DigitalOcean startup credits: 12 months of credits (2026)

I quick answer

DigitalOcean's startup offer: not published (award set per partner; Jan 2025 press release said up to $100,000).

No equity, no fees. No referral needed; apply directly.

Stage fit: Pre-seed to Series A. Difficulty: easy.

II key facts

DigitalOcean at a glance

Max value: Not published (award set per partner; Jan 2025 press release said up to $100,000)
Stage fit: Pre-seed to Series A
Takes equity: No
Who files it: You (no code needed)
Geography: Global; no country restrictions published.
Referral needed: No
Difficulty: Easy
Review time: Not published
Credits expire: Credits expire 12 months after acceptance.

III available programs and tiers

What DigitalOcean actually gives you

Core credits
12 months of DigitalOcean credits; the amount is stated in your onboarding email, and participants are generally entitled to a $10,000 monthly limit (use above that is charged to your card). The current page says the credit amount 'varies' and publishes no dollar ceiling; the January 2025 Hatch press release said up to $100,000 in compute credits.
All accepted startups; DigitalOcean says credits are awarded through approved partners (VCs, accelerators, incubators), and unaffiliated startups apply by selecting 'Other'
GPU credits (Early-Stage Boost)
Separate GPU credit package; amount not published. Core credits do not cover GPU Droplets, H100 Kubernetes or Bare Metal GPUs.
Select accepted startups invited to submit a separate GPU credit application; acceptance into the program does not guarantee it
Support
15 months of Standard-tier paid support at no cost, plus one-on-ones with DigitalOcean product managers and engineers
All accepted startups
Welcome Kit partner perks
Stripe Atlas 20% off; QuickNode up to $5,000 credit; 100ms $2,500; Airtable $2,000; Bolster $1,000; Miro $1,000; Notion $1,000 toward Team or Enterprise plan; Cloud66 $500; Mercury $500 cash on $50k deposit; HubSpot up to 90% off year one; Chargebee free until $1M revenue or processed value; Shortcut 2 months free of the paid Standard plan; Ovvy 90 days free
All accepted startups, via the Welcome Kit sent after acceptance
Migration credits
Migration plans, technical assistance and credits to help migrate your customers from other public clouds to DigitalOcean; amount and terms not published
Startups helping their own customers move workloads to DigitalOcean from another public cloud

IV eligibility

Who qualifies

You likely qualify if

Your company has raised $10 million or less in total funding
You build a product (software, AI, SaaS, etc.), not a service business
You have a live company website and a company email address on that same domain
Your company has never received or used DigitalOcean credits before
You create a new DigitalOcean team account (not a personal account) with your company email and a valid credit card before applying
AI-native startups are prioritized, but AI is not a requirement

You won't qualify if

Service-based businesses: consulting firms, web/app development shops, marketing agencies and similar
Companies that have raised more than $10 million
Companies that already received DigitalOcean credits in the past
Accounts opened with a personal email (Gmail, etc.) instead of a company-domain email
Workloads for cryptocurrency mining or that consume excessive network, CPU or disk I/O
Reselling or sublicensing DigitalOcean or third-party products under the program, or using DigitalOcean products to provide services to others unless separately agreed
Credits cannot be spent (as of May 13, 2026) on GPU Droplets, NVIDIA H100 GPU Kubernetes, Bare Metal GPUs, Dedicated Inference, Serverless Inference or third-party AI models hosted outside DigitalOcean (including Anthropic and OpenAI), Paperspace Machines, Cloudways, or any third-party pass-through charges

Geography. Global; no country restrictions published. The partner directory lists VCs, accelerators, incubators, corporate, university and government programs. The current Startups Program Terms of Service are governed by Colorado law (courts of Denver County, Colorado).

V how to apply

How to apply to DigitalOcean Startups (formerly Hatch)

01Create a new DigitalOcean team account using an email on your company domain and add a valid credit card (required before applying).
02Check the partner directory at digitalocean.com/startups/partners. If your VC, accelerator or incubator is listed, ask your program manager there what award level they offer.
03Fill in the application form at sammydigitalocean.typeform.com/hatch. If you have no partner, select "Other" when asked for your affiliated partner organization.
04Wait for a decision; DigitalOcean can accept or reject applications at its sole discretion. If accepted, your onboarding email states your exact credit amount and the 12-month term starts from acceptance.
05Claim partner perks through the Welcome Kit. If invited, submit the separate GPU credit application for GPU credits.
06Email startups@digitalocean.com if you are unsure whether a service is covered by credits.

Review time: Not published. The application is a short online form with no pitch deck, interview or demo day mentioned; the award is disclosed in the onboarding email.. Apply at sammydigitalocean.typeform.com/hatch.

VI what changed

What changed in 2025 and 2026

May 11, 2026: DigitalOcean's Hatch terms page was updated to state Hatch is "no longer an active program" and has been replaced by the DigitalOcean Startups Program (brand retired); the replacement Startups Program Terms of Service were also last updated May 11, 2026 and are governed by Colorado law. digitalocean.com/hatch and /hatch/partners now redirect to /startups and /startups/partners, and the Typeform application is still live. May 13, 2026: the covered-services list was updated to exclude GPU Droplets, H100 Kubernetes, Bare Metal GPUs, Dedicated and Serverless Inference (including Anthropic/OpenAI models), Paperspace and Cloudways from core credits. The current page no longer publishes a dollar ceiling; the "up to $100,000 in compute credits" figure dates from the January 22, 2025 Hatch announcement.

May 11, 2026DigitalOcean Hatch became the DigitalOcean Startups Program

Dated change log for every program →

VII stacks well with

Hold these alongside DigitalOcean

VIII the AWS angle

DigitalOcean credits and your AWS bill

DigitalOcean is a competing cloud, so these credits cannot be spent on AWS; they can sit alongside AWS Activate if you split workloads (for example Droplets and managed databases on DigitalOcean, Bedrock and regulated workloads on AWS). DigitalOcean core credits explicitly exclude third-party AI model inference (Anthropic, OpenAI) and all GPU products, whereas AWS Activate credits can generally be applied to eligible Amazon Bedrock usage (confirm the covered-model list with AWS). DigitalOcean also says it has migration plans, technical assistance and credits to help startups move their own customers from other public clouds, amounts not published.

IXfaq

DigitalOcean startup credits, answered

How much does DigitalOcean give startups?

DigitalOcean's startup offer: not published (award set per partner; Jan 2025 press release said up to $100,000). There are 5 tiers: Core credits: 12 months of DigitalOcean credits; GPU credits (Early-Stage Boost): Separate GPU credit package; Support: 15 months of Standard-tier paid support at no cost, plus one-on-ones with DigitalOcean product managers and engineers; Welcome Kit partner perks: Stripe Atlas 20% off; Migration credits: Migration plans, technical assistance and credits to help migrate your customers from other public clouds to DigitalOcean.

Does DigitalOcean take equity?

No. DigitalOcean Startups (formerly Hatch) is a credits program, not an investment; you keep 100% of your company. No referral needed; apply directly.

Who qualifies for DigitalOcean Startups (formerly Hatch)?

Stage fit: Pre-seed to Series A (raised $10M or less). You usually qualify if: your company has raised $10 million or less in total funding; you build a product (software, AI, SaaS, etc.), not a service business; you have a live company website and a company email address on that same domain. You will not qualify if: service-based businesses: consulting firms, web/app development shops, marketing agencies and similar; companies that have raised more than $10 million.

How long does DigitalOcean take to approve credits?

Not published. The application is a short online form with no pitch deck, interview or demo day mentioned; the award is disclosed in the onboarding email. Difficulty: easy, a short form, no referral for the base tier.

When do DigitalOcean credits expire?

Credits expire 12 months after acceptance. Unused credits are forfeited, no extensions are granted, and credits are non-transferable.

Can I combine DigitalOcean credits with AWS credits?

DigitalOcean is a competing cloud, so these credits cannot be spent on AWS; they can sit alongside AWS Activate if you split workloads (for example Droplets and managed databases on DigitalOcean, Bedrock and regulated workloads on AWS). DigitalOcean core credits explicitly exclude third-party AI model inference (Anthropic, OpenAI) and all GPU products, whereas AWS Activate credits can generally be applied to eligible Amazon Bedrock usage (confirm the covered-model list with AWS). On AWS, CloudRoute matches you for free with a vetted partner who can file MAP, POC or IW funding when the workload qualifies and AWS approves it. The DigitalOcean application you submit yourself.

Verified against www.digitalocean.com/startups on Oct 9, 2026 (confidence: medium). Programs change; always confirm on the official page. 6 sources checked.