Objective review DigitalOcean.com
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Price:
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Speed:
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Reliability:
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Support:
- 🌐 Country: USA
- 🎂 Founded: 2012
- 👨 Customers: 600000 (~1.16 % market)
- 🌎 Servers Location: USA, Germany, France, Europe, Canada, Australia, India, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Pakistan, Singapore, North America
Participants in ratings (the place occupied in the rating is indicated in brackets):
Countries: USA (37), Europe (27), Canada (12), Australia (9), India (15), United Kingdom (21), Netherlands (21), Singapore (17), North America (23). Alternatives and competitors: A2Hosting.com (16), Namecheap.com (12), Cloudways.com (14), HostGator.com (12), Squarespace.com (11). Payment methods: Visa or MasterCard (32), PayPal (28). OS: Linux (43). Type of hosting: Cloud hosting (5). Hosting for: Portfolio website (31), Blog (39), E-Commerce (36), Games (4). Hosting price: Cheap VPS hosting (23)Overview
First impression
DigitalOcean was founded in 2012 and is now among the largest web hosting companies in the world, although reports on their exact position differ. The company has offices in New York, which is also where they’re headquartered, as well as Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Bangalore, India. Their data centers are all around the world for a total of 14: New York, Amsterdam, and San Francisco have three each, while Singapore, London, Frankfurt, Toronto, and Bangalore have one each.
Digital Ocean was the brainchild of Ben and Moises Uretsky, founders of managed hosting service ServerStack. They wanted to blend web hosting and virtual servers and came up with an idea of focusing on an underserved clientele: developers. The Uretskys perceived that the cloud hosting industry was too preoccupied with enterprise clients and paid little attention to the developer market. Long story short, Digital Ocean was born.
It's a powerful product, sure, but it's definitely not for everybody. If you're a seasoned developer, you'd have no issues, and using the platform would be a breeze. But if you're an average user? Your chances are slim to none.
Moreover, the dashboard isn't as intuitive. If you do prefer cPanel, know that it doesn't come free; you need to pay for the licence.
Even the website copy is difficult to comprehend if you're a beginner. It's clear that Digital Ocean is a developer's product, so novices will have a tough time using it – a very steep learning curve awaits. If you want to test it out, a DigitalOcean trial is available.
- Create an Account: Go to the DigitalOcean website and sign up for an account by providing your email address and creating a password. You will also need to add billing information such as a credit card or you can choose to add funds via PayPal.
- Verify Email: You'll need to verify your email address by clicking the link sent to your email by DigitalOcean.
- Create a Droplet: Once your account is set up, log in and go to the control panel. Click on the “Create” button and then select “Droplets”. Droplets are DigitalOcean's term for virtual private servers (VPS).
- Select Configuration: Choose an operating system, a plan (Standard, Optimized CPU, etc.), and data center region. You can also add SSH keys for secure access, which is recommended.
- Deploy Droplet: After configuring your Droplet to your liking, click the “Create Droplet” button. It will take a few minutes for your Droplet to be deployed and ready for use.
- Access Your Server: Once your Droplet is ready, you can access it via SSH using the IP address provided by DigitalOcean. Use a terminal or SSH client and connect using the command ssh root@your_droplet_ip.
- Set Up Your Website/Application: Once connected to your Droplet, you can begin installing the software you need, such as a web server (e.g., Apache or Nginx), database server, and any other dependencies your website or application might require.
Trial period
You can try DigitalOcean with a $200 credit. You will receive a $200 credit (good for 60 days) when you create a new account on DigitalOcean.
Billing cycle
The platform employs a “pay-only-for-what-you-use” model to estimate DigitalOcean cost. Therefore, you're free to customize your plan's specifics in terms of servers, space, bandwidth, security, CPU, and others. This is vastly different from other web hosting providers that offer a clear-cut pricing structure. It's easy to be lost and confused if you're a beginner.
Still, to get an idea about DigitalOcean costs:
Standard Droplets begin at $5 monthly. If you go for more advanced features, DigitalOcean cost for Droplets goes up.
CPU Optimised Droplets begin at $40 monthly, and as much as $2,096+ monthly.
Control panel
DigitalOcean is a cloud computing platform that puts the developer’s needs front and center. A robust network of 12 data centers around the world serves 195 countries and over 78 million droplets, making it a fast and easy way to set up a Linux instance. It's also one of the fastest growing cloud hosting companies, known for world-class support and minimalist approach.
If speedy deployment is a must-have for your virtual machine, DigitalOcean ticks all the boxes. Droplets can be provisioned in under a minute, and since it can authenticate using SSH keys, you can log in immediately.
Thorough documentation on the site covers everything from simple tasks to complex deployments. A thriving community of users provides Q&A, crowdsourcing, and feedback. There are even in-person meetups scheduled to connect face to face with other developers.
To install cPanel, you can either deploy a new Droplet with cPanel already installed on it using our 1-click cPanel+WHM image, or you can manually install cPanel on a new or existing Droplet.
To set up a new Droplet with cPanel already installed on it, go to our Marketplace page for the cPanel & WHM for Ubuntu image. From the image’s page, click Create cPanel &WHM for Ubuntu Droplet.
From the Create Droplet menu, select your Droplet configuration options and then click Create Droplet. For more specific information about the Droplet creation process, see How to Create a Droplet from the DigitalOcean Control Panel.
Once you’ve created the Droplet, log in to it. Logging in to the Droplet automatically starts cPanel’s installation. Once the installation is complete, cPanel returns instructions in the terminal on how to log in to and set up your Droplet’s instance of cPanel using your web browser. Follow the instructions provided in the terminal, and subsequently your web browser, to continue setting up cPanel.
Limits
DigitalOcean approaches the issue of pricing in a unique way. Instead of offering pre-made plans with features that scale up with the price, they offer so-called Droplets, where you choose the amount of memory you need, the number of vCPUs, transfer limits, and SSD Disk size.
They’re charged by the hour, starting at $0.00595/hr which comes up to $4 per month, but go up into the thousands depending on specific needs. For Basic Regular Droplets plan, you will get 512 MiB Memory, 1 vCPU, and 10GiB SSD. And if you choose the higher plan that costs $0.14286/hr which comes up to $96 per month, you will get up to 16 GiB Memory, 8 vCPUs, and 320 GiB SSD.
DigitalOcean accepts credit/debit cards and PayPal, but they do not offer refunds. They do, however, offer a 60-day $200 credit to new users.
Security
Security-wise, DigitalOcean has covered more than other web hosting providers with end-to-end data protection. It provides additional encryption on all its volumes. Plus, if you're tech-savvy and want to add more security layers, you can with some coding involved. For the non-tech-savvy, there is plenty of documentation such as tutorials provided by the site to help you execute that.
SSL Certificates
DigitalOcean allows users to implement SSL certificates to encrypt data transfer between the server and the clients. Users can either use third-party SSL certificates or take advantage of Let's Encrypt to set up a free SSL certificate. DigitalOcean provides detailed documentation on how to secure your Droplet with SSL certificates.
Backups
DigitalOcean offers automated backups that allow you to take snapshots of your Droplets. These backups are taken weekly and retained for four weeks. Users can also manually create snapshots of their Droplets at any time. This is useful for creating a restore point before making changes to your server.
Firewall
DigitalOcean provides a cloud firewall service that allows users to define what traffic is allowed to reach the Droplets. This can be used to limit access to certain ports and IP addresses, enhancing the security of your server. The firewall rules can be easily configured through the DigitalOcean Control Panel.
DDoS Protection
While DigitalOcean does not provide specific DDoS protection services, their infrastructure is designed to mitigate DDoS attacks to some extent. They also have a team that monitors their network for unusual activity and can intervene in the event of an attack.
OS
DigitalOcean VMs run Linux operating systems. Choose from popular OS’s including Ubuntu, CentoS, and Debian. They also support uploading guest operating systems and virtual appliances using our custom images feature.
Support
Support is where DigitalOcean’s usually top-notch service falters a little. The only way to contact them directly is by sending a ticket, only available to existing users. Finding an answer to your question is otherwise possible by perusing their, admittedly vast, Docs with all sorts of different topics, guides, and general advice.
Knowledge Base and Community Forums
For the DIY enthusiasts, DigitalOcean has an extensive knowledge base that is well-organized and thorough. Specifically, what stands out is a brilliant community area on their website where members share their thoughts and know-how on how to navigate the platform and other tech topics. The community forums are particularly impressive, with a wealth of tutorials, Q&A, and guides written by both the DigitalOcean team and experienced community members. You can also enter your query on the search function of their Help section.
Quality of Support
Now, let’s talk about the quality of support. I wanted to get a firsthand experience so I submitted a support ticket. To my delight, the response came within an hour. The support representative was knowledgeable and clearly took the time to thoroughly address my query.
Conclusion
Pros | Cons |
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DigitalOcean is an excellent, all-encompassing solution that can fit everyone’s needs (or be tweaked until it does), but it requires at least some basic Linux knowhow. It's clear that DigitalOcean is a formidable player in the hosting market. The platform excels in offering high performance, developer-friendly tools, and an extensive range of features. The transparent pricing and pay-as-you-go model make it an affordable and flexible option for a variety of projects.
FAQ:
✅What are the limits to the DigitalOcean trial?
First, free credit is only up to $200. Second, the DigitalOcean trial can cover you for only 60 days.
❕What are DigitalOcean Droplets?
DigitalOcean Droplets are Linux-based virtual machines (VMs) that run on top of virtualized hardware. Each Droplet you create is a new server you can use, either standalone or as part of a larger, cloud-based infrastructure.
✴️What if I use my Droplet for less than a month, will I still be charged for the whole month?
You will never be billed more than the monthly cost of your Droplet. All Droplets are billed hourly up to a monthly cap of 672 hours (the number of hours in 4 weeks). If you use your server for fewer than 672 hours during the month, you will be billed for each hour that you used it. If you use your server for more than 672 hours that month, you will be billed at the monthly cost. For example, if you spin up a $10/mo Droplet and use it for 336 hours, then you would be charged $5 (going by the hourly rate). If you use that Droplet for 700 hours, then you would be charged $10 (capped at the monthly rate).
Plans
Basic 1 GiB RAM | Basic 2 GiB RAM | CPU 4 GiB RAM | CPU 8 GiB RAM | Storage 16 GiB RAM | |
Price |
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Memory (RAM) | 1 Gb | 2 Gb | 4 Gb | 8 Gb | 16 Gb |
DDoS Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Disk Space | 25 Gb | 50 Gb | 25 Gb | 50 Gb | 300 Gb |
Platform | linux | linux | linux | linux | linux |
Control panel | - | - | - | - | - |
CPU | - | - | 2.6 GHz | 2.6 GHz | - |
CPU Cores | 1 pcs | 1 pcs | 2 pcs | 4 pcs | 2 pcs |
Details | Details | Details | Details | Details |
Contacts
- Address: New York , NY 101, 6th Ave, USA
- E-mail: support@digitalocean.com
- All
- General impression
- Support
- Reliability
- Price
- Website performance
- Website interface
- Control panel
- Livechat
- Payment process
- Security
Reviews (24)
- Sorting
We used not for a long time and did not contact the support.
Their UI is great and very straight forward and doesn't require any technical knowledge to navigate or use which makes them a perfect fit when I need to host a client's website or application.
I also LOVE their free credits!! They actually have coupons that would give you an x amount of dollars in your balance which you can use to rent droplets. There's a public list for it and it sums up to about $100. Really great and cheap.
DO becomes my number choice for high scalable project for me and for my clients.
Speed is amazing. I have some very large projects that just don't work on other services. A switch to DO drastically increased performance.
If you know what you're doing or have a dev that does, would highly recommend.
The price of this service is reasonable, but I don't recommend it for just a regular website that's for a blogger, or personal brand, use this tool for applications, both web and mobile, to make it worth the cost.
The speed has never been an issue and that's always nice to have when you have a ton of code on there to load and get going.
The reliability is not an issue, but they do have pretty frequent maintenance periods, so just be mindful of that, they do a lot of warning before it happens though.
I'd say they are really only lacking in support. There is definitely a certain level of aptitude they expect of those on their platform, so when I first used them as a newbie programmer, I had no idea what they were saying half of the time. Now, it's a lot easier to understand, but it may be helpful for them to consider all levels of user.
In terms of price, the entry prices for a VPS are quite accessible.
Really like and use a lot their firewall feature which allows to control access to multiple VPS without even needing to access the server.
Also their marketplace for common applications allows go get up and running with a Wordpress site in less than 5 minutes.
Some features such as block storage and the virtual firewalls do make things much easier than other providers and better for beginners.
With support, as its non managed hosting, you get what you pay for. Support tend to reply quite quick most of the time but you won't be getting top tier support for $5 price point.
Overall, if you know what you're doing with a Linux VPS, Digital Ocean is a great fit!
They might have various issues with support system before but now they have improved a lot. I get my answers within 10-15 mins of leaving a ticket which is really good.
Using cloud services need technical knowledge. So thumbs up for developers who use digital ocean.
Their prices are amazingly low and their support is great. Whatever we needed their support resolved within minutes.
Honestly, I have nothing bad to say about their services!
I mostly use DigitalOcean on personal projects that I want to quickly get up and show to others. Tracking spendings and the organization of Droplet itself is great for personal use because you know exactly how many resources you will spend on certain things.
The advantage is also the installation of the desired services when creating the droplet, as well as access to the console from the web. There are many environments and services to choose from.
It’s pretty cheaper compared to competitors like Google Cloud and Amazon AWS, so definitely my recommendation if it’s smaller projects, for which you don’t have a big budget to spend.
Customer support is fine, but nothing more than that.
We highly recommend not to purchase the cheapest hosting package. Usually, they come with a row of issues: the server is often down, the hardware is outdated, lousy and slow support, registration and payment errors, etc.
For your convenience, we have created a tool that can help you to choose the right hosting package for you just by answering a few simple questions.
CMS is a content management system. A lot of hosting providers offer so-called CMS optimized packages. However, this is a marketing trick because most CMSs do not have special software or hosting requirements.
Trial period is a period of time, usually from 7 to 30 days, during which you can use the hosting services for free to test them.
Moneyback policy allows the customer to receive a refund for his order within a certain period after the purchase.
OS means the operating system is installed on the server. We recommend to choose Linux hosting unless your website requires another OS.
Bulletproof hosting - it’s a type of service that allows to host almost any type of content, even the restricted one (adult content, warez, spam etc). Bulletproof hosting providers do not remove your content in case someone reports an abuse.
Unlimited hosting - refers to companies that provide packages with unlimited disk space, bandwidth, number of domains, databases or email accounts, etc. This is usually a marketing trick but sometimes you can find something worth a try.
Secure hosting - it’s a type of service when the hosting provider is mostly responsible for the security of the user’s account: updates the software installed on their servers, provides an antivirus and malware scanner, firewalls and basic anti-DDoS protection, etc.
DDoS-protected hosting - companies that provide packages that include anti-DDoS protection. These packages are considerably more expensive than regular ones. Nevertheless, they’re totally worth their price because the company will ensure that your website is secured from cyber attacks.
Most websites require MySQL and PHP installed on the server to work correctly. Almost all hosting providers support these technologies.
ASP.NET is a Microsoft web application development platform.
The more comfortable the control panel is, the easier will it be for you to change the website and hosting account settings.
Most hosting providers that are in TOP20 in our rating offer user-friendly control panels, such as cPanel, Plesk or DirectAdmin. That’s why we recommend to pay attention to other, more important parameters, while choosing a hosting provider.