Short answer
As of October 23, 2026, the closest alternative to DigitalOcean is LikeVPS, followed by Cloudzy and Akamai Cloud (Linode). The cheapest of the 12 is netcup at $2.07/month, against $4.00 at DigitalOcean.
Key takeaways
- Prices run from $2.07 (netcup, prepaid annually or longer) with a median of $4.27 per month across 12 providers.
- Widest footprint: LikeVPS, 26 data-center locations in 26 countries.
- Best rated: HostArmada, 4.8/5 on Trustpilot from 1,125 reviews.
- 4 of 12 offer Windows Server, 11 include DDoS protection and 6 bill by the hour.
Best DigitalOcean alternatives
-
1
LikeVPS
UK-registered VPS provider with 26 locations across Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania; DDoS protection and unlimited traffic included in most plans. Lite 2.0 at $10.00/month with 2 GB RAM. 26 locations in 26 countries, DDoS protection included and Windows Server available.
Lite 2.0: 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 25 GB NVMe, 20 TB traffic. -
2
Cloudzy
Dubai-headquartered, self-funded host selling DDR5/NVMe KVM VPS from $2.48/mo in 13 locations. 512 MB DDR5 at $2.48/month with 512 MB RAM. DDoS protection included, hourly billing and accepts crypto.
512 MB DDR5: 1 vCPU, 512 MB RAM, 20 GB NVMe, 1 TB traffic. -
3
Akamai Cloud (Linode)
Akamai-owned cloud with Shared CPU Linodes from $5/mo in 26 core compute cities worldwide. Nanode 1 GB at $5.00/month with 1 GB RAM. 26 locations in 15 countries, DDoS protection included and hourly billing.
Nanode 1 GB: 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 25 GB SSD, 1 TB traffic. -
4
Bluehost VPS
Newfold-owned host with self-managed NVMe KVM VPS from 1 vCPU/2 GB and a cPanel-managed line. NVMe 2 at $5.69/month with 2 GB RAM. DDoS protection included, unmetered traffic on some plans and Trustpilot 4.5 from 31,911 reviews.
NVMe 2: 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 50 GB NVMe, unmetered traffic. -
5
HostHatch
Low-cost KVM provider with NVMe and HDD storage VMs in 14 cities across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. NVMe 2 GB at $4.00/month with 2 GB RAM. DDoS protection included.
NVMe 2 GB: 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 10 GB NVMe, 1 TB traffic.
All 12 alternatives
| # | Provider | Plan | $/month | RAM | $/GB RAM | Locations | Windows | Hourly | Trustpilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lite 2.0 | $10.00 | 2 GB | $5.00 | 26 | Yes | No | — | |
| 2 | 512 MB DDR5 | $2.48 | 512 MB | $4.96 | 13 | No | Yes | — | |
| 3 |  Akamai Cloud (Linode) |
Nanode 1 GB | $5.00 | 1 GB | $5.00 | 26 | No | Yes | 2.5 (207) |
| 4 | NVMe 2 | $5.69 | 2 GB | $2.85 | 9 | No | No | 4.5 (31,911) | |
| 5 | NVMe 2 GB | $4.00 | 2 GB | $2.00 | 14 | No | No | 2.7 (91) | |
| 6 | Leaseweb VPS 1 | $5.58 | 6 GB | $0.93 | 9 | No | No | 3.4 (319) | |
| 7 | DigitalOcean Micro | $11.00 | 2 GB | $5.50 | 9 | No | Yes | 4.6 (3,766) | |
| 8 | Entry (1 GB) | $4.00 | 1 GB | $4.00 | 21 | Yes | Yes | 1.4 (118) | |
| 9 | VPS piko G11s | $2.07 | 1 GB | $2.07 | 5 | No | Yes | 3.8 (3,022) | |
| 10 | Starter 1xCPU-1GB | $3.50 | 1 GB | $3.50 | 14 | Yes | Yes | 3.0 (168) | |
| 11 | VPS-1 | $4.54 | 4 GB | $1.14 | 11 | Yes | No | 3.8 (8,843) | |
| 12 | Spark | $3.69 | 1 GB | $3.69 | 9 | No | No | 4.8 (1,125) |
Prices compared
Why people switch from DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean sells plans from $4.00 a month in 13 locations (Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania); it has no Windows plans, bills hourly.
Its strengths: per-second billing with a monthly cap and a $4/mo entry droplet and layer 3/4 ddos protection, cloud firewalls and vpc networking included at no charge. Its limits: regular basic droplets use plain ssd; nvme requires premium intel/amd plans from $7/mo and backups cost 20% (weekly) or 30% (daily) of the droplet price; snapshots $0.06/gb/mo. The alternatives below match the strengths and avoid at least one of the limits.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to DigitalOcean?
As of October 23, 2026, the closest alternative to DigitalOcean is LikeVPS, followed by Cloudzy and Akamai Cloud (Linode). The cheapest of the 12 is netcup at $2.07/month, against $4.00 at DigitalOcean.
What is a cheaper alternative to DigitalOcean?
netcup at $2.07 per month (VPS piko G11s: 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 30 GB SSD, unmetered traffic).
Sources
Prices, plans and locations were read from these pages; last checked October 23, 2026. Prices change, so confirm on the provider's site before you buy.