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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Accepted Answer
Hi there,
The main difference is in how much control vs convenience you want:
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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/
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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:
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/questions/application-platform-vs-droplets
Hope that helps!
- Bobby
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