DigitalOcean Kubernetes
6.4/10DigitalOcean Kubernetes (DOKS) is a managed Kubernetes service with a free control plane, sold to developers, startups and small teams that run containerized apps.
Data last updated November 2026 · Our methodology
Overview
DigitalOcean Kubernetes, also called DOKS, is DigitalOcean's managed Kubernetes service. The CNCF-certified control plane is free. You pay for worker nodes, which are DigitalOcean Droplets, and for any load balancers and block storage volumes the cluster creates. DigitalOcean runs the control plane and handles version upgrades, either automatically or on demand, inside maintenance windows. Surge upgrades, a cluster autoscaler that can scale to zero, and automatic node remediation are included at no extra cost. Prices are set per node and run from $12 a month for Basic shared-CPU nodes up to dedicated-CPU, memory-optimized and storage-optimized nodes. There are also hourly v5 nodes and NVIDIA H100 GPU nodes at $4.41 an hour. A high-availability control plane costs $40 a month and comes with a 99.95% SLA. Each node includes a pooled outbound bandwidth allowance, and overage is billed at $0.01 per GiB. DOKS is available in 16 DigitalOcean datacenters. It works with DigitalOcean Container Registry, Load Balancers, Volumes, NFS shares, Spaces and Managed Databases. Networking is Cilium-based and includes Gateway API support. Clusters can be managed from the control panel, the API, doctl or Terraform. Additions in 2026 include OIDC single sign-on, control plane firewalls and isolated worker nodes. It suits startups and small to mid-sized teams that want Kubernetes without paying EKS-style cluster fees or learning a hyperscaler's tooling. The main limitation is depth. There is no native cluster backup, IPv6 works only on load balancers, and node pool machine sizes cannot be changed after creation. Users have also reported control-plane and networking outages, and the compliance portfolio is thinner than AWS, Google Cloud or Azure offer.
Our Rating
Who DigitalOcean Kubernetes is best for
Best software for DevelopersGood fit
The simple control panel, doctl CLI, beginner-oriented documentation and CNCF-conformant clusters make it approachable for developers learning or running Kubernetes.
With a free control plane and $12 nodes, a production cluster costs far less than on hyperscalers, and DigitalOcean markets DOKS heavily to startups and ISVs.
Autoscaling to 1,000 nodes, an HA control plane with an SLA, and GPU nodes support production SaaS workloads, though independent reviewers point to fewer advanced options than EKS or GKE.
Pricing is predictable per node with bundled bandwidth, but running it still takes Kubernetes skills.
Less suited
Reviewers note fewer customization options and enterprise services, compliance is limited to SOC 2/SOC 3, CSA STAR Level 1 and PCI SAQ-A, and one EU-focused analysis raises CLOUD Act concerns for regulated workloads.
The trust page lists no HIPAA coverage, and buyers are told to contact the trust team about HIPAA.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- The control plane is free, and a 3-node cluster can cost less than the roughly $73 a month that EKS charges for the cluster alone, according to both DigitalOcean and Qovery.
- Upgrades, surge upgrades, the cluster autoscaler with scale-to-zero, and automatic node remediation are included without extra fees.
- Outbound bandwidth is bundled per node and pooled across the cluster, with overage at $0.01 per GiB, so bills are predictable for moderate traffic.
- Independent comparisons find the control panel and tutorials approachable, so smaller teams can run clusters without deep CLI work.
- The service is actively developed: 2026 added OIDC SSO, control plane firewalls, isolated worker nodes, spot GPU pools and NVIDIA B300 GPUs.
- GPU worker nodes, including on-demand H100s at $4.41 an hour, let AI inference run in the same cluster as regular workloads.
Cons
- There is no built-in cluster backup. You need SnapShooter, which now focuses on databases, or a self-managed Velero setup.
- Users report multi-hour control-plane or network outages, and DigitalOcean's status history shows several DOKS incidents.
- Customization is limited compared with EKS: control plane feature gates and admission controllers cannot be changed, node pool machine sizes are fixed, and IPv6 works only on load balancers.
- Compliance coverage is thinner than on hyperscalers: SOC 2/SOC 3, CSA STAR Level 1 self-assessment and PCI SAQ-A, with no HIPAA on the trust page.
- Basic nodes use shared CPUs, which DigitalOcean warns can raise UDP latency and degrade DNS on clusters with heavy DNS traffic.
- Faster support costs extra: response targets under 2 hours require the $99 a month Standard plan.
Key Features
DigitalOcean Kubernetes Pricing
Control plane (standard)
- Worker nodes are billed separately
- Container Registry free up to 500 MiB
- Cluster autoscaler, including scale-to-zero node pools
- Cilium Hubble security and observability at no extra cost
- Managed control plane at no charge, including etcd and kube-apiserver
- Automatic or on-demand upgrades, maintenance windows and surge upgrades
Basic node
or $144/year
- Shared CPU, for variable workloads
- Price is per node, from $12 a month
- Bandwidth allowance is pooled across nodes
- At least two nodes recommended to avoid downtime
- Example sizes: 2 vCPU, 4 GiB RAM, 80 GiB disk, 4,000 GiB transfer for $24 a month; 4 vCPU, 8 GiB RAM for $48 a month
CPU-optimized node
or $504/year
- Price is per node, from $42 a month
- Dedicated CPU with 2 GiB RAM per vCPU
- Premium CPU nodes get up to 10 Gbps outbound throughput
General purpose node
or $756/year
- Price is per node, from $63 a month
- Dedicated CPU with 4 GiB RAM per vCPU
Memory-optimized node
or $1,008/year
- Price is per node, from $84 a month
- Dedicated CPU with 8 GiB RAM per vCPU
Storage-optimized node
or $1,956/year
- Price is per node, from $163 a month
- Guaranteed local NVMe storage, up to 6.87 TiB
GPU nodes (multi-GPU, B300, AMD)
- Spot GPU node pools in public preview
- AMD MI300X and MI325X GPUs available by request or contract
- NVIDIA B300 and multi-node 8-GPU configurations available by contract
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The standard control plane is free. You pay for worker nodes, load balancers and volumes. An optional high-availability control plane with a 99.95% SLA costs $40 a month. It is enabled by default on clusters running Kubernetes 1.36 and later.
DigitalOcean lists a 99.95% SLA for clusters with the HA control plane, and 99.99% for worker nodes and Block Storage. Full terms are in the DOKS service level agreement.
DigitalOcean says the cluster autoscaler can scale clusters up to 1,000 worker nodes, a limit introduced in March 2025. The limits documentation also mentions 512 nodes and limits each node to 110 pods. Actual capacity depends on your Droplet limit and on capacity in the region.
No. Backups are not built in. DigitalOcean's SnapShooter service can back up databases running in DOKS for a fee per backup job. For full backups of manifests and volumes, DigitalOcean documents running Velero with its Velero plugin.
DOKS is available in 16 datacenters: NYC1, NYC2, NYC3, AMS3, SFO2, SFO3, SGP1, LON1, FRA1, TOR1, BLR1, SYD1, ATL1, RIC1, MKC1 and MEM1. Some node types, such as v5, are limited to certain regions. All nodes in a cluster must be in the same region.
DigitalOcean's trust page lists SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 reports audited by Schellman, CSA STAR Level 1, PCI-DSS SAQ-A and Global Privacy Recognition for Processors. ISO 27001 is held by its colocation data centers. HIPAA is not listed, and buyers are told to contact the trust team.
Inbound transfer is free. Each node includes an outbound allowance, for example 2,000 GiB on Basic nodes, and the allowances are pooled across the cluster. Overage costs $0.01 per GiB, and internal traffic is not billed.
Yes. Clusters can be managed through the DigitalOcean API, the doctl CLI, Terraform and the control panel. DigitalOcean recommends doctl for kubeconfig, because kubeconfig files downloaded from the control panel expire after seven days.
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