whichdevtool? Search tools /
Menu
DirectoryFree tiersCompareStacksCalculatorsChanges
VPS and cloud servers 25 App hosting and PaaS 27 Managed databases 31 Transactional email APIs 30 Email marketing and newsletters 32 Domain registrars 27 CDN, DNS and edge security 32 Monitoring, uptime and error tracking 28 Auth and identity 32

VPS and cloud servers

Amazon Lightsail vs DigitalOcean Droplets

Lightsail packages AWS servers into fixed bundles with a static IP, DNS and at least 1 TB of transfer from $5; DigitalOcean Droplets start at $4 with pooled transfer and per-second billing.

§1

The short answer

Prices are close: 2 GB for $12 and 4 GB for $24 on both. Lightsail’s $5 bundle has 0.5 GB, 2 burstable vCPU, 20 GB SSD and 1 TB of transfer, or $3.50 IPv6-only; DigitalOcean’s $4 Droplet has 512 MiB, 1 vCPU, 10 GiB and 500 GiB. Lightsail instances are burstable, and AWS recommends EC2 for consistently high CPU use.

Transfer rules differ. On Lightsail both inbound and outbound traffic count toward the allowance, allowances are halved in Mumbai, Sydney, Jakarta, Malaysia, Hong Kong and São Paulo, and the overage rate was not listed. DigitalOcean counts only outbound, pools allowances across a team and charges $0.01/GiB over.

The deciding factor is usually the account. Lightsail keeps you inside AWS, with private networking to other AWS services, snapshot export to EC2 and Windows bundles from $9.50. DigitalOcean offers managed databases, Kubernetes and App Platform in 13 regions under its own account.

Choose Amazon Lightsail if

  • You already use AWS and want the server on the same account
  • You need a Windows VPS at a fixed monthly price
  • You expect to move to EC2 later

Choose DigitalOcean Droplets if

  • You want transfer pooled across servers, with only outbound traffic counted
  • You want a published overage rate of $0.01/GiB
  • You want managed Kubernetes or App Platform next to your servers
§2

Side by side

Amazon Lightsail DigitalOcean Droplets
Stages HobbyIndieStartupScale-upEnterprise HobbyIndieStartupScale-upEnterprise
What it is Cloud VPS Cloud VPS
From From $5/mo with IPv4, $3.50/mo IPv6-only From $4/mo
Free tier None None
Cheapest plan 2 vCPU (burstable), 0.5 GB, 20 GB SSD: $5/mo 1 vCPU, 512 MiB, 10 GiB SSD: $4/mo
Regions Several AWS regions (plans vary by region) 13 regions, 16 data centers
Transfer 1 TB to 10 TB included, halved in some regions 500 GiB to 11,000 GiB pooled; $0.01/GiB over
Billing Hourly, up to the monthly bundle price Per second (60 s minimum), monthly cap
Open source No No
Self-hostable No No
EU data residency Available Available
Compliance Not stated Not stated
Checked 28 Sept 2026 28 Sept 2026
Strengths
  • Predictable monthly bills inside an AWS account, unlike EC2's itemized billing.
  • Transfer allowances of 1 TB and up avoid AWS's normal egress charges for small sites.
  • Windows bundles are available, which many VPS hosts do not offer.
  • Clear upgrade path to EC2 and other AWS services.
  • Clear published prices with transfer included and a low $0.01/GiB overage rate.
  • 13 regions across North America, Europe, India, Singapore and Australia.
  • Managed databases, Kubernetes and App Platform let a project grow without changing provider.
  • Well-known documentation and tutorials, with API, CLI and Terraform support.
Limitations
  • Instances are burstable; AWS recommends EC2 for consistently high CPU use.
  • Transfer allowances are halved in Mumbai, Sydney, Jakarta, Malaysia, Hong Kong and São Paulo.
  • Inbound traffic counts toward the allowance, not only outbound.
  • Accounts are limited to 5 static IPs and 6 DNS zones.
  • Basic plans give less RAM per dollar than budget hosts such as Hetzner, netcup or Contabo.
  • The $4 plan has only 512 MiB RAM and 10 GiB of disk.
  • Backups are extra, at 20% to 30% of the Droplet price.
  • Some newer data centers (Atlanta, Richmond, Kansas City) have limited availability for Basic plans.

Sources: Amazon Lightsail pricing, DigitalOcean Droplets pricing. Full plans on each tool's page.

§3

Plans

Amazon Lightsail

Linux 0.5 GB (IPv6 only)
2 vCPU, 512 MB RAM, 20 GB SSD, 1 TB transfer		 $3.50/mo
Linux 0.5 GB
2 vCPU, 0.5 GB RAM, 20 GB SSD, 1 TB transfer, public IPv4		 $5/mo
Linux 1 GB
2 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB SSD, 2 TB transfer		 $7/mo
Linux 2 GB
2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 60 GB SSD, 3 TB transfer		 $12/mo
Linux 4 GB
2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 80 GB SSD, 4 TB transfer		 $24/mo
Linux 8 GB
2 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 160 GB SSD, 5 TB transfer		 $44/mo
Compute Optimized 4 GB
2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 160 GB SSD, 5 TB transfer		 $42/mo
Windows 0.5 GB
2 vCPU, 0.5 GB RAM, 30 GB SSD, 1 TB transfer		 $9.50/mo

DigitalOcean Droplets

Basic 512 MiB
1 vCPU, 512 MiB RAM, 10 GiB SSD, 500 GiB transfer		 $4/mo
Basic 1 GiB
1 vCPU, 1 GiB RAM, 25 GiB SSD, 1,000 GiB transfer		 $6/mo
Basic 2 GiB
1 vCPU, 2 GiB RAM, 50 GiB SSD, 2,000 GiB transfer		 $12/mo
Basic 4 GiB
2 vCPU, 4 GiB RAM, 80 GiB SSD, 4,000 GiB transfer		 $24/mo
CPU-Optimized 4 GiB
2 dedicated vCPU, 4 GiB RAM, 25 GiB SSD		 $42/mo
General Purpose 8 GiB
2 dedicated vCPU, 8 GiB RAM, 25 GiB SSD		 $63/mo

Compare all vps and cloud servers →