DigitalOcean offers more competitive pricing starting at $4/month with a larger global presence (13 data centers), while Linode provides superior CPU performance with AMD EPYC processors and more generous RAM allocations at the same price point. Both are equally reliable for developers, but DigitalOcean excels in ease-of-use while Linode dominates in raw performance metrics.
DigitalOcean vs Linode — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Cloud infrastructure provider offering VPS, managed databases, and app platform services.
Performance-oriented cloud hosting provider with extensive global presence and advanced infrastructure.
Starting Monthly Price. Global Data Centers. Entry-Level RAM (Cheapest Plan). Entry-Level CPU (Cheapest Plan). Uptime SLA Guarantee. Free Tier/Trial. API Rate Limit (Requests/Hour)
Choose DigitalOcean if you prioritize ease-of-use, comprehensive documentation, a larger community, and need multiple global data centers for your applications. Choose Linode if you want maximum raw performance per dollar with AMD EPYC processors, better value on entry-level plans, and don't mind a slightly steeper learning curve.
DigitalOcean: DOKS (DigitalOcean Kubernetes Service) | Linode: LKE (Linode Kubernetes Engine)
DigitalOcean: Highly favored by startups | Linode: Popular with enterprises
DigitalOcean: Intel Xeon | Linode: AMD EPYC
DigitalOcean: Beginner-friendly, modern | Linode: Functional, steep learning curve
DigitalOcean: $15 (1vCPU, 1GB RAM) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Flat-rate, predictable; per-second billing (min $0.01) as of Jan 2026 | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Basic ML tools, no proprietary AI platform | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Community forums, standard support, documentation-heavy | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Beginner-friendly with intuitive dashboard | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Comprehensive with extensive tutorials | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, Kafka | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 12 regions | Linode: 12 locations
DigitalOcean: 2000+ tutorials | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Manual setup required | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 99.99% (Droplets) | Linode: 99.9%
DigitalOcean: 5,000 req/hr | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Requires Kubernetes ($12+/month) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 20 minutes (manual install) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Yes (full SSH access) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Instant (no sleep) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 150-300ms (8 region average) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: $0.00595 (6GB RAM droplet / 730 hours) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 3,600 requests/hour | Linode: 4,800 requests/hour
DigitalOcean: No free tier; $6/month minimum | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Via App Platform (secondary to droplets) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: $4/month (Basic Droplet) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 3 (basic APIs) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: DOKS (Simplified, limited customization) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 3 (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: $200 (60 days) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: $0.0066/hour | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 14 core services | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 2/10 (simple) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 15-20 services | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: $5/month (Droplet) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 60 days ($200 credit) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 2-5 minutes (average) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Limited API integrations, no native ML | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: SOC2, ISO 27001 | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Simple: Fixed pricing per resource, no hidden fees | Linode: N/A
Cost for Production App (2 dynos/Droplets + DB)
DigitalOcean: $30-50/month | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 10-30 minutes | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Managed services via Marketplace | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Full control (root SSH, custom runtime) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: Free tier with $200/month credits | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 8 (SOC 2, ISO 27001) | Linode: N/A
Managed Kubernetes Pricing (Per Cluster)
DigitalOcean: 70,000+ questions | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: $5.99 (Droplet) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 6 regions | Linode: 12 regions
DigitalOcean: 8,500+ tutorials | Linode: 4,200+ guides
DigitalOcean: SSD, Block Storage, Spaces (object storage) | Linode: SSD, Block Storage, Object Storage
DigitalOcean: 750ms (typical) | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 5000 requests/hour | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: 500000+ posts | Linode: N/A
DigitalOcean: N/A | Linode: $5.00/month (1GB RAM, 1 vCPU)
DigitalOcean: N/A | Linode: 30 minutes average
DigitalOcean: N/A | Linode: Not included by default
How to choose between DigitalOcean and Linode
DigitalOcean vs Linode — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for DigitalOcean vs Linode. Contains 117 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
DigitalOcean vs Linode — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for DigitalOcean vs Linode.
Which is cheaper for a production database server?
Linode is 25% cheaper for CPU-intensive workloads. A 4 GB RAM/2 vCPU server costs $24 on DigitalOcean versus $18 on Linode, and Linode's dedicated AMD EPYC processors provide better database performance than DigitalOcean's shared vCPU options at equivalent price points.
Yes. DigitalOcean has significantly better documentation (5,000+ tutorials vs 2,800), a larger community with more Stack Overflow answers, one-click app deployments, and a more intuitive control panel. Linode's interface is powerful but requires more technical knowledge.
Which has better uptime and reliability?
Both guarantee 99.99% uptime SLA. In practice, both providers have similar reliability records. DigitalOcean has slight redundancy advantages across 13 data centers, while Linode's dedicated infrastructure may provide more consistent performance, but the difference is negligible for most applications.
Linode's managed Kubernetes (LKE) is significantly cheaper at $10/month cluster fee versus DigitalOcean's $12/month DOKS fee. Both provide equivalent features, but Linode wins on cost. For beginners, DigitalOcean offers better managed Kubernetes documentation.
Neither offers permanent free tiers. DigitalOcean provides $200 free credit (60 days) while Linode offers $100 free credit (60 days). After the trial, both charge monthly. For permanent free options, consider AWS Free Tier or Google Cloud Free Tier instead.
How to Choose Between DigitalOcean and Linode
Starting Monthly Price: DigitalOcean has $4/month, while Linode has $2.50/month.
Global Data Centers: DigitalOcean has 13 regions, while Linode has 11 regions.
Consider: Entry-Level RAM (Cheapest Plan)
Entry-Level RAM (Cheapest Plan): DigitalOcean has 512 MB, while Linode has 1 GB.
Consider: Entry-Level CPU (Cheapest Plan)
Entry-Level CPU (Cheapest Plan): DigitalOcean has 1 vCPU shared, while Linode has 1 vCPU AMD EPYC.
Uptime SLA Guarantee: DigitalOcean has 99.99%, while Linode has 99.99%.
Free Tier/Trial: DigitalOcean has $200 credit (60 days), while Linode has $100 credit (60 days).
Consider: API Rate Limit (Requests/Hour)
API Rate Limit (Requests/Hour): DigitalOcean has 5,000, while Linode has 4,000.