Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Flywheel VS DigitalOcean

Compare Flywheel VS DigitalOcean and see what are their differences

Flywheel logo Flywheel

WordPress hosting and management built for designers and agencies.

DigitalOcean logo DigitalOcean

Simplifying cloud hosting. Deploy an SSD cloud server in 55 seconds.
  • Flywheel Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-14
  • DigitalOcean Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-10

Flywheel features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Flywheel offers an intuitive and clean interface, making it easy for users, including beginners, to manage their websites.
  • Staging Environment
    Flywheel provides staging environments that allow users to test changes and updates before making them live, which reduces the risk of errors.
  • Free SSL Certificates
    Flywheel includes free SSL certificates for all sites, which enhances security and trustworthiness without additional cost.
  • Automated Backups
    Daily automated backups ensure that users can easily restore their site in case of an error or data loss, providing peace of mind.
  • Excellent Support
    Flywheel is known for its responsive and helpful customer support, which can be a critical feature when troubleshooting issues.
  • Performance Optimization
    Flywheel is optimized for WordPress performance, offering fast loading times and reliable uptime.
  • Managed Security
    Flywheel includes managed security measures like malware scans, removing a significant burden from the site owner.

Possible disadvantages of Flywheel

  • Higher Cost
    Flywheel's plans are more expensive compared to some other web hosting providers, which might be a barrier for small businesses or personal sites.
  • Limited Server Locations
    Flywheel has a limited number of server locations, which might not be ideal for users looking to target audiences in specific geographical areas.
  • No Email Hosting
    Flywheel does not offer email hosting services, which means users must rely on third-party providers for their email needs.
  • Limited Customization
    Due to its managed nature, Flywheel may offer fewer customization options for advanced users compared to other hosting solutions.
  • Site Migration Limitations
    While Flywheel offers free site migration, it can sometimes face limitations and issues that require additional support or manual intervention.
  • Resource Limits
    Some of Flywheel's plans have resource limits that could constrain the performance of high-traffic websites, necessitating an upgrade to a more expensive plan.

DigitalOcean features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    DigitalOcean offers a simple and intuitive interface, which is particularly helpful for developers who want to quickly deploy and manage cloud infrastructure.
  • Cost-Effective
    DigitalOcean provides affordable pricing, making it an attractive option for startups and small businesses that need cloud services but are on a tight budget.
  • Scalability
    The platform allows you to easily scale your infrastructure vertically by upgrading your droplet's resources or horizontally by adding more droplets.
  • Performance
    DigitalOcean provides high-performance SSD-based virtual machines (droplets), which offer fast and reliable performance for a variety of applications.
  • Community and Documentation
    DigitalOcean has an extensive library of tutorials and a large community of users, which can be incredibly helpful for troubleshooting and learning.
  • Managed Services
    DigitalOcean offers managed services like Managed Databases and Managed Kubernetes, which simplify the management of complex infrastructure setups.

Possible disadvantages of DigitalOcean

  • Limited Advanced Features
    While DigitalOcean is great for simple setups and small to medium-sized applications, it lacks some of the advanced features and services offered by larger cloud providers like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
  • Regional Availability
    DigitalOcean has a more limited number of data centers compared to major competitors, which might be a drawback if you need a presence in a specific region not covered by their facilities.
  • Customer Support
    DigitalOcean's customer support is primarily based on a ticketing system which could be slower and less efficient compared to the instant chat or phone support options that other cloud providers offer.
  • No Built-in Advanced Networking Features
    Advanced networking features like global load balancing are either limited or not available, which could be a concern for more complex infrastructure needs.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Switching from DigitalOcean to another provider might be challenging due to the unique configurations and setups; this could result in higher costs and effort.

Analysis of Flywheel

Overall verdict

  • Flywheel is a reputable and highly recommended managed WordPress hosting provider, especially for those who prioritize ease of use and responsive support. Its focus on catering to designers and agencies makes it a valuable tool for professionals in the web development industry.

Why this product is good

  • Flywheel is often praised for its user-friendly interface, excellent customer support, and reliable performance. It is specifically optimized for WordPress websites, making it a popular choice among developers and designers looking for a hassle-free hosting solution. Other positive aspects include daily backups, free SSL certificates, and a staging environment for testing changes before going live.

Recommended for

    Flywheel is highly recommended for freelance web developers, design agencies, and small to medium-sized businesses that rely on WordPress for their websites. It is particularly suitable for users who need a streamlined, no-fuss hosting service with strong customer support and performance.

Flywheel videos

Flywheel Hosting - Flywheel Hosting Review

More videos:

  • Review - Exxentric kBox 4 Flywheel Training REVIEW!
  • Review - Honda H'ness CB350 First Look Review | ഇനി ഹോണ്ടയുടെ റെട്രോ യുഗം? | Flywheel Malayalam

DigitalOcean videos

DigitalOcean Review 2018 ( Why it Might not be Good for Blogging )

More videos:

  • Review - DigitalOcean vs AWS
  • Review - SITEGROUND VS DIGITALOCEAN 🤑 HONEST 💯 PROMO CODES

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Flywheel and DigitalOcean)
Web Hosting
20 20%
80% 80
Cloud Computing
0 0%
100% 100
Cloud Hosting
100 100%
0% 0
VPS
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Flywheel and DigitalOcean

Flywheel Reviews

10+ Best Free 60 Day Trial Web Hosting [No Credit Card Required]
Flywheel started in 2012 and now works in good condition. Flywheel provides managed WordPress hosting. Their charges are a little high but we can afford them because of their services.
Best Web Hosting Affiliate Programs in 2023
While the specific duration of their tracking cookies remains undisclosed, the opportunity to earn substantial commissions through Flywheel’s affiliate program is certainly promising.
Source: digiexe.com
15 Best Web Hosting Free Trial 2023 (No Credit Card Required)
Click on this exclusive link to get a 14 day free trial of Flywheel. Now click on the Get Started button and on the next page you will have to type basic information.
8 GoDaddy Alternatives & Why You Need One
Why Use Flywheel over GoDaddy: Flywheel offers a more affordable alternative to WordPress agencies and freelancers than GoDaddy. It offers workflow tools that freelancers and agencies need to collaboratively create WordPress websites for themselves and for their clients, as well as features like caching, CDN, staging sites, and daily backups to keep your sites fast, secure,...
6 Best Bluehost Alternatives & Competitors
Built on tough network infrastructure, Flywheel is highly optimized for scale, speed, and security. Unlike other services providing at no cost trials, Flywheel offers free demo sites. With the demo service offered by a cheap Bluehost alternative, you can generate various test sites and try out exclusive features that it puts on your way.

DigitalOcean Reviews

Top 5 Best Ubuntu VPS Providers for 2024
Overview and Unique Selling Points DigitalOcean simplifies cloud computing for developers, offering scalable infrastructure designed to grow with your project. Known for its developer-friendly platform, DigitalOcean provides an extensive range of services from Droplets to Kubernetes, all supporting Ubuntu. Their SSD-only cloud servers, flexible API, and transparent pricing...
Best Linux VPS [Top 10 Linux VPS Provider 2024]
DigitalOcean makes it easier to handle your server using one click. They have a predictable and transparent pricing model. So, you can know all about the pricing. But aside from all of its advantages, the pricing for the DigitalOcean is relatively high compared to other VPS hosting solutions available in the market. For example, their basic 2GB RAM VPS is $12. In addition,...
Source: cloudzy.com
8 Best Free VPS Trials In 2024 [No Credit Card Required]
*These all are DigitalOcean cloud provider-based plans. Plans vary according to your choice of Cloud Provider.
10 Best Web Hosting Companies in India(December 2023)
Straightforward and intuitive, DigitalOcean's interface allows you to deploy your cloud infrastructure quickly and without hassle.
Source: www.vikatan.com
Top 50 Cheapest Cloud Services Providers | Affordable Cloud Hosting
Our goal is to make cloud computing as simple as possible so that developers and businesses can spend more time creating software that makes a difference in the world. You’ll love the cloud computing services you need, with predictable pricing, developer-friendly features, and scalability. DigitalOcean consistently outperforms other cloud providers in terms of price while...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, DigitalOcean should be more popular than Flywheel. It has been mentiond 66 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Flywheel mentions (9)

  • WordPress Drama: From the Sidelines
    Anecdote: I'm helping a family member set up a personal brand website. He has a brand/marketing person for the content/design, but wanted me to manage the tech side of email, domains, providers, etc. I've used Wordpress a handful of times in my life, but it's an easy recommendation to make. We've spent maybe 30 mins a week for the past few weeks chipping away at it. We chose https://getflywheel.com/ as the managed... - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Top 20 Web Hosting Services in 2024 - Choose the Best for Your Website 🚀
    Flywheel 🪐 Managed WordPress hosting built for designers and agencies, starting at $15/month. Discover more: Flywheel. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Extremely slow loading times because of "Waiting for server response" during the server requests.
    I need to check with you all if I'm crazy or not, because I'm using getflywheel.com as hosting/server provider and the staging website of my site (very simple woocommerce) I'm experiencing extremely slow server response times see here (the green portion of the bar is "Waiting for server response"). I've reached to their customer support and they are saying they allocated the same amount of server resources for my... Source: about 2 years ago
  • Am I making a mistake by hosting 20 websites on a single server?
    I'm in the process of moving all my Wordpress sites over to getflywheel.com. The pricing is comparable to running my own server (which I also do) but I don't have to worry about uptime, backups, etc. I also like that every site I publish gets attached to their content network (think Akamai or similar) so that site outages are eliminated. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Can I use Divi without paying for a Wordpress Business Plan?
    If you want to keep your life simple, you can use a Wordpress boutique host like Flywheel as they make it all easy to operate for someone without a ton of experience, and they have awesome support. Their plans start at $15/month, and their basic plan is plenty for most people. I love their service. I currently host 80+ sites with them. https://getflywheel.com/. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

DigitalOcean mentions (66)

View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Flywheel and DigitalOcean, you can also consider the following products

WP Engine - Hassle-Free WordPress Hosting

Linode - We make it simple to develop, deploy, and scale cloud infrastructure at the best price-to-performance ratio in the market.

Kinsta - The best managed WordPress hosting, powered by Google Cloud and LXD orchestrated Linux containers. Let us handle caching, security, updates, and more.

Amazon AWS - Amazon Web Services offers reliable, scalable, and inexpensive cloud computing services. Free to join, pay only for what you use.

Bluehost - One of the largest and most trusted web hosting services powering millions of websites. Join Bluehost now and get a FREE domain name!

Vultr - VULTR Global Cloud Hosting - Brilliantly Fast SSD VPS Cloud Servers. 100% KVM Virtualization