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AWS (serverless) vs DigitalOcean

Monthly hosting costs for typical app profiles — computed with the same recommendation engine as StackPlan stack reports. Assumes balanced budget and ops preferences unless noted.

Pricing data:AWS (serverless) · updated Jun 2026DigitalOcean · updated Jul 2026

Web app

MetricAWS (serverless)DigitalOcean
Cost at 1k DAU$25.44/mo$36/mo
Cost at 100 DAU$12.68/mo$21/mo
Cost at 1K DAU$25.44/mo$36/mo
Cost at 10K DAU$165.84/mo$40.76/mo
Cost at 100K DAU$1571.52/mo$181.76/mo
Services used
  • AWS (serverless) · Lambda + API Gateway · Pay as you go
  • AWS (serverless) · RDS Postgres · db.t4g.micro
  • DigitalOcean · Droplets · Basic 1GB
  • DigitalOcean · Managed Postgres · Basic 2GB RAM
Fit score90/10081/100
Verdict: It flips at scale: AWS (serverless) cheaper at 1k DAU, DigitalOcean at 100k.

SaaS product

MetricAWS (serverless)DigitalOcean
Cost at 1k DAU$25.84/mo$36.40/mo
Cost at 100 DAU$12.68/mo$21/mo
Cost at 1K DAU$25.84/mo$36.40/mo
Cost at 10K DAU$171.44/mo$46.36/mo
Cost at 100K DAU$1631.12/mo$241.36/mo
Services used
  • AWS (serverless) · Lambda + API Gateway · Pay as you go
  • AWS (serverless) · RDS Postgres · db.t4g.micro
  • Cloudflare · Queues · Paid
  • AWS (serverless) · EventBridge Scheduler · Free
  • DigitalOcean · Droplets · Basic 1GB
  • DigitalOcean · Managed Postgres · Basic 2GB RAM
  • Cloudflare · Queues · Paid
  • Cloudflare · Cron Triggers · Free
Fit score70/10061/100
Verdict: It flips at scale: AWS (serverless) cheaper at 1k DAU, DigitalOcean at 100k.

E-commerce store

MetricAWS (serverless)DigitalOcean
Cost at 1k DAU$40.90/mo$41/mo
Cost at 100 DAU$14.23/mo$26/mo
Cost at 1K DAU$40.90/mo$41/mo
Cost at 10K DAU$320.38/mo$65.06/mo
Cost at 100K DAU$3116.84/mo$516.84/mo
Services used
  • AWS (serverless) · Lambda + API Gateway · Pay as you go
  • AWS (serverless) · RDS Postgres · db.t4g.micro
  • AWS (serverless) · S3 · Standard
  • DigitalOcean · Droplets · Basic 1GB
  • DigitalOcean · Managed Postgres · Basic 2GB RAM
  • DigitalOcean · Spaces · Standard
Fit score82/10081/100
Verdict: It flips at scale: AWS (serverless) cheaper at 1k DAU, DigitalOcean at 100k.

API / backend service

MetricAWS (serverless)DigitalOcean
Cost at 1k DAU$25.44/mo$36/mo
Cost at 100 DAU$12.68/mo$21/mo
Cost at 1K DAU$25.44/mo$36/mo
Cost at 10K DAU$165.84/mo$40.76/mo
Cost at 100K DAU$1571.52/mo$181.76/mo
Services used
  • AWS (serverless) · Lambda + API Gateway · Pay as you go
  • AWS (serverless) · RDS Postgres · db.t4g.micro
  • DigitalOcean · Droplets · Basic 1GB
  • DigitalOcean · Managed Postgres · Basic 2GB RAM
Fit score100/10081/100
Verdict: It flips at scale: AWS (serverless) cheaper at 1k DAU, DigitalOcean at 100k.

Mobile app backend

MetricAWS (serverless)DigitalOcean
Cost at 1k DAU$40.90/mo$41/mo
Cost at 100 DAU$14.23/mo$26/mo
Cost at 1K DAU$40.90/mo$41/mo
Cost at 10K DAU$320.38/mo$65.06/mo
Cost at 100K DAU$3116.84/mo$516.84/mo
Services used
  • AWS (serverless) · Lambda + API Gateway · Pay as you go
  • AWS (serverless) · RDS Postgres · db.t4g.micro
  • AWS (serverless) · S3 · Standard
  • DigitalOcean · Droplets · Basic 1GB
  • DigitalOcean · Managed Postgres · Basic 2GB RAM
  • DigitalOcean · Spaces · Standard
Fit score92/10081/100
Verdict: It flips at scale: AWS (serverless) cheaper at 1k DAU, DigitalOcean at 100k.

Realtime / collaborative

MetricAWS (serverless)DigitalOcean
Cost at 1k DAUNot a fit for this app type$36/mo
Cost at 100 DAUNot a fit for this app type$21/mo
Cost at 1K DAUNot a fit for this app type$36/mo
Cost at 10K DAUNot a fit for this app type$40.76/mo
Cost at 100K DAUNot a fit for this app type$181.76/mo
Services usedNot a fit for this app type
  • DigitalOcean · Droplets · Basic 1GB
  • DigitalOcean · Managed Postgres · Basic 2GB RAM
Fit score—88/100
Verdict: DigitalOcean is the only viable option for this app type.

Jobs & pipelines

MetricAWS (serverless)DigitalOcean
Cost at 1k DAU$25.84/mo$36.40/mo
Cost at 100 DAU$12.68/mo$21/mo
Cost at 1K DAU$25.84/mo$36.40/mo
Cost at 10K DAU$171.44/mo$46.36/mo
Cost at 100K DAU$1631.12/mo$241.36/mo
Services used
  • AWS (serverless) · Lambda + API Gateway · Pay as you go
  • AWS (serverless) · RDS Postgres · db.t4g.micro
  • Cloudflare · Queues · Paid
  • AWS (serverless) · EventBridge Scheduler · Free
  • DigitalOcean · Droplets · Basic 1GB
  • DigitalOcean · Managed Postgres · Basic 2GB RAM
  • Cloudflare · Queues · Paid
  • Cloudflare · Cron Triggers · Free
Fit score80/10071/100
Verdict: It flips at scale: AWS (serverless) cheaper at 1k DAU, DigitalOcean at 100k.

AI app

MetricAWS (serverless)DigitalOcean
Cost at 1k DAU$40.90/mo$41/mo
Cost at 100 DAU$14.23/mo$26/mo
Cost at 1K DAU$40.90/mo$41/mo
Cost at 10K DAU$320.38/mo$65.06/mo
Cost at 100K DAU$3116.84/mo$516.84/mo
Services used
  • AWS (serverless) · Lambda + API Gateway · Pay as you go
  • AWS (serverless) · RDS Postgres · db.t4g.micro
  • AWS (serverless) · S3 · Standard
  • DigitalOcean · Droplets · Basic 1GB
  • DigitalOcean · Managed Postgres · Basic 2GB RAM
  • DigitalOcean · Spaces · Standard
Fit score92/10081/100
Verdict: It flips at scale: AWS (serverless) cheaper at 1k DAU, DigitalOcean at 100k.

Internal tool

MetricAWS (serverless)DigitalOcean
Cost at 1k DAU$25.44/mo$36/mo
Cost at 100 DAU$12.68/mo$21/mo
Cost at 1K DAU$25.44/mo$36/mo
Cost at 10K DAU$165.84/mo$40.76/mo
Cost at 100K DAU$1571.52/mo$181.76/mo
Services used
  • AWS (serverless) · Lambda + API Gateway · Pay as you go
  • AWS (serverless) · RDS Postgres · db.t4g.micro
  • DigitalOcean · Droplets · Basic 1GB
  • DigitalOcean · Managed Postgres · Basic 2GB RAM
Fit score90/10081/100
Verdict: It flips at scale: AWS (serverless) cheaper at 1k DAU, DigitalOcean at 100k.

These numbers assume a typical profile

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