Contabo vs Leaseweb (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Contabo and Leaseweb share a 1.6 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about value for money, where Contabo grades higher, or platforms, where Leaseweb does.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on 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.
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 Leaseweb if
- Fits if you need a dedicated server or cloud servers from a large provider
- Works for teams who manage their own infrastructure
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price up front, as none was readable on the pages we checked
- Not for you if you want simple shared web hosting
- Watch out: VPS traffic above the included pack is billed on the next invoice
- Tight if you need high availability from a VPS, which points you to Public Cloud
How we grade them
| 1.6GPAContaboWeak | 1.6GPALeasewebWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CNo prices are on record, so it sits in the middle by default. Traffic above the included pack on a VPS is billed on the next invoice. |
| 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 record, 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 servers, VPS, public cloud, a portal and API, basic firewall and monitoring. VPS use local storage, so a hypervisor failure means recovery time. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record. An unmanaged VPS means installing, patching and troubleshooting it yourself. | DThis is general server infrastructure that you configure yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb panel only, with no integrations listed. | BWeb customer portal and an API, with no phone or desktop app. |
| Best for | cheap servers with lots of RAM | dedicated servers and cloud infrastructure |
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 Leaseweb. How we grade
Where they differ
- Leaseweb also covers system monitor.
At a glance
| Contabo | Leaseweb | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $5.28 per month excl. VAT, 24-month subscription (Cloud VPS 4) | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Contabo GmbH | Leaseweb |
| Price read from | contabo.com | Not confirmed |
| 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.
Leaseweb
- No prices were read: the Leaseweb website loads its pages with scripts and returned no readable pricing.
- VPS traffic above the included pack is billed on the next invoice.
- The knowledge base says VPS use local storage, so a hypervisor failure carries a recovery time, and points to Public Cloud for higher availability.
- It is general server infrastructure rather than a shared web hosting product.
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.
Leaseweb
- Dedicated servers
- Single servers or large deployments, customizable or built to order, delivered between on-demand and a maximum of 5 working days, with Windows or Linux and cPanel or Plesk options.
- Leaseweb VPS
- Virtual private servers on KVM hypervisors with local NVMe storage, SSH access, optional control panels and 5 to 30TB data traffic packs depending on plan and location.
- Public Cloud
- Instances on a CloudStack-based KVM platform, bought monthly or hourly, in general purpose, compute optimized, memory optimized and GPU optimized types.
- Customer portal and API
- Services are managed through a customer portal with a developer API, and ordering APIs exist for dedicated servers and VPS.
- Basic firewall and monitoring
- VPS include a free basic firewall, and the knowledge base documents service monitoring and data-traffic notifications.
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.
Leaseweb
Pricing could not be confirmed. See leaseweb.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Contabo or Leaseweb?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Contabo starts at $5.28 per month excl. VAT, 24-month subscription (Cloud VPS 4), and Leaseweb has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Contabo or Leaseweb?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Contabo nor Leaseweb 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.