Apache CloudStack vs DigitalOcean Droplets

Apache CloudStack9.0Visit DigitalOcean Droplets8.7Visit

Higher score Apache CloudStack #3 in Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (Cloud IaaS) Software 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 4 features Visit site

vs

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

• Apache CloudStack fits best

  Organizations building self-hosted IaaS clouds

• DigitalOcean Droplets fits best

  Teams wanting affordable, straightforward virtual machines

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Side by side

Feature	Apache CloudStack 9.0/10 Visit ↗	DigitalOcean Droplets 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.7
Ranking	#3 in Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (Cloud IaaS) Software	#6 in Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (Cloud IaaS) Software
Best for	Organizations building self-hosted IaaS clouds	Teams wanting affordable, straightforward virtual machines
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Free plan	$4/mo
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted, Browser extension	Cloud
Platforms	Web, Linux	Web, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Email, Live chat, Tickets · 24/7
Compliance	SSO/SAML, 2FA	SOC 2, PCI DSS
Integrations	4 integrations	2 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Apache CloudStack 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	Orchestrates compute, networking, storage, and VMs across multiple hypervisors. Supports VM high availability, automatic restart, and live migration for host maintenance. Provides multi-tenancy, usage metering, and REST-like and AWS-compatible APIs.	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	Requires operating and maintaining the software on customer infrastructure. Its breadth may exceed the needs of teams seeking a narrow infrastructure tool. Support is through community and documentation channels.	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	Apache CloudStack is open-source software for deploying and managing public, private, and hybrid IaaS clouds on customer infrastructure. Its web interfaces, command-line tools, and APIs support cloud providers, managed service providers,… 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

• Apache CloudStack — where it wins

  • Orchestrates compute, networking, storage, and VMs across multiple hypervisors.
  • Supports VM high availability, automatic restart, and live migration for host maintenance.
  • Provides multi-tenancy, usage metering, and REST-like and AWS-compatible APIs.

  Where it doesn't

  • Requires operating and maintaining the software on customer infrastructure.
  • Its breadth may exceed the needs of teams seeking a narrow infrastructure tool.
  • Support is through community and documentation channels.

• 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

• Apache CloudStack9.0/10 · Free plan

  A self-hosted cloud control plane with broad compute, network, and storage orchestration.

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

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

  Visit DigitalOceanFull verdict →