Cloud instance comparison · Prices checked July 2026
AWS m5.large vs DigitalOcean g-2vcpu-8gb
DigitalOcean g-2vcpu-8gb is cheaper than AWS m5.large by $7.08/month (10.1% less), at matching specs of 2 vCPU and 8 GiB of memory. DigitalOcean g-2vcpu-8gb runs $63.00/mo on-demand versus $70.08/mo for AWS m5.large, based on DigitalOcean's nyc1 and AWS's us-east-1 baseline on-demand Linux pricing.
Specs & pricing side by side
| Spec | AWS m5.large | DigitalOcean g-2vcpu-8gb |
|---|---|---|
| vCPU | 2 | 2 |
| Memory | 8 GiB | 8 GiB |
| Region (baseline) | us-east-1 | nyc1 |
| Hourly (on-demand) | $0.0960 | $0.0863 |
| Monthly (730 hrs) | $70.08 | $63.00 |
| Price difference | DigitalOcean g-2vcpu-8gb is $7.08/mo cheaper than AWS m5.large (10.1% less) | |
Two things to know before comparing DigitalOcean prices
Dedicated vs shared vCPU. This comparison uses DigitalOcean's General Purpose Droplets, which have dedicated vCPUs — the honest like-for-like match for AWS m5.large. DigitalOcean's cheaper Basic Droplets are shared vCPU (CPU time isn't guaranteed) and are deliberately excluded here: comparing a shared-vCPU Droplet against a dedicated-vCPU AWS instance would overstate DigitalOcean's advantage.
Bundled outbound transfer. The table above is VM price only — egress is excluded for both providers. But DigitalOcean g-2vcpu-8gb includes 4,000 GB/month of pooled outbound transfer in its price (overage: $0.01/GB), while AWS meters egress at roughly $0.09/GB beyond a small free tier. If your workload pushes serious traffic, factor that in — it often matters more than the VM list-price gap.
Which one should you pick?
Pick DigitalOcean g-2vcpu-8gb if price is your primary constraint — it's $7.08/mo cheaper for the same 2 vCPU / 8 GiB profile, which adds up to $84.96/year at steady utilization.
Pick AWS m5.large if you're already committed to the AWS ecosystem — existing VPC/network setup, IAM policies, reserved capacity, or team expertise on AWS usually outweighs a 10% list-price gap on a single instance. Cross-provider migration cost rarely pays for itself on compute pricing alone.
Either way, this is a single-instance, on-demand comparison. Reserved/committed-use discounts (up to ~72% on both platforms) and your actual utilization pattern will move the real numbers — model your full workload with the calculator before deciding.
Frequently asked questions
Is AWS m5.large cheaper than DigitalOcean g-2vcpu-8gb?
DigitalOcean g-2vcpu-8gb is cheaper. It costs $63.00/mo on-demand versus $70.08/mo for AWS m5.large — a difference of $7.08/mo (10.1%). Both instances offer 2 vCPU and roughly 8 GiB of memory, so the comparison is apples-to-apples on specs.
What are the specs of AWS m5.large?
AWS m5.large provides 2 vCPU and 8 GiB of memory, priced at $0.0960/hour on-demand ($70.08/month at 730 hours) in the us-east-1 baseline region.
How much does AWS m5.large cost per month compared to DigitalOcean g-2vcpu-8gb?
At 730 hours/month, AWS m5.large costs $70.08 and DigitalOcean g-2vcpu-8gb costs $63.00. That is a monthly difference of $7.08, or $84.96/year.
Is DigitalOcean g-2vcpu-8gb really comparable to AWS m5.large?
Yes — this comparison uses DigitalOcean's General Purpose Droplet tier, which has dedicated vCPUs, the same as AWS m5.large (AWS's dedicated-vCPU general-purpose family). Note that DigitalOcean's cheaper "Basic" Droplets use shared vCPUs, where CPU time is not guaranteed — they are materially cheaper but not apples-to-apples with dedicated-vCPU instances, so they are deliberately not compared here.
Does the DigitalOcean g-2vcpu-8gb price include bandwidth?
The table price is VM-only and excludes egress for both providers. However, DigitalOcean bundles 4,000 GB/month of pooled outbound transfer into the DigitalOcean g-2vcpu-8gb price, with overage at just $0.01/GB. AWS bills outbound transfer separately at roughly $0.09/GB beyond a small free tier, so for egress-heavy workloads the real-world gap can be much larger than the VM prices suggest.
Prices checked July 2026. Baseline regions: AWS pricing uses us-east-1, DigitalOcean uses nyc1. All prices are on-demand Linux, list rate, before reserved/committed-use discounts. DigitalOcean prices are flat across regions and exclude the bundled outbound transfer discussed above. See our methodology for pricing sources, update cadence, and mapping rules.
Model your full stack, not just one instance
A single instance is one line item. Use the free SpendArk calculator to compare AWS, Azure, GCP, and DigitalOcean across your whole architecture — compute, database, storage, and networking together.
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