Cloudflare Workers/Pages vs DigitalOcean Droplets
Pricing data as of 2026-10-12 · refreshed weekly
Cloudflare Workers/Pages (serverless) and DigitalOcean Droplets (vps) overlap on 9 stacks. The table below shows the cheapest fitting plan on each for a typical startup workload (~50,000 visits/month) — list prices, no promos.
Cloudflare Workers/Pagesserverless
| Free | $0/mo |
| Workers Paid | $5/mo |
DigitalOcean Dropletsvps
| Basic 512MB | $4/mo |
| Basic 1GB | $6/mo |
| Basic 2GB | $12/mo |
| Basic 4GB | $24/mo |
Cheapest fitting plan per stack (startup traffic)
| Stack | Cloudflare Workers/Pages | DigitalOcean Droplets | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next.js | $5+ (Workers Paid) | $4 (Basic 512MB) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Nuxt | $5+ (Workers Paid) | $4 (Basic 512MB) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Astro | $5+ (Workers Paid) | $4 (Basic 512MB) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| SvelteKit | $5+ (Workers Paid) | $4 (Basic 512MB) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Remix / React Router | $5+ (Workers Paid) | $4 (Basic 512MB) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Node.js API | $5+ (Workers Paid) | $4 (Basic 512MB) | DigitalOcean Droplets |
| Ghost | $5+ (Workers Paid) | $6 (Basic 1GB) | Cloudflare Workers/Pages |
| Strapi | $5+ (Workers Paid) | $6 (Basic 1GB) | Cloudflare Workers/Pages |
| Static site | $0 (Free) | $4 (Basic 512MB) | Cloudflare Workers/Pages |
Next.js by traffic level
| Traffic | Cloudflare Workers/Pages | DigitalOcean Droplets |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby / side project (~5,000/mo) | $5+ (Workers Paid) | $4 (Basic 512MB) |
| Startup / small business (~50,000/mo) | $5+ (Workers Paid) | $4 (Basic 512MB) |
| E-commerce (~200,000/mo) | $5+ (Workers Paid) | $6 (Basic 1GB) |
| High traffic (~1,000,000/mo) | $5+ (Workers Paid) | $12 (Basic 2GB) |
"+" = even the largest plan may not cover that traffic. Full breakdowns: Next.js on Cloudflare Workers/Pages · Next.js on DigitalOcean Droplets
FAQ
Is Cloudflare Workers/Pages or DigitalOcean Droplets cheaper?
DigitalOcean Droplets is cheaper more often: at startup traffic (~50,000 visits/month) Cloudflare Workers/Pages wins on 3 of 9 shared stacks, DigitalOcean Droplets on 6. Price alone ignores ops work: Cloudflare Workers/Pages is a serverless platform, DigitalOcean Droplets is a VPS.
What does a Next.js app cost on Cloudflare Workers/Pages vs DigitalOcean Droplets?
Cheapest fitting plan by traffic level — hobby / side project: Cloudflare Workers/Pages $5/month (Workers Paid), and even the largest plan may not be enough vs DigitalOcean Droplets $4/month (Basic 512MB); startup / small business: Cloudflare Workers/Pages $5/month (Workers Paid), and even the largest plan may not be enough vs DigitalOcean Droplets $4/month (Basic 512MB); e-commerce: Cloudflare Workers/Pages $5/month (Workers Paid), and even the largest plan may not be enough vs DigitalOcean Droplets $6/month (Basic 1GB); high traffic: Cloudflare Workers/Pages $5/month (Workers Paid), and even the largest plan may not be enough vs DigitalOcean Droplets $12/month (Basic 2GB).
What is included with Cloudflare Workers/Pages and DigitalOcean Droplets?
Cloudflare Workers/Pages bundles CDN, Image opt, Edge, SSL, Previews, Auto-deploy. DigitalOcean Droplets is a VPS with nothing bundled — CDN, TLS automation, previews and deploys are yours to set up.
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.