Straight answer

Best cloud hosting for developers in 2026

Q: Can I run Laravel and Redis on a DigitalOcean Droplet without extra configuration?

Not out of the box — a plain Droplet is a blank server, so you install Nginx, PHP-FPM, Redis and your database yourself, or use a DigitalOcean Marketplace image with a LEMP or Docker stack pre-built. Cloudways offers the same underlying DigitalOcean infrastructure with the stack pre-configured if you'd rather skip setup.

Q: How does a plain DigitalOcean droplet compare to Cloudways?

A plain DigitalOcean Droplet gives you a blank server with full root access that you configure yourself. Cloudways provisions a DigitalOcean server under the hood but adds a managed layer — pre-configured stack, UI-based PHP switching, automated backups — for a markup over the raw Droplet cost.

Q: Is DigitalOcean suitable for running n8n or other self-hosted tools?

Yes — DigitalOcean offers an official Marketplace image that deploys n8n with Docker Compose pre-configured. A 2GB Droplet is a reasonable starting point for moderate workflow load, with 4GB and up for heavier automation.

For developers who want full root access, a real cloud API and pricing that doesn't punish you for knowing what you're doing, DigitalOcean is the clear winner — Droplets, Kubernetes, managed databases and a developer experience built around documentation, not tickets. If you'd rather pay a markup and skip stack configuration entirely, Cloudways is the better choice — it runs on top of DigitalOcean (and other clouds) and manages the server for you.

Last verified: September 2026 Author: Tom George Sources: DigitalOcean, Cloudways official data

Top pick for developer cloud hosting Editor's choice

DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean built its reputation on being the cloud provider developers actually enjoy using — flat, predictable Droplet pricing, a clean API, and documentation (the DO Community tutorials) that's become a de facto reference for Linux server admin regardless of which host you use. You get full root access on every plan, no exceptions.

Beyond plain Droplets, DigitalOcean covers the rest of the stack a growing project needs: managed Kubernetes (DOKS), managed databases (Postgres, MySQL, Redis-compatible), Spaces object storage, and App Platform for teams who want PaaS-style deploys without leaving the ecosystem. For Laravel, Node, Django, n8n or containerized workloads, you're provisioning exactly what you need and nothing you don't.

The trade-off is real: nothing is pre-configured. You're installing Nginx, setting up PHP-FPM or your runtime, configuring your database and wiring up SSL yourself (or via a one-click Marketplace image). If that setup time is worth paying to skip, that's exactly the gap Cloudways below is built to fill.

What you're provisioning

Compute

Droplets — shared or dedicated vCPU

Root access

Full root on every plan

Orchestration

DOKS — managed Kubernetes

Database

Managed Postgres/MySQL, add-on

Deploy option

App Platform — PaaS-style, optional

Billing

Hourly, capped at monthly rate

Good to know: One-click Marketplace images (LEMP, Docker, WordPress, n8n and more) get you a pre-configured stack on a plain Droplet in a few minutes — a middle ground between raw root access and a fully managed platform.

Visit DigitalOcean →

DigitalOcean vs Cloudways — side by side

DigitalOcean vs Cloudways comparison for developer hosting
Feature	DigitalOcean	Cloudways
Root access	Full root — every plan	SSH available, not full root
Setup time	Manual, or Marketplace one-click image	Under 5 min — stack pre-configured
Stack management	You configure Nginx, PHP, DB yourself	Managed — Nginx, Redis, PHP via UI
Underlying infra	Direct — you're on DO's own cloud	Runs on top of DO (or AWS/GCE/Vultr/Linode) + markup
Scaling	Resize Droplet — brief downtime	Vertical — slider, no migration
Backups	Optional add-on (~20% of plan cost)	Automated — included
Kubernetes / orchestration	Native — DOKS managed Kubernetes	Not offered
Support	Ticket + extensive community docs	24/7 managed support, server-aware
Best for	Full control, containers, custom stacks, Kubernetes	PHP apps, WordPress, teams that want zero server admin
Get started	Visit DigitalOcean	Visit Cloudways

Who should avoid each host

Skip DigitalOcean if…

You don't want to manage Nginx, PHP and your database manually
You need staging environments without building them yourself
Server security patching isn't something you want to own

Skip Cloudways if…

You need full root access and complete OS control
You want Kubernetes or container orchestration built in
Paying a management markup on top of the underlying cloud bothers you

Managed alternative: Cloudways

Managed alternative

Cloudways

Cloudways sits on top of DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud, Vultr or Linode and handles the operational layer for you — pre-configured Nginx/Apache, Redis, Memcached, PHP-FPM and one-click SSL, all through a purpose-built UI instead of cPanel or raw SSH. For Laravel, WordPress, WooCommerce or Magento, the stack is ready in minutes and vertical scaling is a slider with no migration. You're paying a markup over the raw cloud cost for that convenience — worth it if your time is worth more than the difference, less so if you already know your way around a terminal.

Visit Cloudways →

Frequently asked questions

Can I run Laravel and Redis on a DigitalOcean Droplet without extra configuration?

Not out of the box — a plain Droplet is a blank Ubuntu (or other OS) server, so you're installing Nginx or Apache, PHP-FPM, Redis and MySQL/Postgres yourself, or deploying via a DigitalOcean Marketplace image that comes with a LEMP or Docker stack pre-built. Once set up, Redis works as a Laravel cache or session driver exactly as it would on any VPS — configure the connection in your .env file. If you'd rather skip this setup step entirely, that's the trade-off Cloudways is built to remove: the same underlying DigitalOcean infrastructure with the stack pre-configured for you.

How does a plain DigitalOcean droplet compare to Cloudways?

A plain DigitalOcean Droplet gives you a blank server and full root access — you install and configure Nginx, MySQL, PHP, Redis, SSL and your deployment pipeline yourself. Cloudways provisions a DigitalOcean server under the hood but adds a management layer on top — pre-configured stack, UI-based PHP switching, one-click staging, automated backups and managed security patches — in exchange for a markup over the raw Droplet cost and reduced root-level access. If your time is worth more than that markup, Cloudways wins. If you know the stack and want full control, the raw Droplet is cheaper and more flexible.

Is DigitalOcean suitable for running n8n or other self-hosted tools?

Yes — DigitalOcean is one of the most common hosts for self-hosted n8n specifically because of the official Marketplace image, which deploys n8n with Docker Compose pre-configured. You point a domain at the Droplet, set up Nginx as a reverse proxy (or use the included Caddy config, depending on the image), and you're running. For moderate workflow load, a 2GB Droplet is a reasonable starting point; heavier automation workloads benefit from 4GB and up. Because it's a plain Droplet, you have full root access to tune Docker resource limits or add Redis for n8n's queue mode directly.

Affiliate disclosure: We earn a commission if you sign up through links on this page — at no extra cost to you. Our recommendations are based on published performance data from each host, not advertiser relationships. How we stay unbiased →