DigitalOcean Wins
Score Comparison
Criteria
DigitalOcean
AWS Lightsail
Overall Score
8.6
8.3
Performance
8.5
8.5
Features
8.4
8.8
Ease of Use
9.2
7.8
Pricing/Value
8.5
8.2
Support
8.2
8.0
Pricing & Features
Specification
DigitalOcean
AWS Lightsail
Starting Price
$4/mo
Free / $5/mo
Free Tier
Pricing Model
Subscription
Subscription
Making Your Decision
When to Choose DigitalOcean
Developers and small teams who value simplicity and great documentation
DigitalOcean has earned its reputation as the developer-friendly cloud. Outstanding documentation, fair pricing, and a clean interface make it the go-to for startups and developers.
Strengths
- Industry-leading documentation and tutorials
- Clean, intuitive control panel
- Strong developer community
- $4/month entry point is very competitive
Limitations
- No phone support on basic plans
- Fewer managed services than AWS/GCP
- Bandwidth overage charges can add up
When to Choose AWS Lightsail
Developers wanting simple VPS with option to scale into full AWS
AWS Lightsail offers the reliability of Amazon infrastructure with predictable pricing. Ideal for those who may eventually need AWS services but want a simple starting point.
Strengths
- Predictable flat-rate pricing unlike standard AWS
- Easy path to full AWS services when needed
- Includes free data transfer (up to 3TB)
- One-click WordPress, LAMP, and Node.js stacks
Limitations
- Limited customization compared to EC2
- Support costs extra without Business/Enterprise plan
- AWS Console can still feel overwhelming
