7 best DigitalOcean GPU & Paperspace alternatives for AI workloads in 2026
Blog post from Northflank
DigitalOcean's GPU Droplets allow users to attach NVIDIA GPUs to cloud instances for various AI tasks, and with Paperspace now integrated into DigitalOcean, the platform offers enhanced GPU hosting solutions. However, for teams running AI workloads at scale, several alternatives provide broader infrastructure support beyond basic GPU hosting. These alternatives include Northflank, RunPod, Lambda Cloud, Modal, Baseten, AnyScale, and Vast.ai, each offering unique features such as multi-service orchestration, secure runtimes, spot pricing, and support for various AI workloads. Northflank stands out for its support of full-stack AI applications, enabling deployment of GPUs alongside APIs, databases, and background jobs within a secure, scalable environment. While DigitalOcean and Paperspace are ideal for individual training jobs, teams looking to build production-grade systems with more complex requirements may find these alternative platforms offer the flexibility and comprehensive infrastructure needed to support their AI applications effectively.