Cloud instance comparison · Prices checked July 2026
Azure Standard_D4s_v5 vs DigitalOcean g-4vcpu-16gb
DigitalOcean g-4vcpu-16gb is cheaper than Azure Standard_D4s_v5 by $14.16/month (10.1% less), at matching specs of 4 vCPU and 16 GiB of memory. DigitalOcean g-4vcpu-16gb runs $126.00/mo on-demand versus $140.16/mo for Azure Standard_D4s_v5, based on DigitalOcean's nyc1 and Azure's eastus baseline on-demand Linux pricing.
Specs & pricing side by side
| Spec | Azure Standard_D4s_v5 | DigitalOcean g-4vcpu-16gb |
|---|---|---|
| vCPU | 4 | 4 |
| Memory | 16 GiB | 16 GiB |
| Region (baseline) | eastus | nyc1 |
| Hourly (on-demand) | $0.1920 | $0.1726 |
| Monthly (730 hrs) | $140.16 | $126.00 |
| Price difference | DigitalOcean g-4vcpu-16gb is $14.16/mo cheaper than Azure Standard_D4s_v5 (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 Azure Standard_D4s_v5. 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 Azure 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-4vcpu-16gb includes 5,000 GB/month of pooled outbound transfer in its price (overage: $0.01/GB), while Azure 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-4vcpu-16gb if price is your primary constraint — it's $14.16/mo cheaper for the same 4 vCPU / 16 GiB profile, which adds up to $169.92/year at steady utilization.
Pick Azure Standard_D4s_v5 if you're already committed to the Azure ecosystem — existing VPC/network setup, IAM policies, reserved capacity, or team expertise on Azure 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 Azure Standard_D4s_v5 cheaper than DigitalOcean g-4vcpu-16gb?
DigitalOcean g-4vcpu-16gb is cheaper. It costs $126.00/mo on-demand versus $140.16/mo for Azure Standard_D4s_v5 — a difference of $14.16/mo (10.1%). Both instances offer 4 vCPU and roughly 16 GiB of memory, so the comparison is apples-to-apples on specs.
What are the specs of Azure Standard_D4s_v5?
Azure Standard_D4s_v5 provides 4 vCPU and 16 GiB of memory, priced at $0.1920/hour on-demand ($140.16/month at 730 hours) in the eastus baseline region.
How much does Azure Standard_D4s_v5 cost per month compared to DigitalOcean g-4vcpu-16gb?
At 730 hours/month, Azure Standard_D4s_v5 costs $140.16 and DigitalOcean g-4vcpu-16gb costs $126.00. That is a monthly difference of $14.16, or $169.92/year.
Is DigitalOcean g-4vcpu-16gb really comparable to Azure Standard_D4s_v5?
Yes — this comparison uses DigitalOcean's General Purpose Droplet tier, which has dedicated vCPUs, the same as Azure Standard_D4s_v5 (Azure'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-4vcpu-16gb price include bandwidth?
The table price is VM-only and excludes egress for both providers. However, DigitalOcean bundles 5,000 GB/month of pooled outbound transfer into the DigitalOcean g-4vcpu-16gb price, with overage at just $0.01/GB. Azure 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: Azure pricing uses eastus, 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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