Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs DigitalOcean Droplets

Amazon Web Services (AWS)9.4Visit DigitalOcean Droplets8.7Visit

Higher score Amazon Web Services (AWS) #1 in Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (Cloud IaaS) Software 9.4/10 Paid ✓ 0 of 4 features Visit AWS

vs

DigitalOcean Droplets #6 in Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (Cloud IaaS) Software 8.7/10 Paid ✓ 1 of 4 features Visit DigitalOcean

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) fits best

  Enterprises needing comprehensive global cloud IaaS

• DigitalOcean Droplets fits best

  Teams wanting affordable, straightforward virtual machines

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature	Amazon Web Services (AWS) 9.4/10 Visit ↗	DigitalOcean Droplets 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.7
Ranking	#1 in Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (Cloud IaaS) Software	#6 in Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (Cloud IaaS) Software
Best for	Enterprises needing comprehensive global cloud IaaS	Teams wanting affordable, straightforward virtual machines
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	—	$4/mo
Free plan	Not checked yet	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web, Linux
Support	Phone, Live chat, Community, Docs · 24/7	Email, Live chat, Tickets · 24/7
Compliance	SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS	SOC 2, PCI DSS
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Amazon Web Services (AWS) 0/4 · DigitalOcean Droplets 1/4
Virtual machines	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Managed Kubernetes	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Object storage	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Infrastructure as code	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Regions	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Compute, storage, database, networking, and application services Multi-region placement, dedicated hosts, and dedicated instances HIPAA-eligible services, a standard BAA, and CloudTrail audit logging	Linux VMs start at $4/month with 1 vCPU and 10 GiB SSD Multiple configuration families support compute, memory, and storage priorities Autoscale pools, API, CLI, and Terraform support flexible operations
Cons	Service-specific usage makes total costs dependent on workload choices HIPAA eligibility applies only to designated services Customers must configure workloads under AWS’s shared-responsibility model	Droplets are paid-only rather than an ongoing free service Backups and snapshots require separate add-ons Transfer allowances vary by Droplet configuration
Our verdict	AWS provides cloud infrastructure and managed services for organizations building, hosting, storing, and processing applications and data. Its scope spans compute, storage, databases, networking, and application services, with deployment… Read the review →	DigitalOcean Droplets are Linux-based virtual machines running on virtualized hardware. They support websites, applications, databases, development environments, and other cloud workloads. Teams can manage them through a web control panel,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) — where it wins

  • Compute, storage, database, networking, and application services
  • Multi-region placement, dedicated hosts, and dedicated instances
  • HIPAA-eligible services, a standard BAA, and CloudTrail audit logging

  Where it doesn't

  • Service-specific usage makes total costs dependent on workload choices
  • HIPAA eligibility applies only to designated services
  • Customers must configure workloads under AWS’s shared-responsibility model

• DigitalOcean Droplets — where it wins

  • Linux VMs start at $4/month with 1 vCPU and 10 GiB SSD
  • Multiple configuration families support compute, memory, and storage priorities
  • Autoscale pools, API, CLI, and Terraform support flexible operations

  Where it doesn't

  • Droplets are paid-only rather than an ongoing free service
  • Backups and snapshots require separate add-ons
  • Transfer allowances vary by Droplet configuration

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)9.4/10 · Paid

  Broad cloud infrastructure with flexible usage pricing and customer-managed configuration.

  Visit AWSFull verdict →
• DigitalOcean Droplets8.7/10 · Paid

  Affordable Linux VMs with flexible configurations, autoscaling, and API-driven management.

  Visit DigitalOceanFull verdict →