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Head-to-head · Ubuntu VPS Hosting

Google Compute Engine vs DigitalOcean Droplets

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 1 check side by side
Higher score Google Compute Engine #2 in Ubuntu VPS Hosting 9.3/10 Free plan Free plan Visit Google Cloud
DigitalOcean Droplets #4 in Ubuntu VPS Hosting 9.0/10 Paid Visit DigitalOcean

Google Compute Engine leads on 1 check, DigitalOcean Droplets on 0, and 0 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 1 yes/no, price and count check where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreGoogle Compute Engine · 9.3/10
  • Free planonly Google Compute Engine

Google Compute Engine scores higher on our rubric for ubuntu vps hosting: 9.3 against 9.0 out of 10; our editors rank them #2 and #4.

Google Compute Engine offers free plan; DigitalOcean Droplets doesn't.

Google Compute Engine is the better fit for ubuntu workloads needing a scalable cloud platform. DigitalOcean Droplets is the better fit for teams seeking approachable Linux VPS infrastructure.

  • Google Compute Engine fits best

    Ubuntu workloads needing a scalable cloud platform

  • DigitalOcean Droplets fits best

    Teams seeking approachable Linux VPS infrastructure

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Side by side

Feature Google Compute Engine 9.3/10 Visit ↗ DigitalOcean Droplets 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.3 9.0
Ranking #2 in Ubuntu VPS Hosting #4 in Ubuntu VPS Hosting
Best for Ubuntu workloads needing a scalable cloud platform Teams seeking approachable Linux VPS infrastructure
Pricing model Free plan + paid Paid
Starting price Free plan $4/mo
Free plan ✓ (best) —
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud Cloud
Platforms Web Web, Linux
Support Docs, Community · 24/7 Email, Live chat, Tickets · 24/7
Integrations 4 integrations 2 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Specs
vCPU cores Not checked yet Not checked yet
RAM Not checked yet Not checked yet
NVMe storage Not checked yet Not checked yet
Bandwidth Not checked yet Not checked yet
Server locations Not checked yet Not checked yet
Managed support Not checked yet Not checked yet
DDoS protection Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Autoscaling and load balancing support changing VM workloads
  • Preset or custom machine types suit varied compute requirements
  • Broad regions, zones and storage options support distributed deployments
  • $4 Basic Droplet includes 1 vCPU, 10 GiB SSD and 500 GiB transfer
  • Multiple VM types support general, CPU, memory and storage-focused workloads
  • Control panel, CLI, API, Terraform and autoscale pools support varied operations
Cons
  • Usage-based pricing varies by machine type and configuration
  • Cloud-only deployment limits infrastructure placement choices
  • Proprietary platform rather than an open-source VM service
  • Backups and snapshots cost extra as add-ons
  • No ongoing free Droplets plan is listed
  • Designed for Linux workloads rather than non-Linux server environments
Our verdict

Google Compute Engine is Google Cloud’s infrastructure-as-a-service offering for creating and running virtual machines. It fits teams managing Linux workloads such as web servers, application servers, databases, containers, analytics and…

Read the review →

DigitalOcean Droplets are Linux-based virtual machines running on virtualized hardware for websites, applications, databases, development environments and other cloud workloads. They suit solo developers, small teams, mid-market…

Read the review →
  1. Google Compute EngineUbuntu VPS Hosting 9.3Free plan
  2. DigitalOcean DropletsUbuntu VPS Hosting 9.0Paid

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Google Compute Engine — where it wins

    • Autoscaling and load balancing support changing VM workloads
    • Preset or custom machine types suit varied compute requirements
    • Broad regions, zones and storage options support distributed deployments

    Where it doesn't

    • Usage-based pricing varies by machine type and configuration
    • Cloud-only deployment limits infrastructure placement choices
    • Proprietary platform rather than an open-source VM service

  • DigitalOcean Droplets — where it wins

    • $4 Basic Droplet includes 1 vCPU, 10 GiB SSD and 500 GiB transfer
    • Multiple VM types support general, CPU, memory and storage-focused workloads
    • Control panel, CLI, API, Terraform and autoscale pools support varied operations

    Where it doesn't

    • Backups and snapshots cost extra as add-ons
    • No ongoing free Droplets plan is listed
    • Designed for Linux workloads rather than non-Linux server environments

More comparisons

All ubuntu VPS hosting comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update