Question
What's the difference between a Droplet and App Platform?
- Posted on March 17, 2025
- DropletsApp Platform
Asked by bbe5464a9e9f4f84a71541214e8f32
I’m trying to decide whether to use a Droplet or the App Platform for my next project. I’m a bit confused about when to use each one.
Can someone explain the main differences and in which cases it’s better to use App Platform instead of a regular Droplet?
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Hi there,
The main difference is in how much control vs convenience you want:
Droplets give you full control over the server. You manage everything yourself — OS updates, security, app setup, etc. It’s great if you want flexibility or are comfortable managing servers. 👉 https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/droplets/getting-started/quickstart/
App Platform is a Platform-as-a-Service. You just push your code to GitHub or GitLab for example, and DigitalOcean handles deployment, scaling, SSL, and infrastructure. It’s ideal if you want to focus on building your app without worrying about server management. 👉 https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/app-platform/getting-started/quickstart/
If you’re just starting or want quick deployments with less ops overhead, App Platform is awesome. If you need more customization or want to run multiple services manually, go with a Droplet.
For more details check out the answer here as well:
Hope that helps!
- Bobby