Guides
DigitalOcean and AWS Lightsail built a following around the simple cloud server: choose a size, get an IP address, pay as you go by the hour. NABHCLOUD runs the same style of server from an Indian company, on our own network, out of a Noida datacentre, priced in rupees with a proper GST tax invoice. This page lines up their offerings against ours, points out what matters for a buyer based in India, and walks through moving a running server over.
This page updates automatically from our live rate card, listed in INR, before GST is added.
View VPS plans — billed hourly, GST invoice included, ready to use within a minute.
How the products line up
- Droplet or Lightsail instance → our cloud server, a KVM-based VPS available as a ready plan on the VPS page or built to any vCPU, RAM and NVMe combination through the server builder.
- Spaces or Lightsail object storage → S3 Advance, our S3-compatible object storage held in the same Indian region.
- DigitalOcean Kubernetes → our managed Kubernetes, on the same rate card as the rest of our plans.
- App Platform or Lightsail containers → App Hosting, where you deploy straight from Git or upload a folder, with a free Hobby tier.
- Snapshots → every plan already includes one snapshot per VM.
What changes for a buyer in India
- Currency and tax: DigitalOcean and Lightsail quote in US dollars. With us, every listed price is in rupees before tax; 18% GST is added at checkout, and you get a tax invoice carrying your GSTIN that shows up in your GSTR-2B. See GST billing.
- Payment methods: UPI, Indian debit or credit cards, net banking, or a prepaid wallet balance.
- CPU and memory: entry-level Droplets run on shared vCPUs, and Lightsail instances are burstable. On our side, every server is a dedicated VM — its compute and memory stay set aside for it alone, with no overcommitment.
- How billing works: you're charged for each hour you start, with a one-hour minimum, or you can switch to a monthly plan priced 30% under the hourly rate, up to a 36-month term priced 65% under it. Ending a term early sends the unused balance back to your wallet.
- Included by default: a public IPv4 address, a 1 Gbps port, one snapshot, and Cloudflare Magic Transit DDoS protection on every plan.
- Jurisdiction: the company, our network (AS152523) and the Noida datacentre are all based in India, so your data stays under Indian law. See India cloud.
Where DigitalOcean or Lightsail may still be the better fit
Worth knowing the limits before switching over. Noida is our only live region right now, with Mumbai and Chennai planned next; if you need servers spread across several countries, a global provider covers more ground. We don't sell physical dedicated servers or rent out GPU machines. Every account must finish eKYC before the first server goes live, as CERT-In requires of providers in India — a one-time check that takes only a few minutes.
Switching a server from DigitalOcean or Lightsail
- Open an account and finish eKYC
Verify once using Aadhaar/DigiLocker or an ID document, and add your GSTIN so every invoice includes it.
- Launch a matching size on hourly billing
Choose an equivalent plan on the VPS page or match the exact specs on the builder, running the same Linux distribution.
- Transfer your data
Use rsync over SSH for files, a database dump and restore for your DB, and an S3 client to move buckets into S3 Advance.
- Test it, then repoint DNS
Aim a test hostname at the new server, check that the application works, then move your live DNS records.
- Lock in a term once settled
From the control panel, convert the server to a monthly or longer term; the VM, IP address and disk don't change.
Questions on this guide
Is there an Indian alternative to DigitalOcean?
Yes. NABHCLOUD sells KVM cloud servers out of a Noida datacentre on our own Indian network, priced in rupees before GST, billed either hourly or on a term, with a GST tax invoice included. Current plans and prices are shown on this page.
What is the Indian alternative to an AWS Lightsail instance?
A NABHCLOUD cloud server: a fixed-size KVM VPS with a public IPv4 address, NVMe storage, a snapshot and DDoS protection built in. Current hourly and monthly prices are shown on this page.
Are the vCPUs shared, like on a basic Droplet?
No. Each server is a dedicated VM, so its compute and memory stay reserved for it alone, with no overcommitment.
Do the listed prices include GST?
No. Prices are shown before tax; 18% GST gets added at checkout and on the tax invoice, which a GST-registered business can claim as input credit.
Can I pay by UPI instead of an international card?
Yes. You can top up your wallet or pay for a term using UPI, Indian cards or net banking, in rupees.
Do you offer GPU instances or dedicated hardware?
No. We don't rent GPU servers or sell physical dedicated servers. Every server we offer is a dedicated VM with reserved vCPU and RAM.