DigitalOcean vs Deploy
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. DigitalOcean starts at See pricing page and Deploy 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
- Visual and text moderation
- CSAM detection
- AI-generated content detection
- Vision language model
- Hosted LLM inference
| Feature | DigitalOcean | Deploy |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Cloud for running AI inference, agents and apps in production | Formerly Hive: content moderation models and LLM inference APIs |
| Category | Models & APIs | Models & APIs |
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | See pricing page | See pricing page |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Made by | DigitalOcean | Deploy |
| Based in | United States | United States |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
|
|
Pricing compared
DigitalOcean starts at See pricing page and Deploy 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
Prices in USD, checked Nov 5, 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
Deploy
- Covers image, video, text and audio
- Usage-based pricing
- Strong trust and safety focus
- Recent rename may confuse searches
- Enterprise features need sales contact
- Mostly for developers
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 Deploy if you want:
- Covers image, video, text and audio
- Usage-based pricing
- Strong trust and safety focus
Watch out: recent rename may confuse searches.
DigitalOcean vs Deploy FAQ
What is the difference between DigitalOcean and Deploy?
DigitalOcean: Cloud for running AI inference, agents and apps in production. Deploy: Formerly Hive: content moderation models and LLM inference APIs. Both are models & apis tools.
Is DigitalOcean or Deploy cheaper?
DigitalOcean starts at See pricing page and Deploy starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Do DigitalOcean and Deploy have free plans?
DigitalOcean: No. Deploy: No.
Who makes DigitalOcean?
DigitalOcean is made by DigitalOcean, based in United States.
Who makes Deploy?
Deploy is made by Deploy, based in United States.
Which should I choose, DigitalOcean or Deploy?
Choose DigitalOcean if you value inference through a single api and usage-based pricing is stated openly. Choose Deploy if you value covers image, video, text and audio and usage-based pricing.