DigitalOcean App Platform vs Render.
Prices checked
DigitalOcean App Platform is cheaper on 3 of the 6 shapes both sell, the widest gap 4 GB of memory at $49/mo against $85/mo, checked .
Where to start
DigitalOcean App Platformall 14 prices It takes your code or an image and runs a container of it for you.
Starts at
$5/mo
apps-s-1vcpu-0.5gb · 1 shared vCPU · 512 MB
Renderall 17 prices It takes your code or an image and runs a container of it for you.
Starts at
$7/mo
0.5c-512mb · 0.5 vCPU · 512 MB
Side by side
| Fact | DigitalOcean App Platform | Render |
|---|---|---|
| Kind of platform | App platform | App platform |
| Prices published | 14 | 17 |
| Entry price | $5/mo | $7/mo |
| Cheaper of the two | 3 of 6 | 1 of 6 |
| Free tier | none listed | Free web service, sleeps when idle |
| Transfer per GB | 2¢ per GB | $0.15 per GB |
| One build minute | not published | 0.5¢ per minute |
| One extra member | not published | not published |
| A GB of disk a month | not published | $0.25 per GB a month |
Every shape both sell
6 shapes, sizes first, smallest first. Monthly prices.
| Shape | DigitalOcean App Platform | Render |
|---|---|---|
| 512 MB of memory | $5apps-s-1vcpu-0.5gbalways on | freeFree web servicesleeps when idle |
| 2 GB of memory | $25apps-s-1vcpu-2gbalways on | $251c-2galways on |
| 4 GB of memory | $49apps-d-1vcpu-4gbalways on | $852c-4galways on |
| 8 GB of memory | $98apps-d-2vcpu-8gbalways on | $1352c-8galways on |
| 16 GB of memory | $196apps-d-4vcpu-16gbalways on | $2002c-16galways on |
| 32 GB of memory | $392apps-d-8vcpu-32gbalways on | $3504c-32galways on |
How we count
DigitalOcean App Platform is cheaper on 3 of the 6 shapes both sell, Render on 1, and 2 are level or have a free tier on one side. Both are the same kind of platform, so what a price buys is the same shape at each and the money is most of what separates them.
A shape is a runtime with the same stated memory at both, smallest first, or a subscription at the same step of both ladders. A seat and a gigabyte are never put in the same row.
Where one side of a row costs nothing, neither is marked as the cheaper: free is a limit rather than a price. What each platform meters on top is listed beside the prices and never folded into them, and a rate that is not published is not a rate of zero.
Frequently asked
- Is DigitalOcean App Platform cheaper than Render?
- On the 6 shapes both sell, DigitalOcean App Platform is cheaper on 3, Render on 1, and 2 are level or have a free tier on one side. Prices exclude tax and were read on 1 Nov 2026.
- What is the difference between DigitalOcean App Platform and Render?
- DigitalOcean App Platform: You push a repository or an image and the platform builds it, runs it and keeps it running. There is no operating system to look after and no root, which is the point: the container is replaced rather than repaired. What you size is memory and a share of a processor. Render: You push a repository or an image and the platform builds it, runs it and keeps it running. There is no operating system to look after and no root, which is the point: the container is replaced rather than repaired. What you size is memory and a share of a processor.
- Does DigitalOcean App Platform or Render stop your app when nothing calls it?
- DigitalOcean App Platform: it lists no free tier. Render: its free tier sleeps when idle.
- What does each one charge on top of the plan price?
- DigitalOcean App Platform: transfer 2¢ per GB, builds not published, members not published. Render: transfer $0.15 per GB, builds 0.5¢ per minute, members not published. A rate that is not published is not a rate of zero, and none of these is folded into the monthly figures above.
- How current are these prices?
- Both catalogues are read every 3 days. DigitalOcean App Platform was last read 1 Nov 2026 and Render 1 Nov 2026; the whole index was refreshed 1 Nov 2026. Prices exclude tax, and a tier that costs nothing is listed here and is the cheaper of two nowhere.