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DigitalOcean vs Hostwinds
DigitalOcean
Hostwinds
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and performance to help you choose the right hosting provider.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | DigitalOcean | Hostwinds |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | N/A | N/A |
| Price | N/A | $4.54/mo |
| Renewal Price | N/A | $6.99/mo |
| Storage | 10 GiB NVMe SSD | Unlimited |
| Bandwidth | 500 GiB | Unlimited |
| Websites | Unlimited | 1 |
| CPU | 1 vCPU | N/A |
| RAM | 512 MiB | N/A |
| Free Domain | ||
| Free SSL | ||
| Server Locations | ||
| Regions | 7 ★ | 3 |
| Locations | US East, New York, Toronto US West, San Francisco Western Europe, London, Amsterdam Central Europe, Frankfurt Southeast Asia, Singapore India, Bangalore Australia & Oceania, Sydney | US East, Dallas, Texas US West, Seattle, Washington Western Europe, Amsterdam |
Features | ||
CMS & Platforms (7) | ||
Languages & Frameworks (9) | ||
Databases (4) | ||
Developer Tools (8) | ||
Performance & CDN (4) | ||
| Caching | ||
| CDN | ||
| LiteSpeed | ||
| SSD Storage | ||
Security (6) | ||
| 2FA | ||
| Backups | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| Malware Scan | ||
| SSL | ||
| WAF | ||
Support (4) | ||
Extras & Guarantees (5) | ||
| Slight discrepancies are possible. We recommend verifying details on the provider's website. | ||
| Visit DigitalOcean | Visit Hostwinds | |
Pricing & Plans
DigitalOcean Plans
Hostwinds Plans
Pros & Cons
DigitalOcean
Pros
- Transparent per-second billing with monthly cap — no hidden fees
- No price increase on renewal
- Developer-friendly interface with full REST API and CLI (doctl)
- 99.99% SLA uptime guarantee
- Free cloud firewall and VPC networking
- 15+ global datacenter regions
- App Platform PaaS for zero-ops deployment
- Extensive community with 5000+ tutorials
- One-click Marketplace apps for quick deployment
- Free monitoring and alerting included
Cons
- No managed shared hosting — IaaS only, requires self-management
- No phone or live chat support for standard plans — tickets only
- Backups cost extra (20–30% of Droplet price)
- No free domain registration
- Linux only — no Windows support
- No cPanel/WHM — command-line or custom panel required
Hostwinds
Pros
- Affordable pricing with 35% first-cycle discount on most plans
- Unlimited bandwidth and disk space on all shared plans
- Free dedicated IP included on all shared and business plans
- Nightly backups included at no extra cost
- cPanel with Softaculous one-click installer
- Free SSL certificates on all plans
- 24/7/365 phone, chat, and ticket support
- Wide range of VPS tiers (1-16 vCPU, 1-96 GB RAM)
- 60-day money-back guarantee
- Free website migration
Cons
- Significant price increase on renewal (35% discount is first cycle only)
- Shared hosting offers only annual billing (no monthly option)
- No dedicated server pricing publicly available (custom quotes only)
- Basic shared plan limited to 1 domain
- No managed WordPress hosting product
- VPS plans are monthly-only billing (no annual discount)
- Weebly builder is dated compared to modern alternatives
Frequently Asked Questions
DigitalOcean
What is a DigitalOcean Droplet?
A DigitalOcean Droplet is a Linux-based virtual machine (VM) that runs on top of virtualized hardware. Each Droplet is a new server you can use, either as a standalone server or as part of a larger cloud infrastructure. They are designed to be simple, scalable, and developer-friendly.
What is the difference between a Droplet and a VPS?
A Droplet is DigitalOcean's brand name for a virtual private server (VPS). Essentially, they are the same thing. A VPS is a virtualized server that mimics a dedicated physical server, providing you with your own set of resources and a dedicated operating system.
Is a Droplet a form of IaaS or PaaS?
DigitalOcean Droplets are a form of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). This means you are provided with the virtualized hardware (computing, storage, and networking) and you are responsible for managing the operating system, applications, and data.
What operating systems can I run on a Droplet?
You can choose from a variety of popular Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, and CoreOS. You can also use pre-configured 1-Click Apps for LAMP, Docker, WordPress, and more.
Do Droplets come with a dedicated IP address?
Yes, each Droplet you create comes with its own public IPv4 address. You can also assign Floating IPs to your Droplets for high availability.
What kind of storage do Droplets use?
All Droplets use high-performance Solid State Drives (SSDs) for storage. This ensures fast disk I/O, which is crucial for the performance of your applications. For additional storage, you can use DigitalOcean Volumes Block Storage.
How much bandwidth is included with each Droplet?
Each Droplet includes a generous amount of free outbound data transfer. The specific amount depends on the Droplet plan you choose, starting from 500 GiB/month. Inbound bandwidth is always free.
How much does a DigitalOcean Droplet cost?
DigitalOcean Droplets are available at a variety of price points, starting from as low as $4 per month. Pricing is based on the amount of RAM, CPU, SSD storage, and bandwidth included in your plan.
How am I billed for Droplets?
Droplets are billed on a per-second basis, with 60-second minimum and monthly cap. This means you only pay for what you use, and you'll never pay more than the monthly price for a Droplet.
Is there a free trial for DigitalOcean Droplets?
DigitalOcean often provides promotional credits for new users, which can be used to try out Droplets and other services for free. Check the DigitalOcean website for the latest offers.
What can I use a DigitalOcean Droplet for?
Droplets are incredibly versatile and can be used for a wide range of applications, including:Hosting websites and web applications (e.g., WordPress, Node.js, Python)Development and testing environmentsDatabases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB)CI/CD pipelinesVPN and proxy serversGame serversMachine Learning and AI applications (with GPU-optimized Droplets)
Are Droplets suitable for e-commerce websites?
Yes, Droplets are a popular choice for hosting e-commerce websites. They provide the performance, scalability, and security needed to run online stores of all sizes.
How does DigitalOcean Droplets compare to AWS EC2?
DigitalOcean Droplets are often praised for their simplicity and developer-friendly interface, making them a great choice for individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. AWS EC2 offers a wider range of instance types and services, which can be more suitable for large enterprises with complex requirements. In terms of pricing, DigitalOcean is generally more affordable for comparable resources.
What is the difference between DigitalOcean Droplets and Google Compute Engine?
Similar to the comparison with AWS, Google Compute Engine (GCE) is a more enterprise-focused platform with a vast array of services. DigitalOcean Droplets are known for their straightforward pricing and ease of use, which makes them a popular choice for developers and startups.
How do I create a Droplet?
Creating a Droplet is a quick and easy process. You can create a new Droplet from the DigitalOcean control panel in just a few clicks. Simply choose your operating system, Droplet plan, and datacenter region, and your new server will be up and running in under a minute.
How do I connect to my Droplet?
You can connect to your Droplet using SSH (Secure Shell). You will need to use an SSH client and the root password or an SSH key to log in to your server.
Does DigitalOcean offer managed Droplets?
DigitalOcean's core Droplet offering is unmanaged, which means you are responsible for managing the server. However, DigitalOcean offers a Managed Kubernetes service for containerized applications, and you can find managed hosting providers that specialize in managing DigitalOcean infrastructure.
Where are DigitalOcean's datacenters located?
DigitalOcean has datacenters in multiple locations around the world, including New York, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Singapore, London, Frankfurt, Toronto, Bangalore and Richmond. This allows you to choose a datacenter that is closest to your target audience for lower latency.
Can I get a Droplet with a server in the UK?
Yes, you can create a Droplet in the London (UK) datacenter. This is an excellent choice for businesses and developers who need to serve customers in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Are there any datacenter options in India?
Yes, DigitalOcean has a datacenter in Bangalore, India. This is ideal for serving the rapidly growing Indian market and the surrounding regions.
What forms of payment do you accept?
We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. Apple pay requires a Safari browser. For additional payment options, including wire transfer, purchase orders, and ACH, please contact us. Note that when you add a card, we may send a temporary pre-authorization request to the issuing bank. This pre-authorization charge is immediately released by DigitalOcean but may take a few days to clear from your card depending on the bank.
When will my card be charged?
DigitalOcean billing cycles are monthly. Typically, on the first day of each month we invoice and automatically charge your account's primary payment method for the previous month's usage. In some cases, we might charge if your usage exceeds a threshold. You can also login and self pay the balance at any time.
Am I charged when I enter my credit card?
No. Your card is only charged at the end of the billing cycle or upon exceeding a usage threshold. Pre-authorization charge: When you add a card, we may send a preauthorization request to the issuing bank. This is to verify that the card being added has been issued by the bank and that they will authorize any charges in future. These temporary pre-authorizations are typically $1 but can vary in range and are immediately canceled by us. Depending on your bank, it might take a few days for the cha
How do I destroy my resources?
Check out the docs to learn how to destroy Droplets, Kubernetes clusters, Managed Databases clusters (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Caching), Spaces, Volumes , Firewalls , and Load Balancers.
Can I be notified if my bill exceeds a threshold?
Yes, you can set up billing alerts and we will email you if the monthly spending exceeds an amount you specify.
Hostwinds
What is Shared Web Hosting?
Shared Web Hosting is a perfect place to start your web hosting. It is the most affordable option and has many features to help you build and manage a website.Our Shared Web Hosting servers come with SSD's (Solid State Drives). They are ideal if you need fast, secure, and affordable web hosting for your portfolio, personal site, or small business website.When you get started with any of our Shared Web Hosting plans, your website will live on a server with other websites. You will receive your ow
Do I need to have any technical experience or knowledge to get started with a Shared Web Hosting plan?
Technical knowledge is not required to use Shared Web Hosting. As soon as you order your service, we will send you your login details in addition to information about beginning your web hosting journey.We also offer you 24/7/365 support through Live Chat or ticket to ensure we answer any questions you have along the way.Once you receive your cPanel login details, you can begin managing all aspects of your website.This includes the ability to use the Weebly drag-and-drop Website Builder, install
Can I upgrade my package later?
You can always upgrade your package through your Hostwinds Client Area. Upgrading is a quick process, and there is no downtime.If you register more domains or need to use your account to host more websites, upgrading your package to Advanced or Ultimate web hosting can be done in a few clicks.Once you have upgraded your plan and paid the invoice, you can begin adding more domains immediately.
What is Business Web Hosting?
Business Web Hosting is a web hosting solution that is perfect for businesses of all sizes. Our Business Hosting packages are all hosted on Solid State Drives (SSDs) for optimum performance. We additionally increase Business Hosting performance further by utilizing LiteSpeed Web Server.We differentiate our Business Hosting services by provisioning our plans on robust servers, with fewer clients sharing the resources. We provide more resources than Shared Web Hosting plans, including higher inode
Is Business Web Hosting only for businesses?
Although Business Web Hosting is ideal for businesses, it is certainly not exclusively for business owners.Our Business Hosting platform is perfect for performance-driven individuals who want the best and fastest possible experience for their website.If you are not happy with your current hosting and want something faster, then any of our business packages will be a great fit. We will even migrate your site to your Business Web Hosting account free of charge!
Does this include everything I need to get my company online?
Once you have your domain name and signed up for web hosting, your company's website technically has everything it needs to launch.We understand that launching a new business venture can be daunting. This is why our Business Web Hosting plans provide you with more assistance than you would generally receive with a web hosting account. We offer a full range of utilities to help you create and manage your website. These tools make it easy to create a great-looking website to represent your busines
Do I need to have technical knowledge to use your business hosting?
Not at all. That's what our enterprise support team is here for. Our Support Experts are available 24/7/365 to resolve technical issues or answer any questions you may have.We are always here for you if you need any assistance at all. We hope to become a valuable asset to you and your business.
What is the difference between Business Web Hosting and Shared Web Hosting?
Our Business Web Hosting plans come with more resources than Shared Web Hosting plans. Business plans also offer higher PHP Memory Limits, higher inode limits, and an increased outbound email limit.When you have a Shared Web Hosting account, you share dedicated resources with more individuals than you would as a Business Web Hosting client.Furthermore, our Business Web Hosting plans utilize LiteSpeed Web Server, which gives your viewers faster loading times when they visit your website.
How is your Reseller Web Hosting different than your Shared or Business Hosting?
Reseller Web Hosting is unique to Shared or Business Web Hosting. You become the hosting provider as a Reseller Web Hosting client. You sell hosting services to others rather than employing the hosting services of a web hosting company.When you sign up for Reseller Web Hosting, you rent Hostwinds server space, sell Hostwinds services, and our team handles everything else.
How is Reseller Web Hosting different than White Label Reseller Web Hosting?
White Label Reseller Web Hosting is different from Reseller Web Hosting for a few reasons. First, White Label Reseller Web Hosting allows you to sell all of the products and services that Hostwinds offers to your clients under your brand. In contrast, Reseller Web Hosting allows you to sell shared services under Hostwinds. It does not include WHMCS or the ability to sell other products and services. Both are great offerings, and your choice is entirely dependent on your needs as a reseller.
Does your team handle the technical details for me?
YES! Reseller Hosting is particularly fantastic because you can launch your very own web hosting company without knowing anything about server management. Hostwinds technicians take care of all the technical details for you, so all you have to do is grow your hosting business.
Can I upgrade my accounts after purchasing?
Yes, you can! You can upgrade all of your accounts to increase the number of domains capable of being hosted, and upgrades happen instantly upon ordering. If one or more of your clients need additional room for more websites, upgrading is instant and straightforward.
What is a Linux VPS?
A Linux VPS hosting service includes dedicated resources including CPU Cores, RAM, and Disk Space exclusively reserved for you.You can think of it as your own personal Linux computer, with its own set of dedicated resources. This gives you massive benefits over shared hosting, as you are much less likely to be impacted by "noisy neighbors". You also benefit from much-improved security by having your operating system environment completely separate from other users.Linux Virtual Private Servers a
Will you help me migrate from my old provider to Hostwinds?
We are happy to help you migrate your content to any new service so you can get started with your Hostwinds account as soon as possible.We have helped many new clients move their Linux VPS web hosting services from other providers. We are proud to offer this complimentary service for any new orders.Once you have submitted a migration request, our migration experts will begin with the transfer and communicate with you throughout this process.We also have lots of experience migrating from other pl
What is included in Full Server Management?
Our tiers of support include 24/7/365 support via Live Chat and support tickets. We also offer a 99.9999% network uptime guarantee, a 99.9999% power uptime guarantee, ongoing server maintenance, and the setup of automated tasks upon request.More included offerings: operating system updates, virus scans, mitigation of load problems or sluggishness, troubleshooting for network-related issues, assistance if a server fails to boot, help with hardware failures, package installations, and much more!Ch
Ready to Choose?
Both providers offer great features. Visit their websites to see the latest deals and pricing.
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US East, New York, Toronto
Western Europe, London, Amsterdam
Central Europe, Frankfurt
Southeast Asia, Singapore
India, Bangalore
Australia & Oceania, Sydney
Western Europe, Amsterdam