Compare / Laravel Cloud vs DigitalOcean App Platform
Laravel Cloud vs DigitalOcean App Platform
Pre-calculated from hand-checked data — Laravel Cloud checked 2026-08-06, DigitalOcean checked 2026-08-06.
The short version
DigitalOcean App Platform wins more of our comparison points, but Laravel Cloud still fits if laravel teams that want the framework, database, queues, scheduler, cache, and deploy workflow managed as one platform describes you.
Price DigitalOcean App Platform
DigitalOcean App Platform is cheaper at most of the stages we model.
Ease Laravel Cloud
Laravel Cloud is easier to get running: connect a Git repository or run cloud ship; Laravel Cloud builds the supported runtime and deploys every push with zero downtime.
Control DigitalOcean App Platform
DigitalOcean App Platform gives you more control over the stack — the flip side of the convenience trade.
Features DigitalOcean App Platform
DigitalOcean App Platform comes out ahead on 5 of the 15 features we track, versus 4.
What developers say about this matchup
We couldn't find a substantive first-person discussion comparing this exact pair. We leave the section empty instead of filling it with vendor marketing or generic SEO comparisons.
At a glance
| Laravel Cloud | DigitalOcean App Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Laravel teams that want the framework, database, queues, scheduler, cache, and deploy workflow managed as one platform. | Apps that want git-push deploys inside a provider they can grow with. |
| How deploys work | Connect a Git repository or run cloud ship; Laravel Cloud builds the supported runtime and deploys every push with zero downtime. | Connect the Git repo or a container image; App Platform builds, deploys, and scales it. |
| The tradeoff | The excellent Laravel experience comes from an opinionated runtime, so arbitrary containers and server-level access are out. | Weaker compute per dollar than a Droplet — the convenience premium is real. |
| Free tier | New Starter subscriptions get their first month free; after that, Starter costs $5/month and includes $5 in monthly usage credit. | Free tier: 3 apps with static sites, 1 GiB of outbound transfer each per month. Extra static-site apps cost $3/month. |
What you'd realistically pay
Laravel Cloud DigitalOcean App Platform
| Project stage | Laravel Cloud | DigitalOcean App Platform | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just starting | ≈$5/mo Starter — The $5 subscription includes $5 of monthly usage credit; a small app and database that scale to zero can stay inside it. | ≈$5/mo 1 shared vCPU / 512 MiB — Includes 50 GiB of outbound transfer; billed per second. | ≈ Tie |
| Steady traffic | ≈$12/mo Starter + always-on Flex 1GB — One always-on Flex 1GB app instance reaches a $12 monthly compute cap; the $5 usage credit offsets the $5 Starter fee. | ≈$12/mo 1 shared vCPU / 1 GiB — Includes 150 GiB of transfer; a managed database adds more. | ≈ Tie |
| Growing | ≈$68.90/mo Growth + medium SaaS resources — The official medium-SaaS example is about $53.90 in usage; add the $20 Growth fee and subtract its $5 usage credit. | ≈$24/mo Two 1 GiB containers — Horizontal scaling; database and extra transfer on top. | DigitalOcean App Platform |
Laravel Cloud pricing notes
- Every paid plan includes $5 in monthly usage credits, which reset each billing cycle.
- Flex compute bills per second while awake, scales to zero when idle, and is capped at 28 days of runtime per billing cycle.
- Each compute size earns a data-transfer allowance; overage is $0.10/GB.
- Managed databases, caches, queues, object storage, and WebSockets have separate usage charges.
DigitalOcean App Platform pricing notes
- Billed per second with a one-minute minimum.
- Web services can scale to zero, idling at 10% of the standard price.
Our ratings
Ease of use Laravel Cloud
Pricing clarity DigitalOcean App Platform
Free tier
Scaling Laravel Cloud
Control DigitalOcean App Platform
Feature by feature
Laravel Cloud wins 4, DigitalOcean App Platform wins 5, with 6 even.
Deploy workflow
| Laravel Cloud | DigitalOcean App Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy from Git push | Yes Connect a Git repository and every push to the configured branch deploys automatically. | Yes Connect GitHub or GitLab; pushes build and deploy automatically. |
| Preview deploys | Partial Starter includes one preview environment; broader preview workflows are available on higher plans. | No No automatic per-PR preview environments. |
| Official CLI | Yes The cloud CLI deploys apps and manages environments, resources, logs, and commands. | Yes doctl manages apps, Droplets, and databases from one CLI. |
| Instant rollbacks | Partial You can redeploy an older Git commit, but there is no documented one-click rollback workflow. | Yes Roll back to a previous deployment from the dashboard. |
Platform
| Laravel Cloud | DigitalOcean App Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Custom domains + HTTPS | Yes Custom domains and automatically renewed TLS certificates are included on every plan. | Yes Custom domains with managed TLS certificates. |
| Built-in CDN / edge network | Yes A Cloudflare-powered global edge network caches static assets and cacheable responses automatically. | Partial Static assets go through a CDN; dynamic services run in one region. |
| Serverless functions | No Laravel Cloud runs server-based application compute rather than serverless functions. | Partial DO Functions exist within App Platform but are a minor, less-loved product. |
| Docker containers | No The platform builds its own optimized images and does not accept arbitrary Docker images. | Yes Deploy from a Dockerfile or any container registry. |
| SSH / shell access | No There is no SSH shell; use one-off commands, Tinker, logs, or the CLI instead. | Partial A web console reaches the running container; no true SSH. |
| EU hosting region | Yes Frankfurt, Ireland, and London regions are available alongside North America and Asia Pacific. | Yes Amsterdam and Frankfurt at identical US prices. |
Runtime & operations
| Laravel Cloud | DigitalOcean App Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic scaling | Partial Growth can autoscale up to 10 replicas; unlimited scaling requires Business or higher. | Partial CPU-based autoscaling on dedicated instances only. |
| Scale to zero | Yes Flex app compute scales to zero when idle and wakes in under 500 milliseconds. | Partial Web services can idle at 10% of price, not zero. |
| Scheduled jobs | Yes Laravel scheduled tasks are supported and automatically wake sleeping environments. | Partial Job components run at deploy events; scheduled cron needs a worker workaround. |
| Managed database | Yes Managed Laravel MySQL and serverless Postgres are provisioned directly from the platform. | Yes DO Managed Databases (Postgres, MySQL, Redis-compatible) attach directly. |
| Logs & metrics built in | Partial Application logs and CPU and memory metrics are built in, with retention tied to the plan. | Yes Insights graphs, runtime logs, and alert policies built in. |
Watch out for
Laravel Cloud
- Starter costs $5/month plus usage, although its $5 monthly usage credit can cover a tiny app that frequently scales to zero.
- Autoscaling and dedicated worker clusters require the $20/month Growth plan or higher.
- The platform supports a defined set of frameworks and runtimes; it is not a general-purpose Docker host.
- Databases, caches, object storage, and WebSockets bill separately from app compute.
DigitalOcean
- App Platform containers are small for the money — $12/month buys 1 GiB of RAM, while a $24 Droplet has 4 GiB.
- Managed databases bill separately from both products.
- Bandwidth allowances pool at the team level; overage is $0.02/GiB on App Platform and $0.01/GiB on Droplets.
Read the full reviews: Laravel Cloud and DigitalOcean. Or answer four questions to see what fits your project.