At 2 vCPU / 4 GB matched specs, Raff CPU-Optimized is $19.99/month with unmetered bandwidth; DigitalOcean Basic Regular Intel is $24/month with 4 TB metered transfer and $0.01/GB overage. Raff also now offers a 2 vCPU / 2 GB CPU-Optimized plan at $13.99/month, giving buyers a lower-cost dedicated-vCPU step between the 1 vCPU and 2 vCPU HiMem tiers. Internal benchmarks measured Raff sustaining 1,663 sysbench single-thread events/s to DigitalOcean's 364 (4.57x), and 157,356 Redis SET requests/s to DigitalOcean's 61,538 (2.56x) on matched 2 vCPU / 4 GB VM specs. Across 18 measured performance categories, Raff Technologies delivered more performance per dollar in every one — smallest margin 1.28x, largest 5.89x. DigitalOcean wins on geographic reach (11 regions, 14 data centers) and product breadth (managed PostgreSQL/MySQL/Redis/Kafka/MongoDB, managed Kubernetes, GPU Droplets, App Platform).
DigitalOcean vs Raff: which is right for you?
This comparison resolves across four axes, each with measurable evidence rather than positioning:
- Price at matched specs: Raff is 22% cheaper at the new 2 vCPU / 2 GB tier ($13.99 vs $18), 17% cheaper at the 2 vCPU / 4 GB tier ($19.99 vs $24), and the gap widens at higher tiers and with bandwidth use.
- Per-VM performance: Raff CPU-Optimized's dedicated vCPU thread plus AMD EPYC + DDR5 hardware produces 2x to 5x performance gains over DigitalOcean Basic's shared CPU on every measured workload.
- Geographic reach and platform breadth: DigitalOcean operates 14 data centers across 11 regions and ships managed databases, managed Kubernetes (DOKS), GPU Droplets, and App Platform. Raff operates from one data center in Vint Hill, Virginia, with managed Kubernetes and managed databases on the 2026 roadmap.
- Trust and review depth: DigitalOcean holds a 4.6/5 Trustpilot rating across 2,260 reviews (a long verified track record at scale). Raff holds 4.5/5 across 14 reviews — comparable rating, much smaller sample because Raff Technologies launched in early 2025. The right pick depends on which axis dominates for your workload. The detailed sections below give you the numbers to decide for yourself.
DigitalOcean overview
DigitalOcean is a developer-focused cloud platform offering Droplets (virtual machines), managed PostgreSQL/MySQL/Redis/Kafka/MongoDB/OpenSearch databases, managed Kubernetes (DOKS), Spaces (S3-compatible object storage), App Platform for Git-based deployments, GPU Droplets with NVIDIA and AMD accelerators, and a broad marketplace of one-click applications.
Droplets are split into shared-CPU Basic plans (starting at $4/month) and dedicated-CPU plans (General Purpose, CPU-Optimized, Memory-Optimized, Storage-Optimized) starting higher. DigitalOcean operates 14 data centers across 11 regions, including the newly opened Richmond, Virginia facility focused on AI infrastructure. The company is publicly traded on NYSE under the ticker DOCN.
Typical DigitalOcean customers are developers, startups, and small-to-mid teams who want a simpler alternative to hyperscaler clouds (AWS, GCP, Azure) without sacrificing the breadth of managed services those clouds offer. DigitalOcean's developer-experience surface — documentation, tutorials, community Q&A — is one of the strongest in the industry.
Raff overview
Raff Technologies is a US-based cloud infrastructure provider operating from Vint Hill, Virginia. The platform offers two clearly defined VM categories — General Purpose for flexible everyday workloads, now starting from $5.99/month, and CPU-Optimized for dedicated vCPU resources, starting from $3.99/month — plus S3-compatible object storage at s3.raffusercloud.com, block storage volumes, VPC networking, and DDoS-protected public IPv4 + IPv6. Managed Kubernetes and managed databases are on the 2026 roadmap.
Compute runs on AMD EPYC processors with DDR5 memory and NVMe SSD storage. Every VM includes unmetered bandwidth at 3 Gbps standard port speed, three free automated backups, on-demand snapshots, live migration, instant resize, custom OS support, root access, web console, REST API + CLI, and HA infrastructure underneath.
Raff Technologies operates 10,000+ VMs from Vint Hill, Virginia, with a 4.5/5 Trustpilot rating across 14 verified reviews. The company was founded in early 2025 and is bootstrapped — Raff customers are typically developers, infrastructure teams, and small-to-mid SaaS operators who want predictable cost, dedicated-CPU performance, and no surprise egress bills.
DigitalOcean pricing vs Raff pricing
The matched-tier comparison below uses Raff's CPU-Optimized line against DigitalOcean's Basic Regular Intel Droplets at the closest equivalent monthly price. All prices are USD monthly, no commitment.
| Specs | Raff CPU-Optimized | DigitalOcean Basic | Raff savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 25 GB | $3.99/mo | $6.00/mo | 34% |
| 1 vCPU HiMem / 2 GB / 50 GB | $9.99/mo | $12.00/mo | 17% |
| 2 vCPU / 2 GB / 50 GB | $13.99/mo | $18.00/mo | 22% |
| 2 vCPU HiMem / 4 GB / 80 GB ★ | $19.99/mo | $24.00/mo | 17% |
| 4 vCPU HiMem / 8 GB / 120 GB | $35.99/mo | $48.00/mo | 25% |
| 8 vCPU HiMem / 16 GB / 180 GB | $63.99/mo | $96.00/mo | 33% |
★ Benchmarked configuration. See the performance section below.
Note on comparison-class match. DigitalOcean Basic Droplets use shared CPU; DigitalOcean's dedicated-CPU lines (Premium AMD, General Purpose, CPU-Optimized Droplets) start at higher price points. The comparison above and benchmarks below match Raff CPU-Optimized to the equivalent-price DigitalOcean Basic tier. Readers evaluating DigitalOcean's dedicated-CPU Droplets specifically should also compare against those — a separate comparison.
Automated backups
DigitalOcean charges 20% of the Droplet's monthly cost for weekly automated backups. On a $24/month Basic Droplet that is $4.80/month, raising the effective price to $28.80/month for VMs with backup protection. Raff includes three free automated backups per VM at every tier. On the 2 vCPU / 4 GB plan that is a $4.80/month difference, widening the headline 17% price gap to 24% once backups are accounted for.
Snapshots and additional storage
Both providers charge separately for on-demand snapshots and additional block storage volumes. Snapshot pricing is in the same range on both platforms ($0.05–$0.06/GB/month). Volume pricing is also close — Raff and DigitalOcean both sit at $0.10/GB/month for additional block storage, so this line item does not meaningfully shift the comparison.
Bandwidth and transfer policy
This is where the largest hidden-cost difference shows up, especially as a workload scales.
DigitalOcean Basic Droplets at the $24/month tier include 4 TB of monthly outbound transfer, with $0.01/GB ($10/TB) overage above that. Raff includes truly unmetered bandwidth at 3 Gbps standard port speed on every VM tier — no transfer caps, no egress fees, and no overage charges at any volume.
Below is the effective monthly cost on a 2 vCPU / 4 GB VM under different outbound traffic loads:
| Monthly egress | Raff total | DigitalOcean total | Raff saves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 TB | $19.99 | $24.00 | $4.01 |
| 4 TB | $19.99 | $24.00 | $4.01 |
| 5 TB | $19.99 | $34.00 | $14.01 |
| 10 TB | $19.99 | $84.00 | $64.01 |
| 20 TB | $19.99 | $184.00 | $164.01 |
Above 4 TB monthly egress, the unmetered-versus-metered gap dominates the comparison. A growing SaaS, content site, or API service that crosses 10 TB outbound in any month sees the effective DigitalOcean bill quadruple at this tier, while Raff stays flat. This is a structural difference, not a discount.
Feature comparison: DigitalOcean vs Raff
Compute
Both providers offer x86_64 VMs with hourly billing, instant provisioning, custom OS support, and snapshots. The architectural difference is in CPU allocation: Raff CPU-Optimized provides dedicated vCPU resources on AMD EPYC silicon, while DigitalOcean Basic Droplets are designed for bursty workloads with variable CPU behavior. DigitalOcean's dedicated-CPU lines (Premium AMD, General Purpose, CPU-Optimized) match Raff's dedicated-thread model but start at higher prices.
DigitalOcean offers GPU Droplets (NVIDIA H100, H200, AMD MI300X) and bare-metal instances. Raff does not currently offer either.
Networking
Both providers offer IPv4 + IPv6, DDoS protection, VPC private networking, floating/reserved IPs, cloud firewalls, and load balancers. The key difference is bandwidth: Raff is unmetered at 3 Gbps standard; DigitalOcean meters per-Droplet (4 TB on the $24 tier) with $0.01/GB overage. Raff also publishes its own /24 IP block (AS402429) with RFC 8805 geofeed at app.rafftechnologies.com/geofeed.csv for accurate downstream geolocation.
Storage and backups
DigitalOcean Basic Regular Droplets use local SSD; Premium Intel and Premium AMD lines use local NVMe. Raff runs distributed NVMe storage across the cluster, which supports snapshots, live migration, and capacity flexibility (instant resize without reprovisioning). Both offer S3-compatible object storage (DigitalOcean Spaces and Raff Object Storage at s3.raffusercloud.com). Volume device naming differs in the guest OS — DigitalOcean uses /dev/sda for the root disk; Raff uses /dev/vda (virtio-blk). This is a real migration detail covered in the migration section below.
Platform features
DigitalOcean ships managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, Kafka, MongoDB, OpenSearch; managed Kubernetes (DOKS); App Platform (Git-based PaaS); a one-click marketplace; REST API; CLI (doctl); and a Terraform provider. Raff today ships VMs, block storage, object storage, VPC networking, REST API, CLI, and a one-click marketplace. Managed Kubernetes and managed databases are on the 2026 roadmap. For teams that need managed databases or Kubernetes today, this gap is the dominant decision factor.
Performance benchmarks: Raff vs DigitalOcean
Methodology
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Test date | May 2026 |
| Raff VM spec | 2 vCPU HiMem / 4 GB DDR5 / 50 GB NVMe benchmark instance / Vint Hill, VA |
| Raff plan & price | CPU-Optimized 2 vCPU HiMem, $19.99/mo |
| DigitalOcean VM spec | 2 vCPU (shared) / 4 GB / 80 GB SSD / SFO2 |
| DigitalOcean plan & price | Basic Regular Intel, $24/mo |
| Operating system | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS |
| Tools | sysbench 1.0.20, fio 3.36, redis-benchmark 7.x, sqlite-bench |
| Number of runs | Single pass |
| Test cost | Paid at standard rates by Raff Technologies; no sponsorship or rebate from DigitalOcean. |
Real-application workloads (Redis, SQLite) are included alongside synthetic CPU/memory/disk tests. The Raff test instance used 50 GB of NVMe storage; the current production 2 vCPU HiMem plan at the same $19.99/month price includes 80 GB NVMe SSD. Single-pass benchmarks have run-to-run variance — relative gaps below tend to stay within ±15% on multi-pass refreshes, and a multi-pass refresh is planned before the next quarterly update.
One omission for honesty: the Raff and DigitalOcean test regions did not match (Vint Hill, VA vs SFO2). Network-throughput numbers are therefore excluded from this article. CPU, memory, disk, and application-workload results are region-independent and reported below.
Results
| Benchmark | Raff | DigitalOcean | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| sysbench CPU 1-thread (events/s) | 1,663 | 364 | Raff 4.57x faster |
| sysbench CPU 2-thread (events/s) | 3,338 | 744 | Raff 4.49x faster |
| Memory sequential read (MiB/s) | 131,925 | 36,709 | Raff 3.59x faster |
| Memory sequential write (MiB/s) | 37,231 | 16,449 | Raff 2.26x faster |
| Memory random read (MiB/s) | 5,541 | 2,677 | Raff 2.07x faster |
| Memory random write (MiB/s) | 6,100 | 2,470 | Raff 2.47x faster |
| Disk 4K randread QD1 IOPS | 2,591 | 1,430 | Raff 1.81x higher |
| Disk 4K randwrite QD1 IOPS | 1,585 | 770 | Raff 2.06x higher |
| Disk 4K randread QD32 IOPS | 74,562 | 40,679 | Raff 1.83x higher |
| Disk 4K randwrite QD32 IOPS | 52,450 | 11,241 | Raff 4.67x higher |
| Disk 4K mix 70/30 read IOPS | 39,224 | 24,843 | Raff 1.58x higher |
| Disk 4K mix 70/30 write IOPS | 16,845 | 10,679 | Raff 1.58x higher |
| Disk 1M sequential write (MiB/s) | 1,199 | 244 | Raff 4.91x faster |
| Disk 1M sequential read (MiB/s) | 2,376 | 2,224 | Raff 1.07x faster |
| Disk 4K randread QD1 P99 latency (µs) | 807 | 7,569 | Raff 9.4x lower |
| Disk 4K randwrite QD1 P99 latency (µs) | 1,368 | 15,401 | Raff 11.3x lower |
| Disk 4K randwrite QD32 P99 latency (µs) | 8,094 | 103,285 | Raff 12.8x lower |
| Disk 1M sequential write P99 latency (µs) | 34,341 | 375,390 | Raff 10.9x lower |
| Redis SET (req/s) | 157,356 | 61,538 | Raff 2.56x faster |
| Redis GET (req/s) | 157,356 | 65,402 | Raff 2.41x faster |
| Redis SPOP (req/s) | 179,372 | 62,676 | Raff 2.86x faster |
| SQLite inserts/s | 331,110 | 172,398 | Raff 1.92x faster |
What the results tell us
Dedicated vCPU vs shared CPU is the largest single architectural gap. The 4.57x sysbench single-thread result is consistent across both single- and multi-thread runs, and is the upstream cause of the gaps below — anything CPU-bound on a DigitalOcean Basic Droplet contends with other tenants on the same physical core. Raff's dedicated-thread allocation eliminates that contention.
Where Raff wins decisively: real-application throughput on memory- and write-bound workloads. Redis (the canonical caching, session-store, and queue workload) ran 2.56x faster on SET and 2.41x faster on GET at the same RAM allocation, which traces to a 3.59x gap in memory sequential read bandwidth. SQLite inserts ran 1.92x faster, reflecting the disk-write-latency gap. The largest absolute gap is on 1M sequential writes (4.91x throughput, 10.9x lower P99 latency) and on saturated random writes at QD32 (4.67x IOPS, 12.8x lower P99 latency).
Tail latency is where DigitalOcean Basic falls apart at this price point. A P99 latency of 103 ms on random database writes and 375 ms on sequential writes translates directly to multi-second application stalls under load. Raff's worst measured P99 in the table is 45.9 ms at saturation; under non-saturated conditions, the 8.1 ms P99 figure is the relevant one.
Where DigitalOcean is competitive: 1M sequential read throughput is essentially tied (Raff 1.07x), and disk saturation IOPS are closer than other disk metrics (Raff 1.25x). For workloads that are purely sequential-read-bound and not memory- or CPU-sensitive, the gap narrows. These are not the typical web, API, or database workloads, but they exist.
For the majority of cloud VPS workloads — HTTP services, APIs, caches, application servers, database backends — the measured gaps above translate directly to lower latency and higher throughput per dollar on Raff at this price tier.
Caveats
These benchmarks are single-pass and a multi-pass refresh is planned before the next quarterly update. Performance varies with neighboring VM activity, region selection, and time of day. Network-throughput results are not reported because the test regions did not match. The comparison is also against DigitalOcean Basic Regular Intel — DigitalOcean's dedicated-CPU lines (Premium AMD, General Purpose, CPU-Optimized Droplets) are not in this test set and would be the right comparison for a higher-budget benchmark.
When you should choose DigitalOcean over Raff
- Multi-region or global deployments — DigitalOcean operates 14 data centers across 11 regions on three continents; Raff is currently US-only from Vint Hill, Virginia. If your users span multiple geographies and latency matters, DigitalOcean's footprint is the right answer.
- Managed databases today — DigitalOcean offers managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, Kafka, MongoDB, and OpenSearch with HA, automated backups, point-in-time recovery, and read replicas. Raff's managed databases are on the 2026 roadmap. For teams that need a managed DB this week, DigitalOcean is the practical pick.
- Managed Kubernetes (DOKS) today — DigitalOcean ships a managed Kubernetes control plane with cluster autoscaling and integrated load balancers. Raff's managed Kubernetes is also 2026 roadmap. Teams currently running k8s workloads should weight this heavily.
- GPU compute for AI/ML inference or training — DigitalOcean offers NVIDIA H100, H200, and AMD MI300X GPU Droplets. Raff does not offer GPUs.
- App Platform / managed PaaS for Git-driven deployments — DigitalOcean's App Platform abstracts away VM management. Raff Apps PaaS is in development but not yet a 1:1 replacement.
- Long verified review track record — 2,260 Trustpilot reviews vs Raff's 14. If review depth at scale matters to your procurement process, DigitalOcean clears that bar today.
When you should choose Raff over DigitalOcean
- Predictable cost on egress-heavy workloads — 3 Gbps truly unmetered bandwidth with no caps or overage fees. At 10 TB monthly egress, Raff stays at $19.99 while a DigitalOcean Basic Droplet's effective bill is $84. The gap widens with traffic.
- Per-VM performance at the entry price tier — measured 4.57x faster single-thread CPU, 2.56x more Redis SET req/s, and 12.8x lower P99 latency on random database writes at the same 2 vCPU / 4 GB spec.
- Real-application throughput on memory-bound workloads — Redis caching, queue workers, API services, and application servers benefit most. DDR5 RAM and dedicated vCPU thread allocation explain the gap.
- Three free automated backups included — DigitalOcean charges 20% of the Droplet's monthly cost ($4.80 on a $24 Droplet) for weekly backups. Raff bakes three backup slots into the VM price.
- Distributed NVMe storage with snapshots and live migration — DigitalOcean Basic uses local SSD without live migration; the Raff platform supports both architecturally.
- Lower entry price across every comparable tier — 17% to 34% cheaper on matched specs from 1 vCPU / 1 GB up through 8 vCPU HiMem / 16 GB, with the new 2 vCPU / 2 GB plan at $13.99/month sitting 22% below DigitalOcean's closest Basic tier.
- Production scale and verified rating — Raff Technologies operates 10,000+ VMs from Vint Hill, Virginia, with a 4.5/5 Trustpilot rating across 14 verified reviews.
Migrating from DigitalOcean to Raff
For most VM workloads, migration is a same-day operation. The standard path:
- Inventory your DigitalOcean Droplets — note OS version, region, attached volumes, networking (reserved IPs, firewalls, VPC), and backup schedule for each Droplet.
- Provision matching Raff VMs at equal or greater specs. Pick CPU-Optimized for dedicated-thread workloads and General Purpose for development or low-traffic services. Deploy a Raff Linux VM in 60 seconds via the dashboard or API. Gotcha: DigitalOcean Droplets expose the root disk as
/dev/sda; Raff VMs expose it as/dev/vda(virtio-blk). Update/etc/fstabreferences and any scripts that hardcode device paths before the cutover. - Transfer application data. Use
rsync -avz --progressover SSH for application files. For databases, use native dump tools (pg_dump,mysqldump,redis-cli --rdb). For large datasets (>50 GB), upload to Raff Object Storage using the S3-compatible API and restore from there to reduce point-to-point transfer time. - Update DNS to point to the new Raff IPs. Lower TTL to 300s at least 24 hours before cutover so propagation completes quickly. Gotcha: DigitalOcean reserved IPs do not float to other providers. The new Raff IPs are fresh — if any third-party integrations whitelist your old DigitalOcean IPs (payment processors, SMTP relays, partner APIs), update those allowlists ahead of the swap.
- Verify on Raff — smoke-test application endpoints, confirm bandwidth and routing, validate IPv6 reachability, test automated backup runs, and re-establish firewall rules. Open a port-25 unblock request with Raff support if your workload sends outbound SMTP (handled the same way DigitalOcean handles it).
- Decommission the DigitalOcean Droplets after the cutover window has passed and you have confirmed no production traffic is hitting them. Destroy snapshots last. For stateful workloads (databases, file servers), plan a brief maintenance window during the DNS swap. Stateless services behind a load balancer can drain DigitalOcean Droplets gradually by adjusting health-check weights and DNS records over several hours without downtime.
About DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc. is headquartered at 101 Avenue of the Americas in New York City and was founded in 2011. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker DOCN and serves a broad developer and startup customer base from 14 data centers across 11 regions globally. Read more on the official DigitalOcean website: digitalocean.com.
Conclusion: DigitalOcean or Raff?
The comparison resolves across four measured axes:
- Cost — Raff is 22% cheaper at the new 2 vCPU / 2 GB tier ($13.99 vs $18), 17% cheaper at the 2 vCPU HiMem / 4 GB tier ($19.99 vs $24), 25% cheaper at the 4 vCPU HiMem / 8 GB tier ($35.99 vs $48), and 33% cheaper at the 8 vCPU HiMem / 16 GB tier ($63.99 vs $96); unmetered bandwidth versus metered transfer with $0.01/GB overage above the included allowance.
- Per-VM performance — Raff measured faster on all 22 reported benchmarks; CPU single-thread 4.57x, Redis SET 2.56x, sequential writes 4.91x throughput at 10.9x lower P99 latency.
- Platform breadth — DigitalOcean ships managed PostgreSQL/MySQL/Redis/Kafka/MongoDB, managed Kubernetes (DOKS), GPU Droplets, App Platform, and 11 regions. Raff today ships VMs, block storage, object storage, and VPC networking; managed Kubernetes and managed databases are 2026 roadmap.
- Track record — DigitalOcean 4.6/5 Trustpilot across 2,260 reviews (longer history at scale); Raff 4.5/5 across 14 reviews (comparable rating, newer company). If your workload needs multi-region deployment, managed databases or Kubernetes today, GPU compute, or App Platform, DigitalOcean is the right answer. If you are running US-focused VM workloads where per-VM performance, predictable egress cost, and lower monthly bills matter most, Raff is the wiser pick. Most production web, API, and database workloads in single-region deployments fall in the second category.
Verified rating: Raff Technologies is rated 4.5/5 across 14 reviews on Trustpilot, with 10,000+ production VMs running on the platform from Vint Hill, Virginia.