kitio.aiDigitalOcean vs Chutes
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. DigitalOcean starts at See pricing page and Chutes starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
At a glance
Best for
Category
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Hosted model inference
- Managed Agents
- Sandboxes for coding agents
- Action Gateway for tools
- Managed databases
- Containers and storage
- OpenAI-compatible API
- Custom chute deployment
- Decentralized GPU supply
- Popular open models
- Usage-based billing
| Feature | DigitalOcean | Chutes |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Cloud for running AI inference, agents and apps in production | Decentralized serverless inference for open models on Bittensor |
| Category | Models & APIs | Models & APIs |
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | See pricing page | See pricing page |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Made by | DigitalOcean | Rayon Labs |
| Based in | United States | – |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
|
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Pricing compared
DigitalOcean starts at See pricing page and Chutes starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
3 plans
Inference
From $0.05 / M tokens
- Hosted AI models
- Single API
- No infrastructure to manage
Action Gateway
$0.10 / 1,000 calls
- 16,000+ tools
- Credentials kept from the model
- Retries and rate limits
Harness Runtime
From $0.0535 / hour
- Isolated microVM sessions
- Pause, resume and fork
2 plans
Serverless models
From $0.039 / 1M input tokens
- Pay per token
- Open models like Qwen, DeepSeek, Kimi
- No free tier, prepaid top-up
Private Chutes
From $1.80 / GPU hour
- Deploy your own private chute
- Pay per second
- One-time deploy fee (3x hourly)
Prices in USD, checked Oct 28, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
DigitalOcean
- Inference through a single API
- Usage-based pricing is stated openly
- AI and standard cloud in one account
- Managed Agents is still a public preview
- No free plan listed
- Smaller catalog than the largest clouds
Chutes
- Low prices on open models
- Easy OpenAI-style API
- Wide model selection
- Capacity errors at peak times
- Free tier was removed
- Decentralized setup raises trust questions
Which one should you choose?
Choose DigitalOcean if you want:
- Inference through a single API
- Usage-based pricing is stated openly
- AI and standard cloud in one account
Watch out: managed agents is still a public preview.
Choose Chutes if you want:
- Low prices on open models
- Easy OpenAI-style API
- Wide model selection
Watch out: capacity errors at peak times.
DigitalOcean vs Chutes FAQ
What is the difference between DigitalOcean and Chutes?
DigitalOcean: Cloud for running AI inference, agents and apps in production. Chutes: Decentralized serverless inference for open models on Bittensor. Both are models & apis tools.
Is DigitalOcean or Chutes cheaper?
DigitalOcean starts at See pricing page and Chutes starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Do DigitalOcean and Chutes have free plans?
DigitalOcean: No. Chutes: No.
Who makes DigitalOcean?
DigitalOcean is made by DigitalOcean, based in United States.
Who makes Chutes?
Chutes is made by Rayon Labs.
Which should I choose, DigitalOcean or Chutes?
Choose DigitalOcean if you value inference through a single api and usage-based pricing is stated openly. Choose Chutes if you value low prices on open models and easy openai-style api.