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DigitalOcean vs InterServer
DigitalOcean
InterServer
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and performance to help you choose the right hosting provider.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | DigitalOcean | InterServer |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | N/A | N/A |
| Price | N/A | $2.50/mo |
| Renewal Price | N/A | $7.00/mo |
| Storage | 10 GiB NVMe SSD | Unlimited SSD |
| Bandwidth | 500 GiB | Unlimited |
| Websites | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| CPU | 1 vCPU | N/A |
| RAM | 512 MiB | N/A |
| Free Domain | ||
| Free SSL | ||
| Server Locations | ||
| Regions | 7 ★ | 1 |
| 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, Secaucus, New Jersey |
| Plan Details | ||
| Limited plan details available | ||
| Backups | ||
| Support | ||
| Free Migration | ||
| CDN | ||
| Email Accounts | ||
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 InterServer | |
Pricing & Plans
DigitalOcean Plans
InterServer 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
InterServer
Pros
- Affordable Standard shared hosting from $2.50/mo (first period)
- Unlimited storage, bandwidth, and websites on Standard plan
- Slice-based VPS with flexible scaling — pay only for what you use
- Boost shared plans keep flat pricing (signup = renewal)
- In-house 24/7 support (phone, chat, tickets)
- Free website migration
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- InterShield security with machine learning protection
Cons
- Standard shared plan renews at $7/mo (up from $2.50 promo)
- Dated website and control panel interface
- Only one US data center location (Secaucus, NJ)
- No managed WordPress hosting product
- No free domain included
- Weekly backups only on Standard plan (daily on Boost)
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.
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