The comparison table
| Criterion | DigitalOcean Hatch | AWS Activate |
|---|---|---|
| Max credit | $100,000 | $100,000 |
| Validity | 12 months | 24 months |
| Partner required | No (just under 5 years, <$5M raised) | Yes for $100k tier |
| Self-serve tier | None — but easier eligibility | $1,000 (Founders, instant) |
| Approval time | ~7 days | 5–10 days |
| Mentorship included | Yes | Architecture reviews only |
| Service breadth | ~30 services (focused) | 200+ services |
| Best for | Indie founders, simpler stacks | Accelerator-backed, AWS-native teams |
| Pricing on overage | Predictable, flat | Complex, savings-plans matter |
Which to apply for first
If you're a solo or bootstrapped founder without an accelerator: DigitalOcean Hatch is the only way to get $100k of cloud credit without a VC. Apply for it first.
If you're YC-, Techstars-, or partner-VC-backed: Apply for AWS Activate Portfolio ($100k, 24 months) and DigitalOcean Hatch ($100k, 12 months) — they stack to $200k. Use AWS for Bedrock and complex services; use DO for simpler services + dev/staging environments.
If you need credits today and can't wait for partner approval: AWS Activate Founders ($1k self-serve, instant) gets you started while you apply for the larger tiers.
A $100k credit on each — what does that buy?
$100k of credit doesn't buy the same compute on both platforms. Rough equivalents on standard 2025 list pricing:
- $100k of DigitalOcean ≈ ~12,000 droplet-hours of 16-core/32GB compute, or ~10TB-years of managed Postgres.
- $100k of AWS ≈ ~9,000 hours of equivalent EC2 compute (m6i.4xlarge), or ~7TB-years of equivalent RDS — but with savings plans you can stretch it further.
DigitalOcean wins on raw price/performance for predictable workloads. AWS wins when you need niche services or want to invest in long-term Reserved/Savings commitments later.
Frequently asked questions
DigitalOcean Hatch or AWS Activate — which gives more credit?
Both offer up to $100,000. AWS Activate credits last 24 months; DigitalOcean Hatch credits last 12 months. DigitalOcean has looser eligibility (no VC required); AWS Portfolio tier requires an approved accelerator or VC partner.
Can I get DigitalOcean Hatch without a VC?
Yes. DigitalOcean Hatch only requires that your startup is under 5 years old, has raised less than $5M, and isn't currently a paying DigitalOcean customer. No VC or accelerator partner is required.
Should I pick AWS or DigitalOcean for my startup?
For indie or bootstrapped founders: DigitalOcean — easier eligibility, predictable pricing, included mentorship. For accelerator-backed startups using Bedrock or 200+ specialized AWS services: AWS. For maximum runway: stack both ($200k combined).
Does $100,000 of DigitalOcean credit buy more than $100,000 of AWS?
For raw compute and managed databases, yes — DigitalOcean is roughly 25–35% cheaper than AWS list price. AWS Reserved/Savings plans narrow the gap. For specialized services (Bedrock, SageMaker, Ground Station), only AWS has them.