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Vultr and DigitalOcean both sell simple cloud servers to developers, both add GPUs and bare metal, and both are in the Few Servers provider directory. This page puts their listings side by side. Every row comes from the provider's own pages or public API: Vultr's plans and regions were read from its public API on 23 Oct 2026 (its marketing pages returned HTTP 403 to our automated requests on 12 Oct), and DigitalOcean's pages on 21 and 23 Oct 2026. Sources are linked below. It compares what they publish, not how they perform: we have not run the same test on both.
Side by side
| Vultr | DigitalOcean | |
|---|---|---|
| Server types listed | Cloud compute, GPU, bare metal | Droplets (CPU and GPU), GPU Droplets, bare-metal GPUs |
| Regions | 33 regions in 20 countries (public regions API) | 16 data centers across 13 regions, 8 countries |
| Countries | US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, UK, Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Israel, India, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, South Africa | US, Canada, UK, Netherlands, Germany, India, Singapore, Australia |
| Cheapest paid cloud VPS | vc2-1c-0.5gb-v6: 1 vCPU, 512 MB, 10 GB SSD, 2.50 USD/month, in 2 locations (ewr, atl) | Basic Droplet: 1 vCPU, 512 MiB, 10 GiB SSD, 500 GiB transfer, 4.00 USD/month (0.00595 USD/hour) |
| 1 GB entry | vc2-1c-1gb: 25 GB SSD, 5 USD/month, in 31 locations | Basic Droplet: 1 GiB, 25 GiB SSD, 1,000 GiB transfer, 6.00 USD/month |
| GPU entry recorded | vcg-a16-2c-8g-2vram (NVIDIA A16 slice, 2 vCPU, 8 GB RAM): 43 USD/month | RTX 4000 Ada Generation GPU Droplet: 0.76 USD per GPU per hour, on demand |
| Bare-metal entry recorded | vbm-4c-32gb (Intel E3-1270, 32 GB RAM): 120 USD/month | Bare-metal GPUs listed; no price recorded in our listing |
| Payment methods | Credit card, PayPal, crypto, Alipay, wire transfer, gift code | Credit card, debit card, crypto wallet, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, bank account |
| Free credit or tier | Not recorded in our listing (see the note below) | "Promotional credits for new users", as its pricing page puts it |
| Support listed | Not recorded in our listing | Ticket in the support portal |
| Founded | Not recorded in our listing | 2012 |
A note on Vultr's 0 USD plan. The same plans API also returns a plan id vc2-1c-0.5gb-free with a monthly cost of 0, in three locations (sea, fra, mia). We did not read the terms that come with it, so it is not in the table as a free tier.
Where the two differ most
Region spread. Vultr's API lists more countries: Latin America (Mexico City, São Paulo, Santiago), Japan, South Korea, South Africa, Israel and several more European cities. DigitalOcean's list covers North America, Western Europe, India, Singapore and Sydney. For users in South America, East Asia outside Singapore, or Africa, only Vultr lists a region.
The cheapest plan is not offered everywhere. Vultr's 2.50 USD plan is available in 2 locations in our read, the 3.50 USD 512 MB plan in 1, and the 5 USD 1 GB plan in 31. Check the plan in the region you need before comparing prices. DigitalOcean's pricing page lists one price per Droplet size.
Bandwidth on the page. DigitalOcean's Droplet table lists transfer per size (500 GiB on the 4 USD Droplet). Vultr's API lists a bandwidth figure per plan (512 on the 2.50 USD plan); we did not read Vultr's page that explains the unit, so we do not compare the two numbers.
GPU pricing style. The Vultr entry we recorded is a monthly price for a fractional A16. DigitalOcean's GPU Droplet is priced per GPU per hour and its page shows no monthly figure. Convert to the same unit and GPU before deciding.
Payment. Both take cards, PayPal and crypto. Vultr adds Alipay, wire transfer and gift codes; DigitalOcean adds Google Pay, Apple Pay and bank account payments.
How to choose between them
- Need a region in Latin America, Japan, South Korea, South Africa or Israel: Vultr lists one, DigitalOcean does not.
- Want the lowest monthly price for a 512 MB test box in the US East: Vultr's API lists 2.50 USD in ewr and atl.
- Want a 1 GB server in many regions: Vultr's 5 USD plan is in 31 locations; DigitalOcean's 1 GiB Droplet is 6 USD.
- Want hourly GPU pricing with no monthly commitment shown: DigitalOcean lists GPU Droplets per GPU-hour.
- Want to pay with Alipay or by wire: Vultr lists both. Apple Pay or Google Pay: DigitalOcean lists both.
Both full listings, with every fact's source and read date, are in the directory: Vultr and DigitalOcean. For DigitalOcean against a German provider, see Hetzner vs DigitalOcean. If you run a server company, listing it is free.
FAQ
Is Vultr cheaper than DigitalOcean?
At the bottom of the range, yes on the prices we read: 2.50 USD/month (Vultr, 512 MB, 2 locations) against 4.00 USD/month (DigitalOcean, 512 MiB). At 1 GB it is 5 USD against 6 USD. The plans differ in disk and transfer, so compare the full spec.
Does DigitalOcean have data centers in Asia?
Yes: Singapore and Bangalore, India, on its regional availability page. Vultr's API also lists Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Mumbai and Delhi NCR.
Which one has more regions?
Vultr's public API returned 33 regions on 23 Oct 2026. DigitalOcean states 16 data centers across 13 regions.
Do both sell GPUs?
Yes. Vultr lists cloud GPU plans (an A16 slice from 43 USD/month in our read); DigitalOcean lists GPU Droplets (RTX 4000 Ada at 0.76 USD per GPU-hour) and bare-metal GPUs.
Sources
- Vultr public plans API (read 23 Oct 2026) - vc2 plans, prices, locations; vcg A16 plan; the 0 USD plan id.
- Vultr public bare-metal plans API (read 23 Oct 2026) - vbm-4c-32gb at 120 USD/month.
- Vultr public regions API (read 23 Oct 2026) - 33 regions, 20 countries.
- Vultr docs: make account payments (read 12 Oct 2026) - payment methods.
- Vultr docs (read 12 Oct 2026) - compute, GPU and bare-metal products.
- DigitalOcean Droplet pricing (read 23 Oct 2026) - Basic Droplet sizes and prices, promotional credits.
- DigitalOcean GPU Droplet pricing (read 12 Oct 2026) - RTX 4000 Ada at 0.76 USD per GPU-hour.
- DigitalOcean regional availability (read 21 Oct 2026) - 16 data centers across 13 regions.
- DigitalOcean billing (read 21 Oct 2026) - payment methods.
- DigitalOcean about (read 21 Oct 2026) - founded 2012.
- DigitalOcean support (read 21 Oct 2026) - tickets in the support portal.
Used in this article
- DigitalOceanThe $6 Basic droplet (1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 25 GB SSD) our test server runs on.Visit DigitalOcean
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