Contabo vs HostDime (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Contabo grades higher than HostDime: 1.6 against 1.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Contabo grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
HostDime
Dedicated servers, cloud servers and colocation worldwide
Which one is for you
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
Pick HostDime if
- Fits if you need your own dedicated server in a US data center
- Works for teams that run their own server stack
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you only need a website, as servers start at $129 a month
- Skip it if you want a published cloud price, as none was read
- Watch out: the entry servers are older generations of Xeon
- Not for you if you want help running the server, as managed plans cost $160 to $190 more
How we grade them
| 1.6GPAContaboWeak | 1.2GPAHostDimeWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | DA self-managed dedicated server is $129 a month, far above shared hosting, and managed is $160 to $190 more. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial on record; every plan is paid from the first day. | FNothing free and no trial on the pages read, so you pay from day one. |
| Features | 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. | CDedicated and bare-metal servers, cloud, colocation, license sales and backups. Entry hardware is older and several terms are not stated. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record. An unmanaged VPS means installing, patching and troubleshooting it yourself. | DSelf-managed servers mean you run the operating system yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb panel only, with no integrations listed. | CWeb panel for servers, with no apps listed. |
| Best for | cheap servers with lots of RAM | dedicated and bare-metal servers |
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: Contabo and HostDime. How we grade
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. HostDime starts at $129 a month and scores 1.7.
They score the same, and Contabo starts $123.72 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 39 score higher than Contabo for less, and 98 score higher than HostDime 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
- HostDime also covers system monitor and malware protection.
At a glance
| Contabo | HostDime | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $5.28 per month excl. VAT, 24-month subscription (Cloud VPS 4) | $129 per month for a self-managed dedicated server |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Contabo GmbH | HostDime Global Corp. |
| Price read from | contabo.com | hostdime.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
HostDime
- Cloud server prices were not published on the pages we read; the cloud page points to a login or a consultation.
- The entry servers are older generations (Xeon E3 V5 and E5 V3/V4), and the plans listed are monthly dedicated servers rather than shared hosting.
- Self-managed plans mean you handle the operating system yourself, while managed plans cost about $160 to $190 a month more for comparable hardware.
- Setup fees, term discounts and bandwidth overage rules were not stated on the pages read.
Key features
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.
HostDime
- Dedicated and bare-metal servers
- Self-managed and managed dedicated servers are offered in several configurations, with regional lines for Brazil, Mexico, the UK, Colombia and India.
- Elastic cloud servers
- Cloud servers scale CPU, RAM and disk without a reboot, and the cloud page lists no data egress fees and 10 TB of monthly bandwidth.
- Colocation
- Customers can place their own hardware in the company's data centers, from 1U to full racks and private suites.
- Control panel licenses
- Licenses for cPanel, InterWorx, WHMCS and Softaculous are sold alongside servers.
- Own data centers
- The company says it operates purpose-built facilities, including an Orlando flagship, with Mexico and Colombia sites among others.
- Backup and security services
- Backup as a Service, disaster recovery, DDoS protection, SSL certificates and Sucuri security are listed as extras.
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.
HostDime
Self-managed, Xeon E3-1230 V5$129
per month
4 cores and 8 threads, 16 GB RAM, 480 GB SSD or 1 TB HDD, about 25 TB monthly bandwidth on a 1 Gb/s port, AlmaLinux, 4 usable IPs.
Self-managed, 2x6-core Xeon E5-2620$309
per month
12 cores and 24 threads, 32 GB RAM, 480 GB SSD or 1 TB HDD, about 25 TB monthly bandwidth, 4 usable IPs.
Managed, Xeon E3-1230 V5$289
per month
The same 4-core, 16 GB RAM server as the entry self-managed plan, with a control panel and a managed tier included.
Managed, 2x6-core Xeon E5-2620$455
per month
12 cores, 32 GB RAM and 480 GB SSD or 1 TB HDD, with a control panel and a managed tier included.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Contabo or HostDime?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Contabo is cheaper to start with: $5.28 a month, against $129 a month for HostDime. Contabo starts at $5.28 per month excl. VAT, 24-month subscription (Cloud VPS 4), and HostDime starts at $129 per month for a self-managed dedicated server.
Which has a free plan, Contabo or HostDime?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Contabo nor HostDime 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.