DigitalOcean vs Fly.io (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, DigitalOcean and Fly.io share a 2.2 GPA, and only DigitalOcean has a free plan.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
DigitalOcean grades higher on value for money. Fly.io grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
DigitalOcean
Cloud servers, app hosting and managed databases for developers
Fly.io
Virtual machines and databases in 18 regions, billed per second
Which one is for you
Pick DigitalOcean if
- Fits if you want plain virtual machines with a monthly cap on the price
- Works for teams that want databases and Kubernetes under one bill
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want to patch and secure a server yourself
- Tight if you stay free: 3 static apps and 1GiB of transfer each
- Watch out: a container, worker or job makes a free app paid
- Watch out: most listed prices are starting points, and larger Droplets, databases and GPUs cost more
Pick Fly.io if
- Fits if you want machines near users in several regions and are fine on the command line
- Works for apps that stop when idle and pay by the second
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as the trial is $1 for 7 days
- Not for you if you don't like a command line
- Pricey if you add a database: Managed Postgres starts at $38 a month
- Watch out: the prices quoted are for Ashburn and Secaucus, the cheapest regions, and a dedicated IPv4 is $2 a month
- Watch out: data out costs $0.02 per GB in North America and Europe and $0.12 in Africa and India
How we grade them
| 2.2GPADigitalOceanFair | 2.2GPAFly.ioFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BDroplets from $4 a month, inside the cheaper quarter ($5.28). Managed databases start at $15, Kubernetes at $12 and bandwidth past the allowance is $0.01 per GiB. | C$2.19 a month buys a 256MB machine, but the vendor's own example of a small app with Managed Postgres is about $44 a month, and Postgres starts at $38. |
| Free plan and trial | C3 static-site apps free on App Platform, 1GiB of transfer each. Add a container, worker or job and the app is paid. | CNew accounts get $1 of credit for 7 days with no card. That's a taste, not a plan. |
| Features | BDroplets, App Platform, managed Kubernetes and databases, storage, backups and GPUs from one provider. The listing names no hole in the core job. | BMachines in 18 regions, launch from a repo, Managed Postgres, volumes, snapshots and free shared IPv4. The listing names no gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. Droplets are unmanaged servers: setup, updates and security are yours. | DNo store rating on record. The flow is built around its command line and a Dockerfile. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, and the listing shows no integrations. | BWeb only, with GitHub, Slack, Tigris and Upstash and a CLI. |
| Best for | plain cloud servers for developers | small servers in many regions, billed by the second |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: DigitalOcean and Fly.io. How we grade
Price against what you get
DigitalOcean starts at $4 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Fly.io starts at $2.19 a month and scores 2.3.
Fly.io scores higher and starts $1.81 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 8 score higher than DigitalOcean for less, and 1 scores higher than Fly.io for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Fly.io also covers AI agents.
At a glance
| DigitalOcean | Fly.io | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $4 per month (Droplet), billed per second | $2.19 per month for the smallest Machine, pay as you go |
| Free plan | App Platform: 3 apps made only of static sites, with 1GiB of data transfer per app. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | New accounts get $1 of credit for 7 days, no card required. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | DigitalOcean | Fly.io |
| Price read from | digitalocean.com | fly.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
DigitalOcean
- Free App Platform apps can only use static site components; any container, worker or job makes the app paid.
- Bandwidth beyond a Droplet's included transfer is billed at $0.01 per GiB.
- A Droplet is an unmanaged server: updates and security setup are the buyer's job.
- Many of the listed prices are starting points; larger Droplet, database and GPU sizes cost more.
Fly.io
- There is no free plan; the trial is a $1 credit that lasts 7 days or until it is used up.
- Machine prices quoted are for Ashburn and Secaucus, the lowest-priced regions, and vary by region.
- Outbound data costs $0.02 per GB in North America and Europe and $0.12 per GB in Africa and India.
- A dedicated IPv4 address is $2 a month, and a small web app with Managed Postgres is about $44 a month by the vendor's own example.
Key features
DigitalOcean
- Droplets
- Virtual machines in Basic and Premium CPU options, billed per second since January 1, 2026, with a monthly cap on each size.
- App Platform
- A managed way to deploy static sites, web services, workers and jobs, with free static sites for up to three apps.
- Managed Kubernetes and Functions
- Kubernetes starts at $12 a month, and Functions include 90,000 GiB-seconds a month free with no per-invocation charge.
- Storage
- Spaces object storage starts at $5 a month, block storage volumes at $10, and shared file storage is $0.15 per GiB-month.
- Backups and snapshots
- Droplet backups cost 20% of the Droplet price for weekly and 30% for daily, and snapshots are usage-based from $0.01 per GiB a month.
- GPU Droplets and AI models
- GPU Droplets start at $0.76 per GPU-hour on demand, and the platform also lists hosted AI models priced per million tokens.
Fly.io
- Fly Machines
- Fast-booting VMs for production apps, run in 18 regions, billed by the second while running and at a lower rate when stopped.
- Launch from GitHub or the CLI
- fly launch deploys an app from a repo or folder and generates a Dockerfile for many popular frameworks when none exists.
- Managed Postgres
- A managed database service, or you can run your own datastore on Machines with attached volumes.
- Sprites
- Hardware-isolated sandboxes that start quickly, stay on and scale to zero when idle, aimed at agents and untrusted code.
- Volumes and snapshots
- Persistent volumes cost $0.15 per GB a month and snapshots $0.08 per GB, with the first 10GB of snapshots free.
- Free shared IPv4 and certificates
- Apps get a shared IPv4 address and IPv6 addresses free, and the first 10 single-hostname SSL certificates are free.
Plans
DigitalOcean
App Platform static sites$0
per month for up to 3 static-site apps
Free for apps using only static sites, with 1GiB of transfer each. Extra static-only apps are $3 a month.
App Platform containers$5
per month for the entry container plan
Paid apps with web services, workers or jobs run on container plans from $5 a month; other plans include $10, $20 and $25.
Droplets$4
per month, billed per second
Virtual machines, billed per second with a 60-second or $0.01 minimum. Each includes outbound transfer, starting at 500GiB a month.
Managed Databases$15
per month and up
Fully managed databases for PostgreSQL, MySQL and caching, maintained by DigitalOcean.
Fly.io
Pay As You Go$2.19
per month for a 256MB Machine, billed by the second
No platform fee. 512MB is $3.69, 1GB is $6.70 and 2GB is $13.39 a month in Ashburn and Secaucus; other regions cost more.
Managed Postgres$38
per month for the Basic cluster, plus $0.28/GB storage
Managed database clusters run from $38 a month (Basic) to $1,922 a month (Performance).
Standard support$29
per month
Optional paid support. Premium is $199 a month and Enterprise starts at $2,500 a month; community support is free.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, DigitalOcean or Fly.io?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Fly.io is cheaper to start with: $2.19 a month, against $4 a month for DigitalOcean. DigitalOcean starts at $4 per month (Droplet), billed per second, and Fly.io starts at $2.19 per month for the smallest Machine, pay as you go.
Which has a free plan, DigitalOcean or Fly.io?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only DigitalOcean has a free plan. Fly.io does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.