Cheaper DigitalOcean App Platform alternatives
Pricing data as of 2026-10-12 · refreshed weekly
Baseline: a Next.js app with startup-level traffic (~50,000 visits/month) costs $5.48/month on DigitalOcean App Platform (Shared 1 vCPU / 512MB). Every provider below can run the same workload — ranked by real list price. Cheaper is not always better: a paas platform and a raw VPS differ in how much ops work lands on you.
FAQ
What is the cheapest alternative to DigitalOcean App Platform?
For a Next.js app at startup traffic: Orkestr (Starter) at free versus $5.48/month on DigitalOcean App Platform, $5.48 less per month. It is a PaaS, so check what you give up before switching.
Is there a cheaper PaaS than DigitalOcean App Platform?
Yes, for this workload: Orkestr free, Railway $5/month, Heroku $5/month, versus $5.48/month on DigitalOcean App Platform.
How is this comparison calculated?
Workload: Next.js needing ~512MB RAM for serving, ~50,000 visits and ~74GB of transfer a month. For each provider we take the cheapest plan that fits RAM, bandwidth and visit limits, plus metered egress where the provider charges it. Providers whose largest plan does not fit are left out.
How current are these prices?
They are official list prices as of 2026-10-12, re-checked against each provider's pricing page on a weekly cycle. Intro promos and coupons are not used in totals; taxes are not included unless a plan note says so.