DigitalOcean vs UpCloud Comparison
Compare DigitalOcean vs UpCloud features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
DigitalOcean
6.8/10
DigitalOcean is a developer-focused cloud platform offering Droplet VMs, managed Kubernetes, databases, object storage, App Platform and GPU compute for startups and small businesses.
UpCloud
7/10
A Finnish cloud infrastructure provider offering cloud servers, managed Kubernetes, managed databases, object storage, and networking to developers and businesses.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.8/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Reliability | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $4/mo Basic Droplet 512 MiB | €3/mo Starter |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $4/mo Basic Droplet 512 MiB | €3/mo Starter |
| Features | ||
| API and CLI | ||
| Automatic Backups | ||
| Cloud Compute | ||
| Content Delivery Network | ||
| Managed Databases | ||
| Managed Kubernetes | ||
| Multiple Regions | ||
| Object Storage | ||
| Uptime SLA | ||
| VPS Hosting | ||
| DDoS Protection | Not listed | |
| Git Deployments | Not listed | |
| Serverless Functions | Not listed | |
DigitalOcean vs UpCloud cost by team size
| Team size | DigitalOcean | UpCloud |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $4/moBasic Droplet 512 MiB | €3/moStarter |
| 5 users | $4/moBasic Droplet 512 MiB | €3/moStarter |
| 10 users | $4/moBasic Droplet 512 MiB | €3/moStarter |
| 25 users | $4/moBasic Droplet 512 MiB | €3/moStarter |
| 50 users | $4/moBasic Droplet 512 MiB | €3/moStarter |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose DigitalOcean
- Higher Ease of Use score (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Higher Cost score (7/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for startups (9/10 vs 7/10)
Why choose UpCloud
- Higher Support score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Reliability score (8/10 vs 7/10)
Pros & Cons
DigitalOcean
Pros
- Flat, published hourly and monthly rates with no promotional first-term pricing or renewal price jumps.
- A $4 per month entry Droplet and per-second billing make it cheap to test and run small workloads.
- One account covers a full set of managed services, including Kubernetes, databases, Spaces with CDN, load balancers, App Platform and Functions.
- Developers can automate everything through the API, the doctl CLI and a Terraform provider, and the tutorials are widely used.
Cons
- Free support is ticket-only with a target response under 24 hours, chat starts at $99 per month, and no plan includes phone support.
- Outbound SMTP ports 25, 465 and 587 are blocked on new Droplets, so you cannot self-host email.
- Raw compute costs noticeably more than budget providers such as Hetzner.
- No refunds, and Droplets on suspended accounts are deleted after a grace period.
UpCloud
Pros
- Independent benchmarks recorded very low p99 disk latency on its MaxIOPS storage
- Advertises a 100% uptime SLA with 50x credits for downtime
- Fixed plan prices include data transfer, which keeps bills predictable
- Official Terraform provider, REST API, and CLI support infrastructure as code
- Broad managed portfolio covering Kubernetes, four database engines, object storage, and a CDN
- EU headquarters, ISO 27001 certification, and GDPR focus suit European buyers
Cons
- Reviewers find it several times more expensive than Hetzner for similar specs
- Fewer locations than larger providers, concentrated in Europe
- Smaller community and fewer third-party reviews than DigitalOcean or Vultr
- One user reports outbound port 25 is blocked by default, which hinders mail servers
- Pricing is changing in November 2026, so older published prices may be out of date
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
UpCloud scores higher on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria: 7/10 against 6.8/10 for DigitalOcean. The largest gap is in Support: 5/10 for DigitalOcean and 8/10 for UpCloud.
No, neither DigitalOcean nor UpCloud lists a free plan.
DigitalOcean is the better fit for startups: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 7/10 for UpCloud.
