DigitalOcean vs Koyeb (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, DigitalOcean grades higher than Koyeb: 2.2 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
DigitalOcean grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Koyeb grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
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
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 Koyeb if
- Fits if you deploy containers and want autoscaling
- Works for AI jobs that need GPUs and per-second billing
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan
- Pricey if you run one small app, at $29 plus compute
- Watch out: the pricing page says Koyeb is joining Mistral AI and doesn't say what changes
- Watch out: private Slack support, SSO and RBAC are on higher plans, and the SLA starts at Scale, $299
- Watch out: the monthly total depends on usage
How we grade them
| 2.2GPADigitalOceanFair | 1.8GPAKoyebWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | D$29 a month plus compute on Pro, with $10 of compute included, against a category middle of $11. Scale is $299. |
| 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. | FNo free plan, apart from a 5-hour Postgres tier. |
| Features | BDroplets, App Platform, managed Kubernetes and databases, storage, backups and GPUs from one provider. The listing names no hole in the core job. | BAutoscaling and scale-to-zero, GPUs, Postgres, 7 regions, GitHub and registry deploys, CLI, API and Terraform. Nothing core is missing in the listing. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. Droplets are unmanaged servers: setup, updates and security are yours. | CNo store rating on record. You connect repos or containers and pick instance sizes. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, and the listing shows no integrations. | BWeb only, with GitHub, Docker, Terraform, Pulumi, Postgres and AWS. |
| Best for | plain cloud servers for developers | autoscaling containers and GPUs on a usage bill |
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 Koyeb. 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. Koyeb starts at $29 a month and scores 2.7.
Koyeb scores higher, and starts $25 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 8 score higher than DigitalOcean for less, and none scores higher than Koyeb 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
- DigitalOcean also covers databases.
At a glance
| DigitalOcean | Koyeb | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $4 per month (Droplet), billed per second | $29 per month plus compute (Pro) |
| Free plan | App Platform: 3 apps made only of static sites, with 1GiB of data transfer per app. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | DigitalOcean | Koyeb |
| Price read from | digitalocean.com | koyeb.com |
| 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.
Koyeb
- The plan fee is on top of compute, which is billed per second, so the monthly total depends on usage.
- The pricing page carries a banner saying Koyeb is joining Mistral AI; what that means for the product was not stated there.
- Private Slack support, SSO and RBAC are limited to higher plans, and an uptime SLA starts with Scale.
- No free plan is listed on the pricing page, apart from a 5-hour free Postgres tier.
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.
Koyeb
- Serverless compute
- Apps run in autoscaling VMs on bare metal, with scale-to-zero and per-second billing, and deploy from a GitHub push or a container registry.
- GPU instances
- The pricing page lists GPUs from RTX-4000-SFF-ADA at $0.50 an hour up to 8x H200 at $24 an hour.
- Serverless Postgres
- Postgres instances are billed by the second, from a free 5-hour tier up to larger instances, with storage at $0.50 per GB a month.
- Seven regions
- Pro and Scale deploy to 7 regions in the US, EU and Asia; Scale adds AWS regions, and Enterprise lists 50 on-demand regions.
- Networking
- 1 TB of bandwidth a month is included, with extra at $0.02 per GB in the EU and US and $0.04 in Asia, plus automatic HTTPS, private networking and WebSockets.
- CLI, API and Terraform
- Deployment can be driven from the CLI, an API, Terraform or Pulumi.
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.
Koyeb
Pro$29
per month, plus compute used
Includes $10 of compute, 10 users, 100 services, 5 concurrent builds, volumes and snapshots, and email and chat support.
Scale$299
per month, plus compute used
Includes $100 of compute, 50 users, 1,000 services, 20 concurrent builds, AWS regions, a Slack cross-connect and a 99.9% uptime SLA.
EnterpriseCustom
Starts at $1,000 a month, according to the page: private dedicated locations, unlimited users, SSO, RBAC, audit trail and 24x7 support.
Ways to pay less
DigitalOcean
No public discounts listed.
Koyeb
- Startups
Up to $30k in credits for early-stage startups
The pricing page offers early-stage startups up to $30k in credits; the details are on a separate startup program page.
- Other savings
Up to 50% off with long-term reservations
The pricing page says saving plans with long-term reservations get up to 50% off on-demand prices, arranged through sales.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, DigitalOcean or Koyeb?
As of Nov 12, 2026, DigitalOcean is cheaper to start with: $4 a month, against $29 a month for Koyeb. DigitalOcean starts at $4 per month (Droplet), billed per second, and Koyeb starts at $29 per month plus compute (Pro).
Which has a free plan, DigitalOcean or Koyeb?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only DigitalOcean has a free plan. Koyeb does not.
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.