Should I use backups or snapshots for a DigitalOcean Droplet?
The short answer
Use scheduled backups for routine recovery points and snapshots for a deliberate saved state, such as before a major change. Choose the schedule and retention around how much recent work you can afford to lose.
In more detail
DigitalOcean backups create disk images on a schedule. A snapshot records a chosen point in time and can be retained until you delete it. This makes a snapshot useful before an upgrade, while scheduled backups reduce the risk of forgetting to make a regular recovery copy.
Start with two practical questions: how much new data could you lose, and how long could the service stay offline? A personal test site and a store receiving orders need different answers. Our recommendation is to choose a recovery process around those limits instead of simply selecting whichever feature costs less.
Map all the data your application uses, including any separate volumes or external database service. Check that each has its own recovery method; a copy of one server disk is not an inventory of every dependency. Keep access to the credentials and configuration needed to rebuild the application.
Before relying on the setup, restore a test copy and check that the application can start and read its data. For important business records, consider an additional independent copy. A recovery feature is valuable only if its scope and restore process match the loss you are trying to prevent.