DigitalOcean DDoS Protection
DigitalOcean DDoS Protection: A no-cost Layer 3/4 safeguard for DigitalOcean resources, not a full application-layer defense. Ranked #15 of 36 in DDoS Protection Software by our editors (7.9/10); pricing: Free plan; best for digitalOcean customers wanting included protection.
At a glance
- Editor score7.9 / 10
- PricingFree plan
- Best forDigitalOcean customers wanting included protection
- Free planYes
- Paid fromFree
- Attack layersNetwork
- Founded2012
- Facts checked20 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Free protection for multiple DigitalOcean resource types
- Always-on automatic mitigation inside DigitalOcean’s network
- Covers common Layer 3/4 floods and protocol attacks
Where it doesn't
- Does not include application-layer Layer 7 protection
- Traffic above mitigation capacity may be blackholed
- No integrations or numeric mitigation capacity are published
Our verdict on DigitalOcean DDoS Protection
DigitalOcean DDoS Protection is a cloud infrastructure security service for customers running workloads on DigitalOcean. It automatically monitors and mitigates distributed denial-of-service attacks against Droplets, Kubernetes clusters, Managed Databases, Load Balancers, and assigned Reserved IPs. Protection is included at no additional charge, requires no configuration, and operates continuously inside DigitalOcean’s network rather than routing traffic through a third party. It is suited to teams that want baseline protection for DigitalOcean-hosted infrastructure without adding a separate DDoS service.
The pricing model is straightforward: the service is free and enabled automatically. Its scope covers network and transport layers 3 and 4, including UDP, ICMP, TCP, and DNS reflection floods, along with SYN floods, BGP attacks, and ping-of-death attacks. Automatic mitigation applies across the covered DigitalOcean resources, giving infrastructure teams a consistent protection layer without a paid tier to configure or maintain.
The main boundary is application-layer coverage. Layer 7 protection and a web application firewall are not included, so teams defending application-specific HTTP or HTTPS attacks may need a separate service. DigitalOcean also documents automatic blackholing when traffic exceeds its mitigation capacity, while no numeric capacity is published. There are no listed integrations, which may limit fit for organizations coordinating protection across multiple cloud providers or security platforms. Choose it for included, always-on Layer 3/4 coverage within DigitalOcean; choose an alternative when application-layer defense, cross-platform integrations, or defined capacity are requirements.
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DigitalOcean DDoS Protection pricing
DigitalOcean DDoS Protection fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | Free |
| Attack layers | Network |
| Mitigation mode | Always-on |
| Deployment model | Cloud |
| Protection capacity | Not verified |
| Managed mitigation | Not verified |
| WAF included | No |
| Deployment | Cloud |
| Platforms | Web |
| Compliance & security | SOC 2, GDPR |
| Support | Email, Tickets, Live chat, Community, Docs · 24/7 |
| Built for | Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate) |
| Pricing | Free plan |
| Website | digitalocean.com |
| Facts checked | 20 Sep 2026 |
Alternatives to DigitalOcean DDoS Protection
- Cloudflare DDoS ProtectionBroad Layer 3/4 and 7 protection with a free plan and low paid entry price.9.4
- Akamai ProlexicA managed, hybrid DDoS defense service for enterprises with complex network protection needs.9.2
- Fastly DDoS ProtectionUsage-priced protection for network and application-layer DDoS attacks.9.1
See all DigitalOcean DDoS Protection alternatives →
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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