What is DigitalOcean?
DigitalOcean offers several ways to run an application. Droplets are Linux virtual machines that a team configures and operates; DigitalOcean Kubernetes supplies a managed Kubernetes control plane; App Platform deploys code or container images while managing the underlying application infrastructure. These are different operational models, so the right choice depends on whether the team needs host access, Kubernetes primitives, or a managed deployment path.
Read the full overview
Sources checked 27 September 2026: Droplet reference, Kubernetes documentation, and App Platform documentation.
Key capabilities
- Droplets: Linux VMs for direct server administration.
- DOKS: managed Kubernetes control plane with DigitalOcean networking and storage integrations.
- App Platform: deployment from code or container images without administering the underlying host.
- API and doctl: programmatic resource management.
The practical decision is how much infrastructure the team wants to manage. VM-based workloads need server administration; Kubernetes workloads need container and cluster operations; App Platform is aimed at app deployment. Compare region availability, quotas, backup design, and current prices for the specific workload before committing.
Consider DigitalOcean when you want to choose between self-managed Linux servers and more managed application infrastructure within the same cloud account. A Droplet still leaves OS updates, application deployment, and recovery procedures with your team; DOKS removes control-plane management but retains responsibility for workloads and cluster configuration.
DigitalOcean gives small application teams a path from a single Linux VM to managed deployment and Kubernetes without presenting those services as interchangeable. The service descriptions above come from DigitalOcean's Droplet reference and DOKS documentation, checked 27 September 2026; no performance or cost result was independently tested.
Technical details
- Access
- Web platform
- Source model
- Other license
- Founded
- 2011
- Headquarters
- New York, USA
- Pricing model
- Paid
- API
- Available
- Website
- www.digitalocean.com ↗
Official resources
What to verify for your environment
Start from the users, systems and operating responsibilities the tool needs to support.
- Confirm current features, licensing and support terms with the publisher.
- Validate deployment, data location, access control, backup and recovery requirements.
- Test integrations, export paths and a representative operational workflow before committing.
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