~/compare
DigitalOcean vs Linode (Akamai)
Side by side — pricing, features, pros and cons.
Provider
D
DigitalOcean
Cloud infrastructure for developers
⭐ Top Pick
L
Linode (Akamai)
Reliable cloud hosting with great support
Metric
DigitalOcean
Linode (Akamai)
Rating
4.5
4.4
Starting price
$4.00/mo
$5.00/mo
Renewal hike
No
No
Regions
Global
US, EU, APAC
Verified
DigitalOcean
Clean, beginner-friendly control panel
Transparent and predictable pricing
No renewal price hikes
Excellent documentation and tutorials
Large community and ecosystem
Managed databases, Kubernetes and app platform available
Global datacentre locations
Reliable uptime and performance
Free outbound bandwidth allowance included
Team collaboration features built in
More expensive than Hetzner for equivalent specs
Support can be slow on lower tier plans
No phone support
Object storage (Spaces) is basic compared to AWS S3
App Platform can get expensive at scale
No dedicated servers — cloud only
Backups cost extra (20% of droplet price)
Limited bare metal options
Linode (Akamai)
Long-standing reputation — one of the oldest VPS providers
Competitive and transparent pricing
No renewal price hikes
Excellent documentation and guides
11 global datacentre locations
Managed Kubernetes (LKE) available
Object storage and block storage included
DDoS protection on all plans
Good uptime track record
Akamai CDN integration since acquisition
Rebranding to Akamai has caused some confusion and UI inconsistency
Control panel feels dated compared to DigitalOcean
Fewer datacentre locations than Vultr
No bare metal servers
Managed databases more expensive than competitors
Support response times can vary
GPU instances limited availability
Less beginner-friendly than DigitalOcean
Smaller community and fewer third-party integrations than AWS/GCP
Verdict
DigitalOcean comes out ahead with a rating of 4.5. DigitalOcean is also the cheaper option starting at $4.00/mo. Watch out for renewal hikes — increases prices on renewal.