Raff Kubernetes is the stronger DigitalOcean Kubernetes alternative for small teams that want lower worker-node prices, a cheaper high-availability control plane, $0 egress, lower-cost persistent storage, and built-in monitoring plus one-click applications. DigitalOcean Kubernetes is stronger for teams that need a broad global region map, dedicated CPU or GPU node pools, mature DigitalOcean integrations, and a 99.95% SLA for an HA control plane. Both platforms include the standard managed control plane at $0. The practical choice is between Raff's lower and more predictable cluster bill and DigitalOcean's wider infrastructure catalog and regional reach.
A two-node Raff cluster using 2 vCPU and 4 GB workers starts at $27.98/month, while two comparable DigitalOcean Basic workers cost $48/month. Adding control-plane HA brings the totals to $57.98 on Raff and $88 on DigitalOcean before storage, load balancers, or transfer overages. These figures compare published resource sizes and prices, not measured workload performance.
DigitalOcean Kubernetes vs Raff: which is right for you?
Choose Raff when cost predictability, unmetered bandwidth, integrated monitoring, and a simple small-team operating model matter most. Choose DigitalOcean Kubernetes when region choice, dedicated compute classes, GPU nodes, established APIs, or broader DigitalOcean ecosystem integration are requirements.
| Decision factor | Choose Raff Kubernetes | Choose DigitalOcean Kubernetes |
|---|
| Small HA cluster cost | Lower worker and HA add-on cost | Higher cost but broader infrastructure options |
| Regions | us-east fits the workload | You need one of DigitalOcean's global DOKS regions |
| Bandwidth | You want $0 public egress | Included pooled transfer plus $0.01/GiB overage fits the workload |
| Worker classes | Published general Kubernetes worker tiers are enough | You need shared, dedicated CPU, storage-optimized, or GPU workers |
| Storage | Dedicated replicated storage at $0.08/GB-month fits | DigitalOcean Volumes at $0.10/GiB-month and CSI integration fit |
| Platform operations | Built-in monitoring and one-click apps reduce setup work | DigitalOcean API, doctl, Terraform, registry, VPC, and cloud integrations matter |
| SLA | A 99.9% platform SLA is sufficient | A 99.95% HA control-plane SLA is required |
DigitalOcean Kubernetes overview
DigitalOcean Kubernetes, commonly called DOKS, is a managed Kubernetes service with a fully managed control plane. DigitalOcean manages the API server, etcd, control-plane infrastructure, core networking components, and version lifecycle while customers operate their workloads, node pools, policies, data protection, and application architecture.
DOKS supports shared CPU, dedicated CPU, storage-optimized, and GPU worker nodes. Worker nodes are built on DigitalOcean Droplets and billed per second at the corresponding Droplet price. The standard control plane is free; the HA control plane costs $40/month. DOKS also supports node-pool autoscaling, surge upgrades, automatic version upgrades, VPC networking, DigitalOcean Load Balancers, Volumes Block Storage, Container Registry, API, CLI, and Terraform workflows.
DigitalOcean's main strengths are regional availability, mature documentation, broad machine-class choice, dedicated and GPU workers, and deep integration with the rest of its developer cloud. Its trade-offs are higher comparable worker prices, metered outbound transfer beyond included allowances, and separate charges for load balancers, storage, registry, databases, and other surrounding services.
Raff overview
Raff Kubernetes is a managed, CNCF-certified Kubernetes service with a free standard control plane, optional three-master HA, worker-node autoscaling, built-in monitoring, managed networking, and one-click application installation.
Current worker tiers are:
| Worker plan | vCPU | RAM | Monthly price |
|---|
| K8s Starter | 1 | 2 GB | $9.99 |
| K8s Standard | 2 | 4 GB | $13.99 |
| K8s Performance | 4 | 8 GB | $30.99 |
| K8s High Memory | 8 | 16 GB | $59.99 |
| K8s Large | 8 | 32 GB | $115.99 |
| K8s Scale | 16 | 64 GB | $229.99 |
A cluster has a two-worker minimum. The standard control plane costs $0, while HA with three masters and etcd quorum costs a flat $30/month. Dedicated storage nodes cost $0.08/GB-month. The public endpoint, DNS, and automatic TLS are included. Bandwidth is unmetered at up to 3 Gbps with $0 egress charges, including same-region traffic between Kubernetes and Raff storage.
Raff also includes an application catalog for installing tools such as Traefik, cert-manager, Argo CD, Sealed Secrets, Longhorn, Grafana, Loki, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and other common cluster services without building every integration from scratch.
DigitalOcean Kubernetes pricing vs Raff pricing
Both providers include a standard managed control plane at no additional charge. The primary bill comes from worker nodes, HA, storage, load balancers, bandwidth, and attached cloud services.
| Cost position | Raff Kubernetes | DigitalOcean Kubernetes |
|---|
| Entry worker | 1 vCPU / 2 GB — $9.99/month | 1 vCPU / 2 GB Basic — $12/month |
| Comparable standard worker | 2 vCPU / 4 GB — $13.99/month | 2 vCPU / 4 GB Basic — $24/month |
| Comparable larger worker | 4 vCPU / 8 GB — $30.99/month | 4 vCPU / 8 GB Basic — $48/month |
| Standard control plane | $0 | $0 |
| HA control plane | $30/month | $40/month |
| Persistent storage | $0.08/GB-month | $0.10/GiB-month |
| Public egress | $0 | Included allowance, then $0.01/GiB |
Example cluster totals
| Cluster configuration | Raff | DigitalOcean |
|---|
| Two 2 vCPU / 4 GB workers, standard control plane | $27.98/month | $48/month |
| Two 2 vCPU / 4 GB workers, HA control plane | $57.98/month | $88/month |
| Three 2 vCPU / 4 GB workers, HA control plane | $71.97/month | $112/month |
| Three 4 vCPU / 8 GB workers, HA control plane | $122.97/month | $184/month |
DigitalOcean can justify the premium when dedicated CPU, GPU compute, a specific region, or DigitalOcean-native infrastructure is essential. Raff is easier to budget for ordinary small-team clusters and bandwidth-heavy workloads.
Bandwidth and transfer policy
Raff Kubernetes includes unmetered bandwidth at up to 3 Gbps and prices public egress at $0. Same-region traffic between the cluster and Raff storage is also unmetered.
DigitalOcean pools transfer allowances from worker nodes. Basic DOKS workers begin with included outbound transfer, and overage is currently $0.01/GiB. Internal transfer is free, but a complete architecture may also generate charges through load balancers, cross-region services, databases, storage, or public endpoints.
| Transfer factor | Raff Kubernetes | DigitalOcean Kubernetes |
|---|
| Public egress | $0 | Included allowance, then $0.01/GiB |
| Same-region internal transfer | $0 | Internal DigitalOcean transfer is generally free within documented boundaries |
| Forecasting model | Fixed worker and add-on prices | Worker allowance pooling plus possible overage |
| Best fit | APIs, downloads, media, or unpredictable transfer | Workloads that remain inside pooled allowances |
Feature comparison: DigitalOcean Kubernetes vs Raff
Compute and node pools
| Feature | Raff Kubernetes | DigitalOcean Kubernetes |
|---|
| Standard control plane | Free | Free |
| HA control plane | $30/month | $40/month |
| Shared/general workers | Available | Available |
| Dedicated CPU workers | No separately published class | Available |
| GPU workers | Not currently published | Available |
| Node-pool autoscaling | Available | Available |
| Minimum cluster floor | Two workers | Determined by selected cluster configuration |
Networking
| Feature | Raff Kubernetes | DigitalOcean Kubernetes |
|---|
| Public regions | us-east | Multiple North American, European, Asian, Indian, and Australian regions |
| Managed public endpoint | Included | Included |
| Automatic TLS | Included for Raff-managed endpoint and app workflows | Certificates and ingress setup remain customer-managed; DOKS load balancers do not automatically create Let's Encrypt certificates |
| Private networking | Raff private cloud networking | DigitalOcean VPC networking |
| Managed load balancer integration | Raff Load Balancers and in-cluster options | DigitalOcean Load Balancers |
| Public egress | $0 | Allowance plus $0.01/GiB overage |
Storage and data
| Feature | Raff Kubernetes | DigitalOcean Kubernetes |
|---|
| Persistent storage | Dedicated replicated storage nodes | DigitalOcean Volumes through CSI |
| Storage price | $0.08/GB-month | $0.10/GiB-month |
| Object storage | Raff Object Storage | DigitalOcean Spaces |
| Managed databases | PostgreSQL, MySQL, Valkey, and other Raff data products | DigitalOcean Managed Databases |
| Stateful recovery | Customer must define workload backup and restore | Customer must define workload backup and restore |
Cluster operations
| Feature | Raff Kubernetes | DigitalOcean Kubernetes |
|---|
| Managed control plane | Available | Available |
Full kubectl access | Available | Available |
| Automatic upgrades | Managed version workflow | Available with maintenance controls |
| Surge upgrades | Platform-managed workflow | Available without a separate surge fee |
| Built-in monitoring | Included | DigitalOcean monitoring plus user-selected observability stack |
| One-click app catalog | Included | Marketplace and Helm-based deployment paths |
Pricing and billing
| Feature | Raff Kubernetes | DigitalOcean Kubernetes |
|---|
| Worker billing | Hourly or monthly account model | Per-second with monthly cap rules |
| Entry worker | $9.99/month | $12/month |
| 2 vCPU / 4 GB worker | $13.99/month | $24/month |
| HA add-on | $30/month | $40/month |
| Egress overage | $0 | $0.01/GiB after allowance |
| Storage | $0.08/GB-month | $0.10/GiB-month |
Reliability and support
| Feature | Raff Kubernetes | DigitalOcean Kubernetes |
|---|
| Published SLA | 99.9% | 99.95% for HA control plane |
| HA model | Three masters with etcd quorum | Multiple control-plane replicas |
| Control-plane ownership | Raff | DigitalOcean |
| Worker and workload ownership | Shared responsibility | Shared responsibility |
| Public operating history | Newer Kubernetes service on Raff cloud | Longer-established developer cloud and DOKS service |
| Support | Direct Raff cloud support | DigitalOcean support tiers and documentation |
Ecosystem and portability
| Feature | Raff Kubernetes | DigitalOcean Kubernetes |
|---|
| CNCF-certified Kubernetes | Yes | Upstream-compatible managed Kubernetes |
| Helm and standard tooling | Available | Available |
| Terraform/API/CLI | Raff platform workflows | Mature API, doctl, and Terraform provider |
| Container registry | Use compatible registries | Native DigitalOcean Container Registry integration |
| Wider ecosystem | Raff VMs, storage, databases, networking, Apps | Droplets, databases, Spaces, registry, Functions, App Platform, GPU infrastructure |
| Best fit | Cost-conscious small teams and MSPs | Global teams needing broader machine and region choices |
Features and reliability: Raff vs DigitalOcean Kubernetes
This comparison does not declare a performance winner. Raff and DigitalOcean Kubernetes have 0 controlled head-to-head benchmarks using identical Kubernetes versions, worker CPU classes, regions, CNI settings, storage paths, Pod requests, container images, and repeated workload tests.
DigitalOcean offers more machine classes, including dedicated CPU, storage-optimized, and GPU nodes. Raff offers lower published prices for directly comparable shared/general worker sizes. Resource labels alone do not prove application throughput or latency.
DigitalOcean has the stronger numerical control-plane commitment at 99.95% for HA clusters. Raff publishes a 99.9% uptime SLA. Raff's HA option costs $10 less per month and uses three masters with etcd quorum.
On both platforms, the provider manages the control plane while the customer remains responsible for workload configuration, namespaces, RBAC, network policies, resource requests, Pod disruption budgets, application replicas, persistent data, backups, and restore testing.
When you should choose DigitalOcean Kubernetes over Raff
Choose DOKS when:
- You need a Kubernetes region outside Raff's current
us-east footprint.
- Dedicated CPU, storage-optimized, or GPU worker nodes are required.
- Your company already uses DigitalOcean VPCs, Container Registry, Spaces, Managed Databases, or Load Balancers.
- A 99.95% HA control-plane SLA is mandatory.
- Mature
doctl, API, Terraform, and DigitalOcean documentation are central to your workflows.
- Your transfer stays within pooled node allowances and $0.01/GiB overage is acceptable.
- The longer public operating history of DigitalOcean is more important than the lower Raff bill.
When you should choose Raff over DigitalOcean Kubernetes
Choose Raff Kubernetes when:
- Lower worker-node prices matter.
- You want a $30 rather than $40 HA control-plane add-on.
- Public egress must remain $0.
- Dedicated replicated storage at $0.08/GB-month is attractive.
- Built-in monitoring and one-click application installation reduce platform-engineering work.
- The workload fits
us-east.
- A compact provider relationship across Kubernetes, VMs, databases, storage, and networking is preferred.
- You are an MSP or small team that wants predictable cluster packaging rather than a broad menu of machine classes.
:::cluster
Migrating from DigitalOcean Kubernetes to Raff
A DOKS-to-Raff migration is a Kubernetes-to-Kubernetes move, so most standard manifests, Helm charts, container images, and application controllers remain portable. The operational dependencies around them need careful mapping.
- Inventory the DOKS cluster. Record Kubernetes version, node pools, autoscaling limits, namespaces, Helm releases, CRDs, ingress controllers, load balancers, volumes, storage classes, registry integrations, secrets, network policies, service accounts, DNS, and external allowlists.
- Create the Raff target cluster. Select the control-plane model, worker plans, node counts, autoscaling ranges, storage nodes, networking, and monitoring configuration.
- Recreate platform integrations. Replace DigitalOcean-specific storage classes, load-balancer annotations, registry credentials, VPC assumptions, and CSI or CCM dependencies with Raff-compatible equivalents.
- Move stateful data. Use database-native exports, application-level replication, backup tools, or volume-copy workflows. Do not treat Kubernetes manifests as data backups.
- Deploy and validate workloads. Apply CRDs first, then operators, namespaces, configuration, workloads, services, ingress, policies, and observability. Test readiness, scaling, storage, jobs, and failure behavior.
- Cut over traffic with rollback. Lower DNS TTL, perform final data synchronization, update DNS and allowlists, monitor production, and keep the DOKS cluster available until the rollback window closes.
Key migration risks are DigitalOcean load-balancer annotations, do-block-storage classes, registry authentication, fixed outbound IP allowlists, autoscaler assumptions, and version-dependent CRDs.
About DigitalOcean Kubernetes
<a href="https://www.digitalocean.com/products/kubernetes" rel="external noopener">DigitalOcean Kubernetes</a> is DigitalOcean's managed Kubernetes service. It provides a free managed control plane, optional HA, autoscaling, multiple worker machine classes, regional deployment, and integrations with DigitalOcean networking, load balancing, storage, registry, databases, API, CLI, and Terraform workflows.
Pricing and product details in this comparison were checked against official DigitalOcean and Raff sources on August 4, 2026.
Conclusion: DigitalOcean Kubernetes or Raff?
Choose DigitalOcean Kubernetes for global region choice, dedicated and GPU workers, mature automation tooling, a 99.95% HA control-plane SLA, and deep DigitalOcean ecosystem integration. Choose Raff Kubernetes for lower comparable worker prices, a cheaper HA add-on, $0 egress, lower-cost storage, built-in monitoring, one-click apps, and a more predictable small-team cluster bill.
At the common 2 vCPU / 4 GB worker size, Raff is $13.99 per node and DigitalOcean is $24 per node. A two-node HA cluster is therefore $57.98 on Raff versus $88 on DigitalOcean before storage and load balancing. DigitalOcean's higher price may be justified by region and machine-class requirements; Raff's lower price is meaningful when those capabilities are not needed.
Review Raff Kubernetes, Kubernetes cost optimization, and Kubernetes vs Docker Compose before choosing the final operating model.
