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DigitalOcean Kubernetes

About DigitalOcean Kubernetes

DigitalOcean Kubernetes is a managed Kubernetes service that automates the deployment and management of a Kubernetes cluster. It handles the control plane so users can focus on deploying and scaling containerized applications. The product supports spinning up GPU-powered environments and scaling workloads. DOKS includes the control plane, bandwidth allowance, container registry, and automatic updates. DOKS is CNCF certified and integrates with the CNCF landscape of open-source software.

Products

HA control plane: High availability option that can be added to clusters.
Cluster Autoscaler: Scales clusters up to 1,000 nodes.
Nodepool Scale-to-Zero: Automatically scales node pools to zero when idle.

Used for

Spinning up GPU-powered environments
Scaling workloads
Automating infrastructure and software delivery
Adding a GPU worker node to a cluster
Upgrading Kubernetes on-demand or automatically

Who it is for

Start-ups
Digital native enterprises
Developers and businesses deploying and scaling containerized applications

From DigitalOcean Kubernetes's own website, read 2026-10-23. How we build listings.

How to evaluate Containers & Kubernetes

This is how the CIOPages Research Team evaluates this category. It is not an assessment of DigitalOcean Kubernetes. It comes from our Kubernetes Platforms buyer guide.

25%

Control Plane & Day-2 Lifecycle

Managed vs. self-managed control plane and its SLA; how Kubernetes version upgrades roll (in-place, surge, blue-green) and how disruptive they are to running pods; long-term-support version options; CVE patch cadence and how quickly fixes reach the fleet; automated node remediation and certificate rotation

20%

Fleet & Multi-Cluster Management

Single console and API to govern many clusters across clouds, on-prem, and edge; declarative cluster lifecycle and config (Cluster API or equivalent); fleet-wide policy and drift detection; zero-touch provisioning for edge; whether it manages clusters it did not create (imported/attached) or only its own

20%

Security & Compliance

Default-deny posture and admission control (Pod Security, OPA/Kyverno); image scanning and signing in the supply chain; RBAC plus OIDC/enterprise-identity integration; network policy and microsegmentation; CIS-benchmark conformance, audit logging, and FedRAMP/FIPS coverage where regulated

15%

Networking, Storage & Service Mesh

CNI options and how locked-in the default is; ingress and gateway controllers with TLS, rate-limiting, and WAF; CSI drivers for block/file/object and stateful-workload maturity; service mesh integration (Istio, Linkerd, Cilium); cross-cluster connectivity and load balancing

10%

Developer Experience & Self-Service

Namespace and cluster self-service vs. ticket-based provisioning; GitOps support (Argo CD, Flux) as a first-class workflow; developer portal and golden-path integration (Backstage or built-in console); IDE plugins and local-dev parity; how opinionated the platform is about how teams ship

10%

Cost, Portability & Commercial Model

Licensing unit (per-core, per-node, per-cluster, consumption) and how it scales with you; control-plane and extended-support fees; realistic exit cost and how provider-shaped the abstractions are; GPU/AI scheduling support; ecosystem breadth (operators, Helm, marketplace) and how much you must self-integrate

Other Containers & Kubernetes Vendors

View all

AKS Engine for Azure Stack

Accordion

Alauda Container Platform (ACP)

Alibaba Cloud Container Service for Kubernetes

Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS)

Amazon Elastic Container Service for Kubernetes (EKS)

CIOPages put this listing together from public sources. It’s information, not an endorsement. How we build listings. Work here? Claim this listing or .

Quick Facts

www.digitalocean.com/products/kubernetes

CategoryCloud Infrastructure

SubcategoryContainers & Kubernetes

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