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Cloud hosting · November 2026 Edition
Amazon Web Services vs DigitalOcean Droplets
Seven of fourteen models named Amazon Web Services first on the direct prompt; one named DigitalOcean Droplets. Both were named by all fourteen models and Amazon Web Services carries 61 labels and DigitalOcean Droplets 51, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in six categories this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share28%24%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate18%4%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#3A position in a field of 14; printed, not drawn.
Labels6151A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Amazon Web Services reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Microsoft Azure was named alongside these two in eleven of the fourteen direct answers. Microsoft Azure vs Amazon Web Services · Microsoft Azure vs DigitalOcean Droplets · Amazon Web Services vs Akamai Connected Cloud
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the cloud hosting page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Amazon Web ServicesFirst choices, of fourteen modelsDigitalOcean Droplets
Direct71
Paraphrase901 against DigitalOcean Droplets
Comparative110
Budget-constrained0133 against Amazon Web Services
Scale-constrained001 against Amazon Web Services
Negative117 against Amazon Web Services · 1 against DigitalOcean Droplets
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Amazon Web Services and DigitalOcean Droplets were named in the same answer 113 times, of the 196 answers naming Amazon Web Services and the 136 naming DigitalOcean Droplets. In those answers DigitalOcean Droplets took the first choice thirty-nine times and Amazon Web Services thirty-three.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Amazon Web Services and DigitalOcean Droplets stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | | ||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | | | |
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | | ||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | | | ||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | | |
| Kimi K2 | | | | | ||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | | |
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | | | |
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | | | |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | |
Amazon Web Services DigitalOcean Droplets first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Amazon Web Services on the left and DigitalOcean Droplets on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Amazon Web Services and DigitalOcean Droplets stood in it.
Amazon Web Services first, DigitalOcean Droplets an alternative
7 of 14 modelsDigitalOcean Droplets was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Gemini 3.5 FlashAmazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure alternatives: Cloudreach, Google Cloud, Mission Cloud, Rackspace Technology
Grok 4.20Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure alternatives: Akamai Connected Cloud, Atlantic.Net, DigitalOcean Droplets, Effectual, Expedient, Google Cloud, RapidScale
Mistral SmallAmazon Web Services alternatives: Akamai's Linode, DigitalOcean Droplets, Expedient, RapidScale
DeepSeek V4 FlashAmazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure alternatives: Akamai Connected Cloud, Atlantic.Net, DigitalOcean Droplets, Expedient, RapidScale
Llama 4 MaverickAmazon Web Services alternatives: DigitalOcean Droplets, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure
GPT-6 LunaAmazon Web Services alternatives: Azure, Google Cloud
Muse Glimmer 30BAmazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure alternatives: Akamai's Linode, Atlantic.Net, DigitalOcean Droplets, RapidScale
DigitalOcean Droplets first, Amazon Web Services an alternative
1 of 14 modelsAmazon Web Services was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GLM 4.7 FlashXAkamai Connected Cloud, Atlantic.Net, Cloudways, DigitalOcean Droplets alternatives: Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure
Neither was the first choice, one was named
6 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Claude Haiku 4.5Atlantic.Net alternatives: Amazon Web Services, Cloudways, Hosting.com
GPT-5.4 miniMicrosoft Azure alternatives: Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud
Perplexity SonarMicrosoft Azure alternatives: Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud
Qwen 3.7 FlashMicrosoft Azure alternatives: Amazon Web Services, DigitalOcean Droplets, Google Cloud
Kimi K2Microsoft Azure alternatives: Amazon Web Services, DigitalOcean Droplets, Google Cloud, Vultr
MiniMax M2.5Microsoft Azure alternatives: Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
DigitalOcean Droplets leads by forty-five points.
DigitalOcean Droplets55%#1 of 14Amazon Web Services9%#2 of 14Mid-marketThe figures above
The order flips: Amazon Web Services leads at mid-market.
Amazon Web Services28%#2 of 14DigitalOcean Droplets24%#3 of 14Enterprise
Amazon Web Services leads by forty-three points.
Amazon Web Services45%#1 of 8DigitalOcean Droplets2%#4 of 8What the models said about Amazon Web Services
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Avoid big providers like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud unless you're using their free tiers” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · hard negative
“Hyperscalers (AWS/Azure/GCP) can charge heavy fees to move data out of their network... High complexity; requires dedicated FinOps/DevOps; egress fees and support plans can be expensive.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · scale prompt · soft negative
“Choose AWS/Azure/GCP only if you need their broader enterprise ecosystem... enough to justify the added cost/complexity.” GPT-5.4 mini · budget prompt · soft negative
“Largest and most mature cloud platform with 200+ services... Choose AWS if you need the most services, global coverage, and proven reliability” Kimi K2 · comparative prompt · first choice
“Dominates with 200+ services, massive global infrastructure... Best for enterprises and developers needing unlimited scalability.” MiniMax M2.5 · comparative prompt · first choice
“AWS is generally the most mature and broadest cloud platform... usually the default choice if you want the widest service catalog” GPT-5.4 mini · comparative prompt · first choice
What the models said about DigitalOcean Droplets
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of six in this category shown.
“Avoid hyperspecialized ones like Alibaba or DigitalOcean” Grok 4.20 · paraphrase prompt · hard negative
“many users complain that their support is limited to ticket-based systems with slow response times during outages” Qwen 3.7 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“consider alternative cloud hosting providers that offer more transparent pricing and better customer support, such as DigitalOcean, Ionos, and HostColor.com” Llama 4 Maverick · negative prompt · first choice
“either a managed provider like Cloudways or Atlantic.Net, or a simplified hyperscaler approach (DigitalOcean or Linode) offers the best balance” GLM 4.7 FlashX · direct prompt · first choice
“Best Overall Value & Predictable Pricing ... DigitalOcean ... Flat, predictable monthly billing with clear resource limits.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
Also compared
Microsoft Azure vs Amazon Web ServicesMicrosoft Azure vs DigitalOcean DropletsAmazon Web Services vs Akamai Connected CloudAmazon Web Services vs Atlantic.NetAmazon Web Services vs VultrAmazon Web Services vs CloudwaysAmazon Web Services vs HostingerDigitalOcean Droplets vs Akamai Connected CloudDigitalOcean Droplets vs Atlantic.NetDigitalOcean Droplets vs VultrDigitalOcean Droplets vs CloudwaysDigitalOcean Droplets vs HostingerAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full cloud hosting standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.