison that hides the cheapest option is worthless. Commission never affects the ordering: every table on this site is sorted by the figures you choose.