DigitalOcean DOKS pricing
DigitalOcean · managed Kubernetes · snapshot captured June 2026
DigitalOcean DOKS has a free control plane. Standard control plane is free. A high-availability (HA) control plane with a 99.95% SLA is $40/cluster/month. You then pay for worker nodes (Basic worker droplet from $12/month per node (1 vCPU / 2 GB). You pay only for the droplets, volumes and load balancers you use.) plus load balancers and egress. Its representative cheapest node is about $12/month, and it runs in 15+ digitalocean datacenter regions. This is one of the providers with a free control plane.
Source: DigitalOcean pricing. Data as of June 2026.
DigitalOcean DOKS pricing at a glance
| Cost factor | DigitalOcean DOKS |
|---|---|
| Control-plane fee | Standard control plane is free. A high-availability (HA) control plane with a 99.95% SLA is $40/cluster/month. |
| Est. control-plane cost / month | Free |
| Worker node example | Basic worker droplet from $12/month per node (1 vCPU / 2 GB). You pay only for the droplets, volumes and load balancers you use. |
| Load balancer | DigitalOcean Load Balancer from $12/month. |
| Egress | Generous pooled free egress (e.g. 2,000 GiB/month with the basic node), then ~$0.01/GiB. |
| Free tier | Free standard control plane (no fee). Pay only for droplet nodes, block storage and load balancers. |
| Regions | 15+ DigitalOcean datacenter regions. |
| SLA | 99.95% SLA on the paid HA control plane. |
Source: DigitalOcean pricing page. Data as of June 2026.
Source: DigitalOcean pricing. Snapshot captured June 2026 — Kubernetes pricing changes frequently; verify before purchasing.
What drives the cost on DigitalOcean DOKS
A managed-Kubernetes bill has three main parts: the control plane (free here), the worker nodes (where most of your spend goes), and networking (load balancers and egress). For DigitalOcean DOKS: Basic worker droplet from $12/month per node (1 vCPU / 2 GB). You pay only for the droplets, volumes and load balancers you use. Load balancers: DigitalOcean Load Balancer from $12/month. Egress: Generous pooled free egress (e.g. 2,000 GiB/month with the basic node), then ~$0.01/GiB.
Cost pros & cons
Where DigitalOcean DOKS saves money
- Free standard control plane
- Simple, predictable flat pricing
- Generous pooled free egress lowers bandwidth bills
Watch-outs
- HA control plane costs $40/month
- Smaller region footprint than hyperscalers
- Fewer enterprise/compliance features
DigitalOcean DOKS vs other providers
How DigitalOcean DOKS's control-plane and node costs compare with similar providers:
| Provider | Control plane | Est. control-plane/mo | Cheapest node/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean DOKS (this provider) | Free | Free | $12/mo |
| Azure AKS | Free | Free | $30/mo |
| Akamai LKE | Free | Free | $12/mo |
| OVHcloud MKS | Free | Free | $20/mo |
| Scaleway Kapsule | Free | Free | $7/mo |
| Civo Kubernetes | Free | Free | $10/mo |
Frequently asked questions
How much does DigitalOcean DOKS cost?
DigitalOcean DOKS has a free control plane. Standard control plane is free. A high-availability (HA) control plane with a 99.95% SLA is $40/cluster/month. On top of that you pay for worker nodes (Basic worker droplet from $12/month per node (1 vCPU / 2 GB). You pay only for the droplets, volumes and load balancers you use.), load balancers and egress. Snapshot captured June 2026 — verify on the vendor's pricing page.
Is the DigitalOcean DOKS control plane free?
Yes — DigitalOcean DOKS's standard/basic control plane is free; you pay only for worker nodes and resources. Standard control plane is free. A high-availability (HA) control plane with a 99.95% SLA is $40/cluster/month.
What do DigitalOcean DOKS worker nodes cost?
Basic worker droplet from $12/month per node (1 vCPU / 2 GB). You pay only for the droplets, volumes and load balancers you use. Node pricing is the largest part of most clusters' bills, so the choice of instance size and count usually matters more than the control-plane fee. Snapshot captured June 2026.
What hidden costs should I watch for with DigitalOcean DOKS?
Beyond nodes and the control plane, the common extras are load balancers (DigitalOcean Load Balancer from $12/month.) and data egress (Generous pooled free egress (e.g. 2,000 GiB/month with the basic node), then ~$0.01/GiB.). NAT gateways, storage volumes and support plans can also add up. Always model your real workload — the calculator gives a quick estimate.
Keep exploring
Source & accuracy
Figures are a dated snapshot from DigitalOcean's pricing page (snapshot captured June 2026). Estimated monthly control-plane cost is the hourly fee × 730 hours (see methodology). Managed-Kubernetes pricing is volatile and varies by region, instance type and discounts — verify current prices on the vendor's page before purchasing. This is an informational comparison, not a quote.
Last updated: 2026-06-20