Both start at $6/mo for 1 vCPU / 1 GB RAM, but Vultr's $8/mo High Frequency instances include NVMe storage that DigitalOcean only matches at $12/mo. DigitalOcean charges more for its managed-services ecosystem.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | DigitalOcean | Vultr |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Free available | Free available |
| Paid price | $6/mo USD | $6/mo USD |
| Regions | 9 global regions | 32 global locations |
| Bare Metal Option | ||
| Managed Kubernetes | ||
| Managed Databases | ||
| Object Storage | ||
| Load Balancers | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| Private Networking | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Firewalls | ||
| Monitoring | ||
| Score | 8/10 | 8/10 |
Vultr
8
DigitalOcean
8
Runner-up
Vultr is the better raw VPS value, with $8/mo High Frequency instances that beat DigitalOcean's comparable $12/mo offering and a more flexible 32-region network. Choose DigitalOcean if you need managed databases, Kubernetes tooling, or deeper documentation, but for a plain VPS, Vultr wins.
Pricing and Performance
At the entry level, both cost $6/mo for identical shared-hardware specifications, but the gap opens at the next tier. Vultr's $8/mo High Frequency plan includes NVMe SSD and a 3.8 GHz+ CPU, while DigitalOcean's comparable Premium AMD Droplet costs $12/mo, a 50% difference for comparable hardware.
Regions and Availability
Vultr has 32 global locations to DigitalOcean's 9 regions, so although both offer broad coverage, Vultr gives you more deployment-location choice. Check each provider's current region list when your workload requires a specific location.
Ecosystem and Managed Services
DigitalOcean's advantage is everything around the VPS, including managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Redis databases, Kubernetes, App Platform, Spaces object storage, and load balancers, all with documentation. Its community tutorials also cover most common setups.
Vultr offers VKE, managed databases, and object storage, but its documentation and community support are thinner, so developers who rely on setup documentation should choose DigitalOcean.
Bare Metal
Vultr offers bare metal from $120/mo, while DigitalOcean does not. Choose Vultr when your workload requires dedicated hardware, such as high I/O databases, game servers, or ML inference.