DigitalOcean Pricing
Explained: What It Really Costs
Free tier covers static sites only (up to 3 apps). There is no always-free plan for containers or servers; new accounts get time-limited promotional credit on top.
// the numbers
DigitalOcean Plans & What They Include
DigitalOcean prices two very different products under one brand. App Platform (its PaaS) starts at $5/month per container, while Droplets (raw VMs) start at $4/month but require you to manage the server yourself. Managed databases are a separate, considerably more expensive line item.
App Platform has a free tier limited to static sites (up to 3 apps); any always-on container starts at $5/month. The low entry price is real, but it hides the operational cost: Droplets mean you own patching, scaling and security. Managed Postgres alone starts around $15/month.
Up to 3 static apps, 1 GiB transfer each. No always-on containers.
1 vCPU, 512 MB RAM (shared), 50 GiB transfer. Cheapest managed container.
Raw VM. You manage the OS, deploys and security yourself.
Dedicated CPU VMs for production workloads.
// billed on top
Add-ons & Metered Costs
// what the headline price hides
Hidden Costs of DigitalOcean
Droplets are not managed
The $4 Droplet looks cheap until you account for the hours spent patching, securing and scaling a server yourself. That is ops time the PaaS competitors absorb.
Managed databases jump fast
App Platform starts at $5, but the moment you need a managed Postgres you add at least $15/mo, and HA configurations multiply that.
No free tier for dynamic apps
The free tier only covers static sites. Any always-on container or server costs money from day one, and promotional credit expires, so a dynamic side project is billed every month.
Runsite is fully managed like App Platform but EU-only, includes a permanent free tier, and bundles predictable EUR pricing with managed Postgres from €5/mo: no Droplet-style server babysitting.
// comparison
Runsite vs DigitalOcean
Side-by-side. No marketing fluff, just facts.
| Feature | Runsite | DigitalOcean |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment Method | ✓ Git push, auto-build | Manual server setup |
| Server Management | ✓ Fully managed | ✗ You manage everything |
| EU Data Centers | ✓ Frankfurt (eu-central) | ✓ Amsterdam, Frankfurt |
| GDPR Compliance | ✓ EU entity | ✗ US company |
| Free Tier | ✓ Permanent | ✗ $200 trial credit |
| Basic Droplet | €5/mo (managed) | $6/mo (unmanaged) |
| SSL Certificates | ✓ Automatic | Manual setup |
// in-depth comparison
DigitalOcean vs Runsite: What You Need to Know
DigitalOcean's entry prices are genuinely low, but the cheap tiers are either unmanaged (Droplets) or resource-limited, and managed databases push the real cost up quickly. There is no free tier, which makes it a poor fit for prototyping.
Pricing FAQ
DigitalOcean Pricing: Common Questions
Does DigitalOcean have a free tier?
Only for static sites: App Platform lets you host up to 3 static apps for free. There is no always-free plan for containers, Droplets or databases. New accounts receive time-limited promotional credit, but once it expires every always-on resource is billed.
Is DigitalOcean App Platform or a Droplet cheaper?
A Droplet starts lower ($4/mo) but is unmanaged: you handle the OS, security and deploys. App Platform starts at $5/mo and is fully managed. For most developers the managed App Platform is cheaper once you factor in your own time.
How much is a managed database on DigitalOcean?
Managed PostgreSQL starts around $15/month for a single-node development database. High-availability clusters cost significantly more, so database is often the largest line on a small app's bill.
// same platform, other angles
Keep exploring
Predictable Pricing — in EUR, with a Hard Cap
A permanent free tier and spending limits you actually control. The opposite of a surprise DigitalOcean bill.
Start Free on Runsite →