How to Cancel DigitalOcean in 2026 — Destroy Droplets First or Keep Getting Billed

Updated February 2026 • 5 min read

Step 1: Destroy All Resources

1. Go to cloud.digitalocean.com
2. Check every section in the left sidebar:
   • Droplets → Destroy each one
   • Kubernetes → Delete clusters
   • Databases → Destroy each one
   • Spaces (Object Storage) → Delete buckets
   • App Platform → Delete apps
   • Load Balancers → Delete each one
   • Volumes → Delete (detach from Droplets first)
   • Floating IPs → Release
   • Domains → Remove (or transfer first)
   • Firewalls → Delete
3. Check Settings → Billing → verify $0.00 projected charges

Step 2: Before Destroying — Migrate Your Data

• Websites/apps: Migrate to new hosting first (Vercel, Railway, Fly.io, Hetzner)
• Databases: Export via pg_dump or mysqldump
• DNS: Update nameservers at your registrar BEFORE removing DO DNS
• Spaces files: Download via s3cmd sync or the web interface
• SSH keys: Already on your local machine (nothing to migrate)

Step 3: Close Your Account

1. Destroy ALL resources (verify $0 projected billing)
2. Go to Settings → Account
3. Scroll to bottom → Deactivate account
4. Confirm — this disables API keys and removes access

The Zombie Resource Problem

The #1 way people waste money on DigitalOcean:

• Created a $5/month Droplet for a side project 2 years ago
• Forgot about it
• That's $120 wasted on a server running nothing
• Add a forgotten managed database ($15/mo) = $480 wasted

Right now: Log into DigitalOcean and check your resource list. If anything is running that you don't actively use, destroy it today.

Cheaper Cloud Alternatives

• Hetzner: Same performance at 50-70% lower cost (€3.79/mo for comparable Droplet)
• Vultr: Similar to DO, competitive pricing, more data center locations
• Oracle Cloud Free Tier: 2 AMD VMs + 4 ARM cores free forever — genuinely free, not a trial
• Fly.io: Free tier with 3 shared VMs — great for small apps
• Railway: $5/mo credit free tier — deploy from GitHub in minutes
• Vercel/Netlify: Free for static sites and serverless — no server management

Get a Refund

• DigitalOcean generally doesn't refund usage charges
• If billed for resources you thought were destroyed: contact support with evidence
• Promo credit issues: contact support@digitalocean.com
• Unauthorized charges (compromised account): contact support immediately + change password + enable 2FA