TL;DR: DigitalOcean App Platform charges per container, per component, and managed databases are a separate product with separate pricing. Miget gives you a fixed compute plan (CPU + RAM + storage) and lets you run unlimited apps, workers, databases, and preview environments inside it - one predictable monthly price.
Quick Comparison
Pricing as of April 2026. Check DigitalOcean's App Platform pricing and Managed Database pricing for current rates.
| Miget | DigitalOcean App Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Fixed-capacity, per-resource | Per-container + per-addon |
| Starting price | $0/month (free tier) | $5/month (shared 512 MiB) |
| Apps per plan | Unlimited | 1 container = 1 billed unit |
| Managed PostgreSQL | Included (HA available) | Separate product ($15+/month) |
| Managed Redis/Valkey | Included | Separate product ($15+/month) |
| Managed Kafka | Included | Separate product ($149+/month) |
| Managed RabbitMQ | Included | Not available |
| Isolation | MicroVM (CloudHypervisor) | Shared container |
| Team members | 5 free, then $5/user | Team pricing varies |
| Free tier | Yes (256 MiB, always available) | Static sites only (3 free) |
| Custom domains + SSL | Included (auto-TLS) | Included |
| Preview environments | Included (unlimited) | Not built-in |
| IPv6 support | Yes | Yes |
Pricing Breakdown: Real Numbers
This is where the difference between the two platforms becomes clear. DigitalOcean App Platform charges per container. Need a database? That is a completely separate product - DigitalOcean Managed Databases - with its own pricing page, its own billing, and its own resource allocation.
Miget charges once for compute. Everything runs inside your plan.
All DigitalOcean pricing as of April 2026. Miget pricing from miget.com/plans.
Scenario 1: Solo developer - 1 web app + PostgreSQL
| Miget | DigitalOcean | |
|---|---|---|
| Compute | $7/month (1 GiB RAM, 1 vCPU) | $5/month (App Platform, 512 MiB shared) |
| Database | Included | $15/month (Managed Databases, 1 GiB PostgreSQL) |
| Total | $7/month | $20/month |
Even at the smallest scale, DigitalOcean costs nearly 3x more because the database is a separate product entirely. On Miget, PostgreSQL is just another service running inside your plan.
Scenario 2: Small team - 2 apps + PostgreSQL + Redis + 1 worker
| Miget | DigitalOcean | |
|---|---|---|
| Web app 1 | Included in plan | $12/month (App Platform, 1 GiB shared) |
| Web app 2 | Included in plan | $12/month (App Platform, 1 GiB shared) |
| Worker | Included in plan | $12/month (App Platform, 1 GiB shared) |
| PostgreSQL | Included in plan | $15/month (Managed Databases, 1 GiB) |
| Redis | Included in plan | $15/month (Managed Databases, 1 GiB) |
| Compute plan | $25/month (4 GiB, 2 vCPU) | - |
| Total | $25/month | $66/month |
Miget is 62% cheaper. Same apps, same databases, same worker. The difference is the billing model - DigitalOcean charges separately for every container and every database cluster.
Scenario 3: Growing startup - 5 services + PostgreSQL + Redis + Kafka + 2 workers
| Miget | DigitalOcean | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 web services | Included in plan | $125/month (5x $25 App Platform, 2 GiB shared) |
| 2 workers | Included in plan | $50/month (2x $25 App Platform, 2 GiB shared) |
| PostgreSQL | Included in plan | $15/month (Managed Databases, 1 GiB) |
| Redis | Included in plan | $15/month (Managed Databases, 1 GiB) |
| Kafka | Included in plan | $149/month (Managed Databases, 6 GiB) |
| Compute plan | $85/month (8 GiB, 4 vCPU) | - |
| Total | $85/month | $354/month |
Miget saves $269/month - over 76%. And this is not an edge case. This is what a typical microservices stack looks like. On DigitalOcean, every new service and every managed database is another bill. On Miget, your monthly cost stays the same.
Where Miget Wins
Unlimited Apps, One Price
This is the fundamental difference. On DigitalOcean App Platform, every container is a separate billed unit. A typical production setup has a web server, a background worker, maybe a scheduler, and a second service. That is four containers minimum - four separate charges.
On Miget, you choose a resource plan (CPU + RAM + storage) and deploy as many apps, workers, cron jobs, and services as you want inside it. Your bill does not change when you add another service. The Fair Scheduler distributes resources across everything running in your plan.
This is why Miget costs a fraction of DigitalOcean App Platform for any real-world setup. You are not penalized for building a distributed architecture.
Managed Services Included - Not a Separate Product
On DigitalOcean, App Platform and Managed Databases are two distinct products with distinct pricing pages. You configure your App Platform containers on one page, then go to a completely different product to provision your PostgreSQL cluster. Two bills, two dashboards, two sets of configuration.
On Miget, managed PostgreSQL (versions 13-17) is included in your plan at no extra cost. Need high availability? HA clusters with 3, 5, or 7 instances are available - automatic replication, automatic failover, and your connection string stays the same. MySQL, Valkey (Redis-compatible), RabbitMQ, and Kafka are also included.
Your database is not a separate billing dimension. It runs in your plan like everything else.
More Managed Services Out of the Box
DigitalOcean Managed Databases supports PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, Kafka, and OpenSearch. But these are all separate billable clusters.
Miget includes PostgreSQL, MySQL, Valkey (Redis-compatible), RabbitMQ, Kafka, and S3-compatible object storage - all at no extra cost inside your existing plan. RabbitMQ alone is something DigitalOcean does not offer as a managed service at all. If you need a message queue on DigitalOcean, you are self-hosting it on a Droplet or paying for Kafka at $149/month minimum.
Real Isolation with MicroVMs
DigitalOcean App Platform runs your app in a shared container. Your process shares kernel space with other tenants on the same physical machine. Noisy neighbors can affect your performance.
Miget runs every app in its own CloudHypervisor MicroVM. Each VM has its own kernel, its own memory space, and hardware-level isolation. This is the same isolation model used by AWS Firecracker and Lambda - but you do not need to manage any of it.
The result: better security, predictable performance, and no noisy neighbors. At the price of a shared container on other platforms.
Free Tier That Actually Runs Apps
DigitalOcean App Platform's free tier is limited to static sites. You can deploy up to three static site apps for free. If you want to run any dynamic application - a Node.js API, a Python service, anything with a backend - you start paying immediately.
Miget has a real free tier: 256 MiB RAM, 0.1 vCPU, 1 GiB storage. It sleeps after 30 minutes of inactivity, but it runs actual backend applications. You can prototype, test, and learn without entering a credit card.
Preview Environments for Every PR
DigitalOcean App Platform does not have built-in preview environments for pull requests. You either set up your own workflow or deploy separate containers (and pay for them).
On Miget, preview environments are included and unlimited. Every pull request can get its own isolated deployment. There is no extra charge because the previews run inside your existing resource plan.
What Developers Are Saying
These are common themes in developer discussions about DigitalOcean App Platform on Reddit, Hacker News, and X:
"App Platform pricing gets confusing once you scale past a single container." Most developers start on App Platform because it feels simple. But the per-container model means your bill grows linearly with your architecture. On Miget, additional services are free - they share your existing compute plan.
"Why is the database a completely separate product?" This is a frequent complaint. You set up your app on App Platform, then realize you need to navigate to a different product, set up separate billing, and manage a different resource. On Miget, databases are first-class citizens inside your plan. One dashboard, one bill.
"App Platform is fine for one container, but for anything more complex I just use Droplets." Many developers outgrow App Platform and fall back to managing their own infrastructure on Droplets. That works, but it means you are now a sysadmin. Miget handles the infrastructure while keeping the multi-service model affordable.
"Managed databases on DO are solid but not cheap." DigitalOcean Managed Databases start at $15/month for a basic PostgreSQL instance. Need Redis too? That is another $15/month. Kafka? $149/month. These costs add up independently of your app compute. On Miget, all of these are included in your plan.
Migrating from DigitalOcean App Platform to Miget
The migration is straightforward. DigitalOcean App Platform apps are already containerized, making the transition smooth. There is no proprietary runtime lock-in.
- Create a Miget account - Sign up free (no credit card required)
- Choose a resource plan - Pick a plan that covers the total CPU and RAM your apps need. Remember: all your apps share one plan. Check available plans to find the right fit.
- Containerize your app - If you already have a Dockerfile, you are ready. If not, Migetpacks can auto-detect and build your app with zero configuration - supports Node.js, Python, Go, Ruby, Java, .NET, and more.
- Deploy from Git or a registry - Push from GitHub, GitLab, or any Docker registry. Miget builds and deploys automatically.
- Migrate your database - For PostgreSQL, use
pg_dumpandpg_restorefor smaller databases or our zero-downtime migration guide for production workloads. - Set environment variables - Copy your DigitalOcean environment variables and secrets to Miget via the dashboard or API.
- Update DNS - Point your custom domains to Miget. SSL certificates are provisioned automatically.
Your apps are live in minutes. No proprietary runtime. No per-container billing. Just Docker.
FAQ
Is Miget production-ready?
Yes. Miget runs apps in dedicated MicroVMs with the Fair Scheduler ensuring guaranteed resource allocation. Professional plans provide dedicated CPU cores for consistent performance. PostgreSQL HA clusters with automatic failover are available for databases that need to stay online.
Can I run multiple apps on one plan?
Yes - unlimited apps, workers, cron jobs, and services inside one resource plan. This is the core difference from DigitalOcean App Platform. Your plan defines your compute capacity. What you run inside it is up to you.
How does Miget handle scaling?
You can scale vertically by upgrading your resource plan (more CPU, RAM, storage) or horizontally by adding instances of a service. The Fair Scheduler dynamically distributes CPU across all services in your plan, so idle apps do not waste resources that active apps could use.
What databases are available?
PostgreSQL (versions 13-17) with optional HA clusters, MySQL, Valkey (Redis-compatible), RabbitMQ, Kafka, and S3-compatible object storage. All managed, all included in your plan at no extra cost.
Do I need to write a Dockerfile?
No. Migetpacks auto-detect your language and build an optimized Docker image with zero configuration. You can also bring your own Dockerfile if you prefer.
Can I still use DigitalOcean Droplets alongside Miget?
Absolutely. Many developers use Miget for their PaaS workloads (web apps, APIs, workers, databases) and keep Droplets for workloads that need raw VM access (game servers, custom networking, legacy software). The two are not mutually exclusive.
What about team pricing?
First 5 team members are free on Hobby plans (25 on Professional). Additional members cost $5/month each. No per-seat multipliers on your compute costs - your resource plan price stays the same regardless of team size.
How does Miget compare to DigitalOcean Droplets (not App Platform)?
Droplets are unmanaged virtual machines - you get root access and handle your own deployment, updates, security patches, and database management. Miget is a PaaS - you push code or containers and the platform handles the rest. If you want the convenience of App Platform without the per-container pricing, Miget is the right fit. If you need raw VMs, Droplets are the better choice.
Try Miget Free
DigitalOcean built a great ecosystem for developers. Droplets are still one of the best ways to get a cheap Linux VM. But App Platform's per-container pricing model and the split between App Platform and Managed Databases means your bill fragments across multiple products as your architecture grows.
Modern apps run multiple services. Background workers. Scheduled jobs. Databases. Caches. Message queues. On DigitalOcean, each one is either a separate container charge or a separate managed database cluster. On Miget, they all share one plan.
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