kitio.aiDigitalOcean vs Microsoft Foundry
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. DigitalOcean starts at See pricing page and Microsoft Foundry 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
- Model catalog
- Azure OpenAI deployments
- Foundry Agent Service
- Evaluations and tracing
- Content safety
| Feature | DigitalOcean | Microsoft Foundry |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Cloud for running AI inference, agents and apps in production | Microsoft's AI platform for OpenAI and other models, formerly Azure AI Foundry |
| Category | Models & APIs | Models & APIs |
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | See pricing page | See pricing page |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Made by | DigitalOcean | Microsoft |
| Based in | United States | United States |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
|
|
Pricing compared
DigitalOcean starts at See pricing page and Microsoft Foundry 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 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
Microsoft Foundry
- Enterprise access to OpenAI models
- Deep Microsoft 365 and Azure ties
- Strong compliance features
- Frequent renames confuse buyers
- Portal has a learning curve
- Regional model availability varies
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 Microsoft Foundry if you want:
- Enterprise access to OpenAI models
- Deep Microsoft 365 and Azure ties
- Strong compliance features
Watch out: frequent renames confuse buyers.
DigitalOcean vs Microsoft Foundry FAQ
What is the difference between DigitalOcean and Microsoft Foundry?
DigitalOcean: Cloud for running AI inference, agents and apps in production. Microsoft Foundry: Microsoft's AI platform for OpenAI and other models, formerly Azure AI Foundry. Both are models & apis tools.
Is DigitalOcean or Microsoft Foundry cheaper?
DigitalOcean starts at See pricing page and Microsoft Foundry starts at See pricing page. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Do DigitalOcean and Microsoft Foundry have free plans?
DigitalOcean: No. Microsoft Foundry: No.
Who makes DigitalOcean?
DigitalOcean is made by DigitalOcean, based in United States.
Who makes Microsoft Foundry?
Microsoft Foundry is made by Microsoft, based in United States.
Which should I choose, DigitalOcean or Microsoft Foundry?
Choose DigitalOcean if you value inference through a single api and usage-based pricing is stated openly. Choose Microsoft Foundry if you value enterprise access to openai models and deep microsoft 365 and azure ties.