Hosting & Infra
AWS Lambda vs DigitalOcean: Pricing Comparison 2026
Side-by-side pricing comparison of AWS Lambda and DigitalOcean. See all plans, features, and costs at a glance.
Bottom line: AWS Lambda starts at $2.1e-9/mo, making it $0/mo cheaper than DigitalOcean ($0.15/mo). DigitalOcean offers a free plan.
Last updated: March 16, 2026
Data compiled by Arthur Jacquemin
Updated March 16, 2026
AWS Lambda vs DigitalOcean: Quick Pricing Facts
| Feature | AWS Lambda | DigitalOcean |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $2.1e-9/mo | $0.15/mo |
| Number of Plans | 50 | 18 |
| Free Tier | No | Yes |
| Pricing Model | usage-based | usage-based |
| Annual Discount | N/A | N/A |
AWS Lambda is the more affordable option, starting at $2.1e-9/mo compared to DigitalOcean's $0.15/mo. Both are Hosting & Infra tools with 68 combined pricing plans and 53 features compared.
DigitalOcean stands out with a free plan for getting started.
Review the detailed tier-by-tier comparison above to see exactly which features are included at each price point and find the best fit for your Hosting & Infra needs.
| Pricing Plans |  AWS Lambda Try it free |  DigitalOcean Try it free |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | x86 Price Custom pricing | Gradient™ AI Platform $0/monthCheapest Includes
|
| Tier 2 | First 6 Billion GB-seconds / month $0/monthCheapest | Gradient™ AI GPU Droplets $2/month Includes
|
| Tier 3 | Next 9 Billion GB-seconds / month $0/monthCheapest | Additional GPU Options Custom pricing Includes
|
| Tier 4 | Over 15 Billion GB-seconds / month $0/month | App Platform $0/monthCheapest Includes
|
| Tier 5 | Arm Price Custom pricing | Droplets $4/monthCheapest Includes
|
| Tier 6 | First 7.5 Billion GB-seconds / month $0/monthCheapest | Kubernetes $12/month Includes
|
| Tier 7 | Next 11.25 Billion GB-seconds / month $0/month | Functions $0/monthCheapest Includes
|
| Tier 8 | Over 18.75 Billion GB-seconds / month $0/monthCheapest | Cloudways Managed Hosting $11/month Includes
|
| Tier 9 | 128 $0/monthCheapest | Backups $20/month Includes
|
| Tier 10 | 512 $0/monthCheapest | Databases $15/month Includes
|
| Tier 11 | 1024 $0/monthCheapest | |
| Tier 12 | 1536 $0/monthCheapest | Network File Storage $0/month Includes
|
| Tier 13 | 2048 $0/monthCheapest | Volumes $10/month Includes
|
| Tier 14 | 3072 $0/month | Container Registry $0/monthCheapest Includes
|
| Tier 15 | 4096 $0/monthCheapest | Load Balancers $12/month Includes
|
| Tier 16 | 5120 $0/month | Support Plans $0/monthCheapest Includes
|
| Tier 17 | 6144 $0/month | Virtual Private Cloud $0/monthCheapest Includes
|
| Tier 18 | 7168 $0/month | Uptime $0/monthCheapest Includes
|
| Tier 19 | 8192 $0/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 20 | 9216 $0/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 21 | 10240 $0/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 22 | Durable Operations Custom pricing | — |
| Tier 23 | Operations such as Steps, Waits, and Callbacks $8/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 24 | Storage Custom pricing | — |
| Tier 25 | Data Written $0/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 26 | Data Retained $0/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 27 | Total compute (seconds) $1000000/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 28 | Total compute (GB-s) $32000000/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 29 | Billable compute $32000000/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 30 | Compute cost $31600000/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 31 | Total requests Custom pricing | — |
| Tier 32 | Billable requests $2000000/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 33 | Request cost $1/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 34 | Operations $1/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 35 | Operations cost $4/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 36 | Data written cost $104/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 37 | Storage (running incl. 7 day wait) $104/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 38 | Storage (retained 14 days) $104/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 39 | Data Retained cost $24/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 40 | Total charges $421/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 41 | Tenant isolated enviroments (x86) $0/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 42 | Tenant isolated enviroments (ARM) $0/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 43 | Ephemeral Storage $0/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 44 | Cache $0/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 45 | Restore $0/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 46 | Processed Bytes $0/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 47 | SQS $0/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 48 | MSK or Self-Managed Kafka $0/monthCheapest | — |
| Tier 49 | Requests Custom pricing | — |
| Tier 50 | Duration $0/monthCheapest | — |
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Our Pick
DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean offers a free plan.
Based on pricing data only. Review the full comparison below for your specific needs.
Best value: DigitalOcean
Try DigitalOcean freeWhich Should You Choose?
Choose AWS Lambda if:
- •You want lower per-user costs—AWS Lambda starts at $2.1e-9/mo, saving $0.1499999979/mo compared to DigitalOcean at $0.15/mo
- •You need 50 pricing tiers for flexible team sizing—more options mean less overpaying for features you don't need
- •You prioritize AWS Lambda's user experience and interface over price (both tools are similarly priced)
Choose DigitalOcean if:
- •You need a free plan with Build, deploy and scale apps quickly, Fully managed solution, zero infrastructure management—DigitalOcean offers no-cost access with no credit card required
- •You want more features built-in—DigitalOcean offers 53 additional features across its plans
- •You prioritize DigitalOcean's user experience and interface over price (both tools are similarly priced)
DigitalOcean offers a free plan [1], eliminating the cost barrier for evaluation, while AWS Lambda requires paid subscription from the start. This gives DigitalOcean a significant advantage for teams with budget constraints or extended trial periods. Once you outgrow DigitalOcean's free tier, upgrading to a paid plan at approximately $0.15/mo provides substantial additional functionality. Compare this pricing path against AWS Lambda's tiering starting at $2.1e-9/mo to assess total cost of ownership over 12 months. DigitalOcean's 18 tiers provide flexibility at different budgets, while AWS Lambda's 50 tiers structure may force you into higher-cost plans than necessary for your use case. If evaluation cost matters to your decision, DigitalOcean is the obvious starting point with zero financial commitment. Use the free tier to validate core functionality before committing to paid plans from either tool.
Frequently Asked Questions: AWS Lambda vs DigitalOcean
Which is cheaper, AWS Lambda or DigitalOcean?
As of March 2026, AWS Lambda starts at a lower price point. AWS Lambda starts at $2.1e-9/mo while DigitalOcean starts at $0.15/mo. However, the best value depends on the features you need at each tier.
How many pricing plans does AWS Lambda have vs DigitalOcean?
AWS Lambda offers 50 pricing plans, while DigitalOcean offers 18 plans. More plans typically means more flexibility to match your exact needs and budget.
Does AWS Lambda or DigitalOcean offer a free plan?
DigitalOcean offers a free plan, while AWS Lambda does not. If budget is a concern, DigitalOcean lets you get started at no cost.
Does AWS Lambda or DigitalOcean offer custom enterprise pricing?
Yes, both AWS Lambda and DigitalOcean offer custom enterprise pricing tiers with quote-based pricing. Contact each vendor for a tailored quote.
How do AWS Lambda and DigitalOcean compare for Hosting & Infra?
Both AWS Lambda and DigitalOcean are Hosting & Infra tools. AWS Lambda offers 50 plans starting at $2.1e-9/mo, while DigitalOcean offers 18 plans starting at $0.15/mo. Review the feature breakdowns above to see which better fits your Hosting & Infra needs.
Sources
- AWS Lambda Official Pricing— Vendor pricing page
- DigitalOcean Official Pricing— Vendor pricing page
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