DigitalOcean
By DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean is a cloud infrastructure provider known for simple, developer-friendly virtual machines ("Droplets"), managed databases, and Kubernetes, aimed at individual developers, startups, and small-to-medium businesses.
Definition
DigitalOcean is a cloud infrastructure provider known for simple, developer-friendly virtual machines ("Droplets"), managed databases, and Kubernetes, aimed at individual developers, startups, and small-to-medium businesses.
Overview
DigitalOcean positions itself as a simpler alternative to hyperscale clouds like AWS or Azure, with predictable flat-rate pricing, a straightforward web console and API, and documentation aimed squarely at individual developers rather than large enterprise IT departments. Its core product is the Droplet — a Linux-based virtual machine that provisions in seconds — alongside App Platform, a PaaS that deploys applications directly from a Git repository; managed databases for PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Redis-compatible caching; Managed Kubernetes (DOKS) for container orchestration; and Spaces, an S3-compatible object storage service with a built-in CDN. In practice, DigitalOcean is often used with Docker and Kubernetes for containerized deployments, and with Terraform for infrastructure as code, making it a popular hosting target for frameworks and stacks covered elsewhere on SkillVeris. The company is publicly traded on the NYSE under the ticker DOCN.
Key Features
- Simple, predictable, flat-rate pricing for compute and storage
- Droplets — Linux-based virtual machines with fast provisioning
- Managed Kubernetes (DOKS) for container orchestration
- App Platform — a PaaS for deploying apps directly from a Git repository
- Managed databases for PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Redis-compatible caching
- Spaces — S3-compatible object storage with a built-in CDN
- Straightforward API and CLI (doctl) favored by individual developers and small teams