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Managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Valkey, Kafka and OpenSearch · by DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean Managed Databases

Managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Valkey, Kafka and OpenSearch clusters on DigitalOcean, with flat monthly prices from about $15 and daily backups with 7-day restore.

Visit digitalocean.com ↗ Alternatives Paid EU region
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Overview

DigitalOcean Managed Databases offers PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Valkey (Redis-compatible caching), Kafka and OpenSearch as managed clusters in DigitalOcean's datacenters. DigitalOcean handles setup, patching, daily backups and failover; clusters live in your account's private network and accept public connections only from allowlisted sources.

Pricing is flat and published per plan: the smallest PostgreSQL or MySQL cluster is $15.15/mo for 1 vCPU, 1 GiB RAM and 10 GiB of storage, and the table climbs through 2, 4, 8 and 16 GiB plans. Adding standby nodes gives automatic failover; adding read-only nodes spreads read traffic. Storage can be expanded in 10 GiB steps at $0.215/GiB-month, and storage autoscaling can do this without manual action.

Backups are free and daily, and PostgreSQL and MySQL clusters can be restored to any point in the previous seven days. There is no scale-to-zero or free tier, and a cluster is limited to three nodes, so it suits steady production apps on DigitalOcean more than hobby projects or very large deployments.

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Pricing and plans

checked 28 Sept 2026
Plan Price What you get
PostgreSQL / MySQL 1 GiB $15.15/mo 1 vCPU, 1 GiB RAM, 10 GiB disk (up to 30 GiB), single node
PostgreSQL / MySQL 2 GiB $30.45/mo 1 vCPU, 2 GiB RAM, 30 GiB disk
PostgreSQL / MySQL 4 GiB $60.90/mo 2 vCPU, 4 GiB RAM, 60 GiB disk
PostgreSQL / MySQL 8 GiB $122.10/mo 4 vCPU, 8 GiB RAM, 140 GiB disk
MongoDB 1 GiB $15.23/mo 1 vCPU, 1 GiB RAM, 15 GiB disk
Valkey 1 GiB $15.00/mo 1 vCPU, 1 GiB RAM
Kafka $148.80/mo Three brokers, 6 GiB RAM and 6 vCPUs in total, 120 GiB disk
OpenSearch 2 GiB $19.60/mo 1 vCPU, 2 GiB RAM, 40 GiB disk

Prices are the single-node list prices on DigitalOcean's pricing page (hourly rates capped at the monthly price, same in every datacenter). Standby nodes for high availability and read-only nodes are billed as additional nodes; their exact prices were not shown on the page read. Extra storage costs $0.215/GiB-month in 10 GiB steps (30 GiB for Kafka). Larger, dedicated-CPU, Premium AMD/Intel and storage-optimized plans exist beyond the rows listed. There is no free tier; new accounts may get promotional credit (the pricing FAQ describes a $5, 90-day credit). Taxes apply in some countries. Compliance certifications were not stated on the pages read.

Source: www.digitalocean.com/pricing/managed-databases · prices as published, excluding tax.

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What it does

Six engines
PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Valkey, Kafka and OpenSearch, each managed through the same console and API.
Free daily backups
Backups run automatically every day and data can be restored to any point within the previous seven days.
Standby nodes and failover
Optional standby nodes take over automatically if the primary fails.
Storage autoscaling
Storage can grow automatically as data increases, without downtime or manual resizing.
Private networking
Clusters run in the account's VPC; public access is limited to trusted sources, with encryption in transit and at rest.
Insights and alerts
Built-in metrics for CPU, memory, disk, connections and cache hit ratio, with alert policies.
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Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Flat, published monthly prices that are the same in every region
  • Six engines under one account alongside Droplets, Kubernetes and App Platform
  • Free daily backups with 7-day point-in-time restore
  • Frankfurt and other non-US datacenters available

Limitations

  • No free tier and no scale-to-zero
  • Each PostgreSQL cluster is limited to 3 nodes, and node counts follow fixed options
  • Standby nodes are not supported on some 1 vCPU shared-CPU plans
  • Backup retention for point-in-time restore is 7 days
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Who it suits

Good for

  • Apps already hosted on DigitalOcean Droplets, Kubernetes or App Platform
  • Small teams that want a predictable monthly database bill
  • Production PostgreSQL or MySQL with simple high availability

Look elsewhere if

  • Hobby projects looking for a free database
  • Spiky or rarely used workloads that benefit from scale-to-zero billing
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Alternatives to DigitalOcean Managed Databases

Tool From Free option Stages
Aiven Managed open-source data platform (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Kafka, Valkey, OpenSearch, ClickHouse)
$5/mo Free tier
Clever Cloud European managed PaaS
€6/mo Trial
Convex Reactive backend and document database
$25/mo Free tier
Crunchy Bridge Managed PostgreSQL on AWS, Azure and GCP
$9/mo Paid
Dragonfly Cloud Managed Redis-compatible in-memory data store
$36/mo Trial
Firebase Backend platform with document and realtime databases
Usage-based Free tier

All managed databases →

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Questions

How much is the cheapest DigitalOcean managed PostgreSQL database?

$15.15/mo for a single node with 1 vCPU, 1 GiB RAM and 10 GiB of storage; MySQL is the same price.

Does DigitalOcean have a free managed database?

No. There is no free tier; new accounts may receive promotional credit.

Are backups included with DigitalOcean Managed Databases?

Yes. Daily backups are free, and you can restore to any point within the previous seven days.

How do I get high availability on DigitalOcean Managed Databases?

Add standby nodes to the cluster; if the primary fails, traffic switches to a standby automatically. Standby nodes are billed as extra nodes.

Is DigitalOcean database pricing different by region?

No. DigitalOcean advertises flat pricing across all datacenters.

Sources read for this page