VPS Network Latency & Pricing Compared: AWS vs DigitalOcean vs Hostinger
A practical comparison of network latency and pricing between AWS, DigitalOcean, and Hostinger for US-based deployments — benchmarks, bandwidth costs, and which provider fits which use case.
Choosing a VPS provider usually starts with pricing. But if your app serves real users, network latency matters just as much — and the cheapest option isn’t always the best value once you factor in bandwidth costs and response times.
I dug into benchmark data and pricing for AWS, DigitalOcean, and Hostinger to see how they actually compare for US-based deployments. Here’s what I found.
Network Performance Benchmarks
VPSBenchmarks grades network performance based on Speedtest and Iperf3 upload/download transfer speeds. Here’s how each provider scores:
| Provider | Plan | Network Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | c7i.large | C | 11.8 / 20 |
| AWS | m7i.2xlarge | C | 11.9 / 20 |
| AWS | m7a.2xlarge | C | 11.1 / 20 |
| DigitalOcean | Basic 2GB | D | 9.4 / 20 |
| Hostinger | KVM 8 | D | 7.9 / 20 |
| Hostinger | KVM 4 | D | 7.4 / 20 |
| Hostinger | KVM 2 | E | 5.9 / 20 |
| Hostinger | KVM 1 | E | 5.2 / 20 |
None of these providers are network performance champions — but the ranking is clear: AWS > DigitalOcean > Hostinger.
Why AWS Wins on Latency
AWS has 38 regions with 120 availability zones globally. In the US alone, there are multiple regions (Virginia, Ohio, Oregon, Northern California). DigitalOcean has 3 US data centers (NYC, SFO x2). Hostinger has roughly 1-2 US locations.
More data centers closer to your users means lower latency. It’s that simple.
AWS also offers sub-millisecond latency between availability zones in the same region, enhanced networking (ENA) on all current-gen instances, and a global backbone with optimized routing. In global web response testing, AWS earned an A+ grade compared to Hostinger’s B.
Hostinger’s International Weakness
Hostinger performs well for US-to-US traffic (~0.089s response time), but degrades significantly for international requests:
| Destination | Hostinger | AWS |
|---|---|---|
| US | 0.089s | Fast |
| Sydney | 2.030s | Fast |
| Singapore | 2.445s | Fast |
If you’re serving a global audience, this matters. AWS’s worldwide infrastructure keeps response times consistent regardless of where users are.
Pricing: Plan-by-Plan Comparison
Here’s where it gets interesting. The cheapest provider on the sticker price isn’t necessarily cheapest once you’re running.
Entry Level (~1-2 vCPU, 2-4 GB RAM)
| Hostinger KVM 1 | DigitalOcean Basic | AWS EC2 t3.small | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price/mo | $4.99 | $8 | $15.18 |
| vCPUs | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| RAM | 4 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| Storage | 50 GB NVMe | 50 GB SSD | EBS (extra cost) |
| Transfer | 4 TB | 2 TB | 100 GB free, then $0.09/GB |
| Network Grade | E (5.2/20) | D (9.4/20) | C (~11/20) |
Mid Tier (~2 vCPU, 4-8 GB RAM)
| Hostinger KVM 2 | DigitalOcean Premium | AWS EC2 c7i.large | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price/mo | $6.99 | $14 | $65.19 |
| vCPUs | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| RAM | 8 GB | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Storage | 100 GB NVMe | 50 GB NVMe | EBS (extra cost) |
| Transfer | 8 TB | 3 TB | 100 GB free, then $0.09/GB |
| Network Grade | E (5.9/20) | D (9.4/20) | C (11.8/20) |
Higher Tier (~4-8 vCPU)
| Hostinger KVM 8 | DO CPU-Optimized | AWS EC2 m7i.2xlarge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price/mo | $19.99 | $84 | $295.79 |
| vCPUs | 8 | 4 | 8 |
| RAM | 32 GB | 8 GB | 32 GB |
| Storage | 400 GB NVMe | 50 GB SSD | EBS (extra cost) |
| Transfer | 32 TB | 4 TB | 100 GB free, then $0.09/GB |
| Network Grade | D (7.9/20) | D (9.4/20) | C (11.9/20) |
Hostinger gives you dramatically more RAM and storage per dollar. At the high end, you get 32 GB RAM and 400 GB NVMe for $20/month — a comparable AWS instance runs nearly $300/month.
The Hidden Cost: Bandwidth
Compute pricing is only half the story. Bandwidth is where AWS can quietly destroy your budget.
| Provider | Included Transfer | Overage Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Hostinger | 4-32 TB (by plan) | Throttled (no overage charge) |
| DigitalOcean | 2-4 TB (by plan) | $0.01/GB |
| AWS | 100 GB free/mo | $0.09/GB (first 10 TB) |
AWS charges 9x more per GB of overage than DigitalOcean, and Hostinger doesn’t charge overage at all.
What 1 TB of Egress Actually Costs
| Provider | Cost for 1 TB Egress |
|---|---|
| Hostinger | $0 (included) |
| DigitalOcean | ~$10 |
| AWS | ~$92 |
At 5 TB/month — a realistic number for a moderately trafficked web app — the bandwidth bill alone would be:
- Hostinger: $0
- DigitalOcean: ~$10-30
- AWS: ~$450
That AWS bandwidth cost can exceed the compute cost itself.
Which Provider Fits Which Use Case?
| Use Case | Recommendation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Side projects, blogs, small apps | Hostinger | Can’t beat $5-7/month with generous RAM |
| Dev/staging environments | DigitalOcean | Simple pricing, good DX, decent network |
| Small SaaS, API backends | DigitalOcean | Middle ground on cost and latency |
| Production with low-latency requirements | AWS | Best network, most US regions |
| High-bandwidth apps (media, downloads) | Hostinger or DigitalOcean | AWS egress costs will kill you |
| Global audience | AWS | Only option with consistent worldwide latency |
Key Takeaways
- Network performance ranking is AWS > DigitalOcean > Hostinger, which roughly tracks with pricing — you get what you pay for
- AWS is 5-15x more expensive than Hostinger for comparable specs, and bandwidth costs can double or triple the bill
- Hostinger gives the most resources per dollar (4 GB RAM at $5/month vs 2 GB for $8-15 elsewhere), but has the weakest network performance
- DigitalOcean is the sweet spot for US-targeted apps where you need decent latency without enterprise pricing
- Bandwidth is the hidden variable — AWS’s $0.09/GB egress adds up fast and is the single biggest reason to consider alternatives
- For US-only traffic, Hostinger’s latency is adequate (~0.089s response time) despite lower benchmark scores — most users won’t notice the difference for standard web apps
- None of these providers top the charts on raw network benchmarks — if latency is truly critical, Vultr and Hetzner tend to score higher
Resources
- VPSBenchmarks: AWS vs Hostinger
- VPSBenchmarks: DigitalOcean vs Hostinger
- AWS EC2 Pricing
- DigitalOcean Droplet Pricing
- Hostinger VPS Plans
- Cloud Ping Test (DigitalOcean)
- AWS Latency Test
Published: February 2026