DigitalOcean vs Selectel Comparison
Compare DigitalOcean vs Selectel features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
DigitalOcean
7.1/10
DigitalOcean is a developer-focused cloud platform offering Droplet VMs, managed Kubernetes, databases, object storage, App Platform and GPU compute for startups and small businesses.
Selectel
6.6/10
Russian infrastructure provider offering dedicated servers, cloud servers, VDS, managed Kubernetes, managed databases, S3 storage, CDN and GPU/ML services for businesses.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 7.1/10 | 6.6/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 9/10 | 6/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $4/mo Basic Droplet 512 MiB | RUB 200/mo VDS small |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $4/mo Basic Droplet 512 MiB | RUB 200/mo VDS small |
| Features | ||
| Automatic Backups | ||
| Cloud Compute | ||
| Content Delivery Network | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| Git Deployments | Not listed | |
| API and CLI | ||
| Managed Databases | ||
| Managed Kubernetes | ||
| Multiple Regions | ||
| Object Storage | ||
| Serverless Functions | Not listed | |
| Uptime SLA | ||
| VPS Hosting | ||
| Dedicated Servers | Not listed | |
DigitalOcean vs Selectel cost by team size
| Team size | DigitalOcean | Selectel |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $4/moBasic Droplet 512 MiB | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 5 users | $4/moBasic Droplet 512 MiB | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 10 users | $4/moBasic Droplet 512 MiB | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 25 users | $4/moBasic Droplet 512 MiB | RUB 200/moVDS small |
| 50 users | $4/moBasic Droplet 512 MiB | RUB 200/moVDS small |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose DigitalOcean
- Higher Ease of Use score (9/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Analytics score (6/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for developers (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for small business (7/10 vs 5/10)
Why choose Selectel
- Higher Customization score (8/10 vs 7/10)
- Higher Support score (6/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (7/10 vs 5/10)
Pros & Cons
DigitalOcean
Pros
- Flat, published hourly and monthly rates with no promotional first-term pricing or renewal price jumps.
- A $4 per month entry Droplet and per-second billing make it cheap to test and run small workloads.
- One account covers a full set of managed services, including Kubernetes, databases, Spaces with CDN, load balancers, App Platform and Functions.
- Developers can automate everything through the API, the doctl CLI and a Terraform provider, and the tutorials are widely used.
Cons
- Free support is ticket-only with a target response under 24 hours, chat starts at $99 per month, and no plan includes phone support.
- Outbound SMTP ports 25, 465 and 587 are blocked on new Droplets, so you cannot self-host email.
- Raw compute costs noticeably more than budget providers such as Hetzner.
- No refunds, and Droplets on suspended accounts are deleted after a grace period.
Selectel
Pros
- Very broad catalogue from one vendor: bare metal, VDS, cloud, Kubernetes, DBaaS, S3, CDN, VMware and GPU/ML.
- Certified for Russian personal data law (152-FZ) and holds FSTEC/FSB licences, plus PCI DSS, ISO 27001 and SOC 2.
- Low entry prices, with VDS from about 200 RUB a month and desktop-CPU dedicated servers from 800 RUB.
- Infrastructure can be automated through the API and Terraform.
Cons
- Capacity is concentrated in Russia, with only a few sites in Central Asia and Kenya.
- Prices are in rubles and services are aimed at the Russian market, so sanctions and payment issues may apply for foreign buyers.
- No serverless functions product appears in the catalogue.
- Little independent English-language review coverage.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
DigitalOcean scores higher on our AI Software criteria: 7.1/10 against 6.6/10 for Selectel. The largest gap is in Ease of Use: 9/10 for DigitalOcean and 6/10 for Selectel.
No, neither DigitalOcean nor Selectel lists a free plan.
DigitalOcean is the better fit for developers: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 7/10 for Selectel.
