DigitalOcean vs Akamai Cloud (Linode): Upfront, Renewal and 3-Year Cost
As of , for 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, DigitalOcean costs $6.00/month ($216.00 within 3 years) and Akamai Cloud (Linode) $5.00/month ($180.00 within 3 years), lower at Akamai Cloud (Linode). For 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, DigitalOcean costs $24.00/month ($864.00 within 3 years) and Akamai Cloud (Linode) $24.00/month ($864.00 within 3 years), the same at both. Methodology · Source: hosting price records.
Prices as shown in the United States on .
Matched offers · Starting monthly price
| DigitalOcean | Akamai Cloud (Linode) | Lower at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM | DigitalOcean Basic Droplet 1 GiB · $6.00/month Observed | Akamai Cloud (Linode) Nanode 1 GB · $5.00/month Observed | Akamai Cloud (Linode) |
| 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM | DigitalOcean Basic Droplet 4 GiB · $24.00/month Observed | Akamai Cloud (Linode) Shared 4 GB · $24.00/month Observed | same |
All tracked plans DigitalOcean: 2 plans · Akamai Cloud (Linode): 2 plans
DigitalOcean
| Plan | Paid at purchase | Starting monthly price | First term | Renewal price | Paid within 3 years | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean Basic Droplet 1 GiB | $6.00 Calculated first month; billed monthly | $6.00/month Observed | — | flat monthly price | $216.00 Calculated 36 monthly payments × $6.00 | |
| DigitalOcean Basic Droplet 4 GiB | $24.00 Calculated first month; billed monthly | $24.00/month Observed | — | flat monthly price | $864.00 Calculated 36 monthly payments × $24.00 |
Akamai Cloud (Linode)
| Plan | Paid at purchase | Starting monthly price | First term | Renewal price | Paid within 3 years | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akamai Cloud (Linode) Nanode 1 GB | Not stated¹ | $5.00/month Observed | — | flat monthly price | $180.00 Calculated 36 monthly payments × $5.00 (billing schedule not stated on the provider page) | |
| Akamai Cloud (Linode) Shared 4 GB | Not stated¹ | $24.00/month Observed | — | flat monthly price | $864.00 Calculated 36 monthly payments × $24.00 (billing schedule not stated on the provider page) |
¹ Billing for the first term is not stated on the page.
What differs in our measurements
4 notes · no price changes since Oct 14, 2026
- Starting monthly price for 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM: Akamai Cloud (Linode) is $1.00/month lower (DigitalOcean is 20% higher).
- Starting monthly price for 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM: the same at both ($24.00/month).
- DigitalOcean: no price change recorded across 12 successful price checks since Oct 14, 2026.
- Akamai Cloud (Linode): no price change recorded across 12 successful price checks since Oct 14, 2026.
What each plan includes (the provider’s own words)
4 of 4 items stated by the providers
| DigitalOcean Basic Droplet 1 GiB | Akamai Cloud (Linode) Nanode 1 GB | |
|---|---|---|
| vCPU | 1 “1 GiB 1 vCPU 1,000 GiB 25 GiB” | not recorded |
| Memory | 1 GiB “1 GiB 1 vCPU 1,000 GiB 25 GiB” | not recorded |
| Storage | 25 GiB SSD “1 GiB 1 vCPU 1,000 GiB 25 GiB” | not recorded |
| Transfer | 1,000 GiB “1 GiB 1 vCPU 1,000 GiB 25 GiB” | not recorded |
Each cell is the provider’s own wording from its pricing page, read on Oct 18, 2026; what is not on that page is shown as not stated; a plan we have not read for this is shown as not recorded.
How the amounts are calculated payments, not months · no taxes or add-ons
How the amounts are calculated: we count payments, not months. “Paid at purchase” is the whole first term billed on day one (first-term monthly price × months of the term, e.g. 2.99 × 48 = 143.52), even when the term is longer than 3 years; for a plan the provider page says is billed monthly, it is the first month, and where the page does not say how the term is billed, no amount is shown. “Paid within 3 years” adds the payments due in the first 36 months; renewal is counted month by month at the measured renewal price, because the page does not say for how long a renewal is billed (our assumption). A flat monthly price is paid every month. We do not add taxes, setup fees, domain or add-on prices. Prices are taken as measured today.
Pages
Amazon Lightsail vs DigitalOcean · Hosting and VPS: lowest monthly prices and 3-year cost by our measurements · Total cost over 1–5 years
We compare prices and billing terms; plan features are shown as each provider states them.