please share your expert advise on choosing between DO & Vultr. I am on DO, with 2gb RAM, 12$ plan, smtp has been a major issue. I can’t move ahead. Googling shows vultr is competetive, not sure about smtp issue.. how are your experiences, server needs to be down here in australasia.

doesn’t matter what cloud host you use, none will work if you can’t figure out how to properly edit a yaml file and follow directions when people try to help you with it.

i edited the config in yaml as you @Lilly instructed, it did not work for me. tried few other edits in yaml, nah didn’t work. I’m not a developer. 1st step into discourse, 1st step into DO. Now, I dont have any smtp in my .yml.

ok i’m sorry this is happening to you. yml files are sensitive. i use Hetzner myself. i used to use Digitalocean but the configurations aren’t super different. i prefer the Hetzner dashboard and interface, and they are way cheaper. i use Hetzner and Resend for email for 3 forum - a busy pubic one, and 2 private forums. when i first migrated to Resend from Mailgun, all the users had to re-login with their existing credentials. of course most just used the email link or reset. this maxed out my Resend quota before the day was out so i had to do some management there and adjust a few settings. but after 2 or 3 days it was back to normal.

good to know you are skilled. Hetzner is EU, again google says better find Sydney based server, everyone talked abt DO, so I signed up with them, plus it is linux based. Nothing biggy for now, let’s see how it goes.

SMTP issues, can you elaborate? Often the provider will block SMTP ports by default and you must often verify your identity (often providing government ID) to unblock them. It’s possible they may have customer location restrictions but in any case file a support ticket with them. Then you are usually free to use any third party email service. I use Scaleway and Elastic email. No issues but new customers will need to verify identity to use email ports.

Thanks! Would have been good if that had been referenced in OP. :slight_smile: but lines up with my response :+1:t3:

Hi, seems like DO have blocked the port for my account. Their answer was “security team can’t lift the smpt block for this account”. My account is very new. I remember, right after signing up, my account was deactivated and restricted, which they removed after few emails. :thinking: i think it’s time to look into vultr.

my original post was about smtp, a separate problem. now I wanted to know if vultr is as good as DO. DO had marketplace to install discourse. - a separate curiosity. unfortunately :face_with_peeking_eye: these were linked.

Vultr vs DO for discourse

Product Support Self-hosting

NateDhaliwal (Nate Dhaliwal) May 28, 2026, 5:26am 11

@merefield OP’s problems are encountered here: If local logins are disabled

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Vultr vs DO for discourse

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