DigitalOcean offers two storage products that newcomers often confuse. They are not competing options; they answer different questions.
The distinction
| Volumes (block) | Spaces (object) | |
|---|---|---|
| Looks like | A disk attached to one Droplet | An HTTP API with buckets and keys |
| Access | Filesystem, one Droplet at a time | Many clients over the network |
| Good for | Databases, application data, anything needing a filesystem | Images, backups, static assets, user uploads |
| Bad for | Sharing between many servers | Anything expecting POSIX file semantics |
When to use Volumes
Use a Volume when software expects a real filesystem: a database data directory, a search index, or an application writing files it will read back with normal file operations.
Volumes attach to one Droplet at a time. That is a hard constraint, and it means a Volume is not the way to share files across a fleet.
When to use Spaces
Use Spaces for anything many clients read, or anything you want to keep independently of a server’s lifetime:
- User uploads that must survive instance replacement.
- Static assets served through the built-in CDN.
- Database dumps and application backups.
- Build artefacts and logs.
Spaces speaks an S3-compatible API, so most existing tooling and libraries work with only an endpoint change.
The architectural point
Storing user uploads on the Droplet’s local disk is the mistake that causes the most pain later. It couples your data to one machine, blocks horizontal scaling, and turns instance replacement into a data migration.
Putting uploads in Spaces from the start makes servers disposable, which is the property that makes everything else easier.
Billing shape
- Volumes bill by provisioned size, whether or not you fill them.
- Spaces bill a base rate including an allowance of storage and transfer, with overage beyond it.
- Both count toward account resource limits, so check your tier if you plan many Volumes. See Droplet limits.
Snapshots and backups are different again
A snapshot is a point-in-time image of a Droplet or Volume, billed by size, useful for cloning and recovery. Automated backups are scheduled Droplet snapshots. Neither replaces sending important data to Spaces or off-platform, because a snapshot in the same account shares the account’s fate.
Comparable services elsewhere
The same split exists on every platform: EBS and S3 on AWS, Persistent Disk and Cloud Storage on Google Cloud, Managed Disks and Blob Storage on Azure. Choosing DigitalOcean over those is usually about simplicity and predictable pricing rather than capability. See AWS vs DigitalOcean.
Our DigitalOcean accounts cover four configurations from $25.
Common questions
Can two Droplets mount the same Volume?
No. Use Spaces, or a network filesystem you run yourself.
Is Spaces bandwidth free?
An allowance is included and overage is billed. CDN delivery draws from the same allowance.
Can I shrink a Volume?
Volumes can be increased but not decreased. Create a smaller one and migrate if you need to shrink.