Comparison · checked 28 October 2026
Litehost vs DigitalOcean.
A droplet is cheap until you count the evenings: installing PHP, wiring Supervisor, renewing certificates and patching the OS. Laravel Hosting is the same app with the server taken off your plate. Below is the full comparison, including the parts DigitalOcean wins.
Redis and PostgreSQL on every plan · free app migration · billed yearly
The bill
What the server costs, and what it leaves to you
A DigitalOcean server arrives empty. Laravel Premium arrives with PHP, Redis, PostgreSQL and workers running, 2 GB of memory and five sites.
| Litehost Laravel Premium | DigitalOcean | |
|---|---|---|
| Server | Laravel Premium, 2 GB | Basic droplet, 2 GB, 2 vCPU, $18 a month |
| Setup and upkeep | Included | Your time |
| Per year | ₦ 39,000 (about $28) | $216 |
From digitalocean.com/pricing/droplets. A 1 vCPU 2 GB droplet is $12 a month; backups add 20% (weekly) or 30% (daily). Checked 28 October 2026; prices exclude VAT and change often, so check theirs before you decide.
Who does what
The jobs that come with a server
| Job | Litehost | DigitalOcean, by hand |
|---|---|---|
| What you get on day one | PHP 8.4, Redis, PostgreSQL and MySQL, ready | An empty Linux server |
| OS and security updates | Ours | Yours |
| Queue worker and scheduler | Set up for you | You write the Supervisor and cron config |
| SSL certificates | Free and automatic | You install and renew them |
| Root access | No, a shell in your site’s container | Yes |
| Choice of region | Ours | Yours |
| When the server breaks at 3am | Our problem | Yours |
| App and database migration | Free on every plan | You move it yourself |
Scroll the table sideways to compare →
The honest part
Where DigitalOcean is stronger
If one of these is what you need, they are the better choice and you should take it.
The whole machine is yours: root, any stack, and no other customers inside your memory limit.
Regions on several continents, and resizing to much larger machines in minutes.
Managed databases, load balancers and object storage when the app outgrows one box.
Hourly and monthly billing, where we bill once a year.
Switching
We move the app for you, free
App and database migration is free on every Laravel plan. Open a ticket with your repo and server details, we copy the app, database and .env across, you check it on a preview URL, and nothing changes on your DigitalOcean machine until you point the domain at us.
Keep the app. Drop the server.
Redis, PostgreSQL, the queue worker and scheduler set up within one business day. Free migration and 24/7 human support.
