Alternatives · Web Hosting
Contabo alternatives
As of Nov 12, 2026, the highest-graded Contabo alternative is Hetzner (2.4 GPA). The best free one is DigitalOcean (2.2 GPA).
Contabo compared with 6 alternatives: Hetzner, OVHcloud, Vultr, DigitalOcean, Akamai Linode and 1 more.
Contabo is a paid product, starting at $5.28 per month excl. VAT, 24-month subscription (Cloud VPS 4). 1 of the 6 alternatives is free or has a free plan. One more offers a free trial.
Listings checked up to Nov 12, 2026 · Where the facts come from
Black Friday: is there a Contabo sale?
At a glance
| Tool | Price | Free plan | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|
| ContaboThis tool | From $5.28/mo | No | Web |
| Hetzner | From €1.60/mo | No | Web |
| OVHcloud | From $4.54/mo | No | Web |
| Vultr | From $2.50/mo | No | Web |
| DigitalOcean | Free plan · from $4/mo | Yes | Web |
| Akamai Linode | From $5/mo | No | Web |
| Kamatera | Free trial · from $4/mo | Trial only | Web |
Price against what you get
Contabo starts at $5.28 a month and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. 6 of the 6 alternatives on this chart score higher and start lower: Hetzner, OVHcloud, Vultr, DigitalOcean, Akamai Linode and Kamatera.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
How each one differs from Contabo
Hetzner
German hosting: web hosting, cloud servers and dedicated servers
- Hetzner starts at €1.60 per month excl. VAT (Webhosting S).
- Hetzner also covers file sharing.
Suits: Buyers in Europe who want German data centers and euro billing
OVHcloud
VPS, public cloud, web hosting and dedicated servers
- OVHcloud starts at $4.54 per month and up (VPS-1).
- OVHcloud also covers databases.
Suits: Buyers who want cheap VPS with unlimited traffic
Vultr
Cloud servers, bare metal and GPUs billed hourly or monthly
- Vultr starts at $2.50 per month (IPv6-only 512MB Cloud Compute).
Suits: Developers who want inexpensive servers across many locations
DigitalOcean
Cloud servers, app hosting and managed databases for developers
- DigitalOcean starts at $4 per month (Droplet), billed per second.
- DigitalOcean has a free plan, which Contabo lacks.
- DigitalOcean also covers databases.
Suits: Developers who want plain virtual machines with a predictable monthly cap
Akamai Linode
Linux virtual servers from $5 a month on Akamai Cloud
- Akamai Linode starts at $5 per month (Nanode 1GB), billed hourly.
- Akamai Linode also covers databases.
Suits: Developers who want plain Linux servers at a fixed monthly price
Kamatera
Configurable cloud servers from $4 a month in many data centers
- Kamatera starts at $4 per month for a Basic server.
- Kamatera also covers system monitor.
Suits: Developers who want to size CPU, RAM and storage separately
Limits worth knowing in Contabo
- The price shown is the monthly rate on a 24-month subscription; the page does not show the price after the term or a plain monthly price.
- A one-time setup fee applies to new Cloud VPS 4 orders on monthly contracts.
- Outgoing traffic is unlimited under a fair usage policy, and Contabo may throttle servers with very high or disruptive usage.
- Contabo supports the VPS itself, not the software installed on it; maintenance and troubleshooting are the user's job.
Common questions
What are the alternatives to Contabo?
The alternatives to Contabo in this directory are Hetzner, OVHcloud, Vultr, DigitalOcean, Akamai Linode and Kamatera. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Contabo.
Is there a free alternative to Contabo?
Yes. DigitalOcean has a free plan alongside paid ones.
When were these prices checked?
Every listing on this page was checked on Nov 12, 2026, against the pages it cites. Vendors change prices without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.