Short answer
As of October 23, 2026, InMotion Hosting wins more of the head-to-head checks (3 vs 2), while DigitalOcean ranks higher overall. DigitalOcean is cheaper to start ($4.00 vs $6.00 a month) and DigitalOcean has more locations (13 vs 3).
Verdict
DigitalOcean is cheaper to start: Basic 512 MB (s-1vcpu-512mb-10gb) costs $4.00 per month against $6.00 at InMotion Hosting, but InMotion Hosting gives more RAM for the money ($6.00 vs $7.00 per GB, median).
DigitalOcean has the wider footprint with 13 locations in 8 countries, against 3 in 2 at InMotion Hosting; both offer Amsterdam.
On features, only DigitalOcean bills hourly, only DigitalOcean offers an API, only DigitalOcean offers dedicated-CPU plans and only InMotion Hosting offers a managed option.
Customers rate InMotion Hosting higher on Trustpilot: 4.6 from 3,030 reviews versus 4.5 from 2,581.
Overall DigitalOcean ranks #15 and InMotion Hosting #77 of 160 providers we track. Choose DigitalOcean if price matters most or you need a wider choice of locations; choose InMotion Hosting if you want a managed server.
DigitalOcean and InMotion side by side
| DigitalOcean | InMotion Hosting | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | Basic 512 MB (s-1vcpu-512mb-10gb): $4.00/mo | cVPS 1: $6.00/mo |
| Entry plan specs | 1 vCPU, 512 MB RAM, 10 GB SSD, 500 GB traffic | 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 30 GB SSD, 2 TB traffic |
| Cheapest Windows plan | No Windows | No Windows |
| Median price per GB RAM | $7.00 | $6.00 |
| Data-center locations | 13 in 8 countries | 3 in 2 countries |
| Regions | Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania | Europe, North America |
| Virtualisation | KVM | — |
| Hourly billing | Yes | No |
| NVMe storage | Yes | Yes |
| DDoS protection | Yes | Yes |
| Backups | Paid | Free |
| Managed option | No | Yes |
| Payment methods | card, paypal, crypto, alipay, other | card, paypal, other |
| Money-back | Not published | 90 days |
| Uptime SLA | 99.99% | 99.99% |
| Trustpilot | 4.5 (2,581 reviews) | 4.6 (3,030 reviews) |
| Founded / HQ | 2012, Broomfield US | 2001, Virginia Beach US |
Highlighted cells mark the better value where the comparison is objective (lower price, more locations, higher rating).
Plans at the same size
The closest matching plans by RAM from each provider.
| RAM | DigitalOcean | $/month | InMotion | $/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Basic 1 GB (s-1vcpu-1gb) (1 vCPU, 25 GB) | $6.00 | cVPS 1 (1 vCPU, 30 GB) | $6.00 |
| 2 GB | Basic 2 GB (s-1vcpu-2gb) (1 vCPU, 50 GB) | $12.00 | cVPS 1 NVMe (1 vCPU, 30 GB) | $7.00 |
| 4 GB | Basic 4 GB (s-2vcpu-4gb) (2 vCPU, 80 GB) | $24.00 | cVPS 4 (4 vCPU, 100 GB) | $24.00 |
| 8 GB | Basic 8 GB (s-4vcpu-8gb) (4 vCPU, 160 GB) | $48.00 | cVPS 6 (8 vCPU, 150 GB) | $48.00 |
| 16 GB | Basic 16 GB (s-8vcpu-16gb) (8 vCPU, 320 GB) | $96.00 | cVPS 8 (16 vCPU, 360 GB) | $96.00 |
| 32 GB | no plan | — | 32g-32vcpu-540sata (32 vCPU, 540 GB) | $192.00 |
Locations
DigitalOcean operates 13 locations (Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania); InMotion Hosting operates 3 (Europe, North America).
Cities both offer: Amsterdam.
Only DigitalOcean: Atlanta, Bangalore, Frankfurt, Kansas City, London, Memphis, New York, Richmond, San Francisco, Singapore and 2 more.
Only InMotion: Ashburn and Los Angeles.
Frequently asked questions
Is DigitalOcean or InMotion Hosting better?
As of October 23, 2026, InMotion Hosting wins more of the head-to-head checks (3 vs 2), while DigitalOcean ranks higher overall. DigitalOcean is cheaper to start ($4.00 vs $6.00 a month) and DigitalOcean has more locations (13 vs 3).
Is DigitalOcean cheaper than InMotion Hosting?
DigitalOcean has the lower entry price: $4.00 against $6.00 per month. The plans-at-equal-RAM table compares them size by size.
Which has more data centers, DigitalOcean or InMotion Hosting?
DigitalOcean, with 13 locations in 8 countries versus 3 at InMotion Hosting. Both operate in Amsterdam.
Do DigitalOcean and InMotion Hosting offer Windows VPS?
Neither offers Windows Server.
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.