Cherry Servers vs Contabo (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Cherry Servers grades higher than Contabo: 1.8 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Cherry Servers grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Cherry Servers
Bare-metal and virtual servers billed hourly or on fixed terms
Which one is for you
Pick Cherry Servers if
- Fits if you want hourly bare metal or a small VPS
- Works for developers who automate servers by API
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a managed server, as self-service plans are unmanaged
- Watch out: prices exclude VAT, and the hourly dedicated start differs between pages
- Tight if you need storage, extra IPs or load balancers, all priced separately
- Skip it if you want a trial, as nothing is free
Pick Contabo if
- Fits if you want a lot of RAM and storage for little and can manage a server
- Works for staging boxes, CI runners and hobby servers
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you can't look after a Linux server, as support covers the VPS only
- Not for you if you won't commit: the lowest price is for 24 months
- Watch out: a one-time setup fee applies on monthly Cloud VPS 4 orders
- Watch out: outgoing traffic is unlimited only under fair use, and heavy servers can be throttled
- Watch out: the price after the term isn't shown
How we grade them
| 1.8GPACherry ServersWeak | 1.6GPAContaboWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BA 1 vCore Cloud VPS is $3.50 a month ex. VAT, inside the cheaper quarter. | B$5.28 a month excl. VAT on a 24-month term for 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM and 100GB, at the edge of the cheaper quarter ($5.28). Terms differ and the price after the term isn't shown. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free and no trial on the pages read, so you pay from day one. | FNo free plan and no trial on record; every plan is paid from the first day. |
| Features | CBare-metal and virtual servers, hourly billing, add-ons and an API. Monthly dedicated prices were not readable. | CVPS sizes from 4 to 18 vCPU, snapshots, Plesk and cPanel options, many locations. The gap: it's a bare server, and Contabo supports the VPS, not the software on it. |
| Ease of use | DUnmanaged servers that you set up and secure yourself. | DNo rating on record. An unmanaged VPS means installing, patching and troubleshooting it yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb portal with an API and automation, but no phone or desktop app. | CWeb panel only, with no integrations listed. |
| Best for | bare-metal and virtual servers billed hourly | cheap servers with lots of RAM |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Cherry Servers and Contabo. How we grade
Price against what you get
Cherry Servers starts at $3.50 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Contabo starts at $5.28 a month and scores 1.7.
Cherry Servers scores higher and starts $1.78 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 10 score higher than Cherry Servers for less, and 39 score higher than Contabo for less.
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
Where they differ
- Cherry Servers also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Cherry Servers | Contabo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $3.5 per month for a 1 vCore Cloud VPS, or $0.018 per hour | $5.28 per month excl. VAT, 24-month subscription (Cloud VPS 4) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Cherry Servers | Contabo GmbH |
| Price read from | cherryservers.com | contabo.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Cherry Servers
- Prices are quoted in US dollars excluding VAT, and the dedicated server hourly start differs slightly between pages ($0.091 in an FAQ, $0.098 on the overview).
- The self-service plans are unmanaged infrastructure; the site points to sales engineers for custom setups.
- Backup Storage is free for dedicated servers; other storage, IPs and load balancers are priced separately.
- Monthly dedicated-server prices were not readable on the pages we checked.
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.
Key features
Cherry Servers
- Bare-metal servers
- Dedicated, instant, custom and GPU servers are offered, with an average deployment time of 12 minutes listed.
- Virtual servers
- Cloud VPS, storage VPS, Cloud VDS, ARM VDS and Premium and Performance VDS plans deploy in about 3 minutes.
- Flexible billing
- Hourly, fixed-term and spot billing are listed, with 20+ payment methods including cryptocurrency.
- Storage and network add-ons
- Elastic block storage from $0.077 per GB a month, backup storage, floating IPs, public subnets and load balancers are sold separately.
- API and automation
- Servers can be managed through a UI or API, and a developer automation section is listed.
- Locations
- Servers can be deployed in Lithuania, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Chicago and Singapore for virtual servers.
Contabo
- Cloud VPS range
- Six Cloud VPS sizes from 4 to 18 vCPU cores and 8GB to 96GB RAM, each with unlimited, unmetered incoming traffic and fair-usage outgoing traffic.
- Other VPS lines
- Performance VPS on AMD EPYC CPUs with NVMe storage, Max Performance, Storage VPS, Windows VPS and GPU VPS are sold alongside.
- Plesk and cPanel VPS
- Plesk and cPanel VPS plans are listed, and Plesk is free for the first month on Cloud VPS, Cloud VDS, Storage VPS and dedicated servers.
- Longer terms for lower prices
- Prices shown are the effective monthly rate for a 24-month subscription, and no setup fee applies on longer contracts.
- Snapshots and storage extension
- Each Cloud VPS includes snapshots, and Core VPS plans can double their storage through Storage Extension.
- Many locations
- The product page describes hosting across the EU, US, UK, Australia and Asia.
Plans
Cherry Servers
Virtual servers$3.5
per month and up, for 1 vCore Cloud VPS, excluding VAT
VPS and VDS plans billed hourly (from $0.018 an hour) or on monthly to annual terms. Dedicated-core VDS plans reach 16 vCores and 72 GB RAM; 1 to 35 TB of free traffic.
Dedicated servers$0.098
per hour and up, billed hourly, excluding VAT
Bare-metal servers from $0.098 an hour on the pricing overview, managed by UI or API. A 15-day money-back guarantee applies to dedicated server plans.
Contabo
Cloud VPS 4$5.28
per month excl. VAT, 24-month term; $6.60 incl. tax
4 vCPU cores, 8GB RAM, 100GB SSD, 1 snapshot, 200 Mbit/s port and unlimited traffic. A setup fee applies on monthly contracts.
Cloud VPS 6$7.20
per month excl. VAT, 24-month term; $9.00 incl. tax
6 vCPU cores, 12GB RAM, 200GB SSD or 100GB NVMe, 2 snapshots, 300 Mbit/s port and unlimited traffic.
Cloud VPS 8$13.44
per month excl. VAT, 24-month term; $16.80 incl. tax
8 vCPU cores, 24GB RAM, 300GB SSD or 150GB NVMe, 3 snapshots, 600 Mbit/s port and unlimited traffic.
Cloud VPS 12$24.00
per month excl. VAT, 24-month term; $30.00 incl. tax
12 vCPU cores, 48GB RAM, 400GB SSD or 200GB NVMe, 3 snapshots, 800 Mbit/s port and unlimited traffic.
Cloud VPS 16$35.60
per month excl. VAT, 24-month term; $44.50 incl. tax
16 vCPU cores, 64GB RAM, 500GB SSD or 250GB NVMe, 3 snapshots, 1 Gbit/s port and unlimited traffic.
Cloud VPS 18$47.04
per month excl. VAT, 24-month term; $58.80 incl. tax
18 vCPU cores, 96GB RAM, 600GB SSD or 300GB NVMe, 3 snapshots, 1 Gbit/s port and unlimited traffic.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Cherry Servers or Contabo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Cherry Servers is cheaper to start with: $3.50 a month, against $5.28 a month for Contabo. Cherry Servers starts at $3.5 per month for a 1 vCore Cloud VPS, or $0.018 per hour, and Contabo starts at $5.28 per month excl. VAT, 24-month subscription (Cloud VPS 4).
Which has a free plan, Cherry Servers or Contabo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Cherry Servers nor Contabo has a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.