Contabo vs Akamai Linode (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Akamai Linode grades higher than Contabo: 2.0 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Akamai Linode grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan 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 Akamai Linode if
- Fits if you want plain Linux servers at a fixed monthly price
- Works for people who need a lot of included transfer
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want to patch a server yourself
- Not for you if you want a free plan or trial
- Watch out: prices differ by region, and backups, storage and some services cost extra
- Watch out: Akamai's own pricing pages weren't readable, so prices come from the public API
How we grade them
| 1.6GPAContaboWeak | 2.0GPAAkamai LinodeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | BNanode 1GB is $5 a month, inside the cheaper quarter ($5.28), with 1TB transfer. Jakarta is $6 and Sao Paulo $7, and backups cost $2 to $5 more. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial on record; every plan is paid from the first day. | FNo free plan and no trial on record; every plan is paid from the first day. |
| 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. | BShared, dedicated, high-memory and GPU Linodes, block and object storage, Kubernetes, managed databases, firewall and backups. The listing names no core gap. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record. An unmanaged VPS means installing, patching and troubleshooting it yourself. | DNo store rating on record. Servers are unmanaged, so OS updates and security are yours. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb panel only, with no integrations listed. | BWeb only, with a public v4 API, a CLI and Cloud Manager. |
| Best for | cheap servers with lots of RAM | plain Linux servers at a fixed price |
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 Akamai Linode. 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. Akamai Linode starts at $5 a month and scores 2.3.
Akamai Linode scores higher and starts $0.28 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 23 score higher than Contabo for less, and 1 scores higher than Akamai Linode 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
- Akamai Linode also covers databases.
At a glance
| Contabo | Akamai Linode | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $5.28 per month excl. VAT, 24-month subscription (Cloud VPS 4) | $5 per month (Nanode 1GB), billed hourly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Contabo GmbH | Akamai Technologies |
| Price read from | contabo.com | api.linode.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 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.
Akamai Linode
- Linodes are unmanaged servers: the buyer handles operating system updates and security.
- Prices differ by region; Jakarta and Sao Paulo cost $1 and $2 more than the base price on a Nanode.
- Backups, extra storage and some services cost extra on top of the instance price.
- Akamai's own pricing pages refused automated access, so these prices come from Linode's public API.
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.
Akamai Linode
- Linux virtual machines
- Linodes come in shared, dedicated, high-memory and GPU classes, and are billed hourly up to a fixed monthly price.
- Block and object storage
- Block Storage volumes attach to a Linode, and Object Storage is $5 a month for 250GB including its bundled transfer.
- Kubernetes and managed databases
- The regions list shows Kubernetes and Managed Databases as capabilities in supported data centers.
- Backups
- The optional backup add-on costs $2 a month on a Nanode 1GB and $5 on a Linode 4GB.
- Networking controls
- Cloud Firewall, VPCs, VLANs and NodeBalancers are listed as capabilities in the regions data.
- API and CLI
- A public v4 API, a CLI and Cloud Manager manage resources, and Akamai's docs cover automating deployments.
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.
Akamai Linode
Nanode 1GB$5
per month, billed hourly ($0.0075 per hour)
1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 25GB storage and 1TB of monthly transfer. Jakarta is $6 and Sao Paulo $7.
Linode 2GB$12
per month, billed hourly ($0.018 per hour)
1 vCPU, 2GB RAM, 50GB storage and 2TB of monthly transfer.
Linode 4GB$24
per month, billed hourly ($0.036 per hour)
2 vCPUs, 4GB RAM and 4TB of monthly transfer; backups are an extra $5 a month at this size.
Object Storage$5
per month, prorated
Flat rate including 250GB of storage; storage beyond that is $0.02 per GB in most data centers.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Contabo or Akamai Linode?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Akamai Linode is cheaper to start with: $5 a month, against $5.28 a month for Contabo. Contabo starts at $5.28 per month excl. VAT, 24-month subscription (Cloud VPS 4), and Akamai Linode starts at $5 per month (Nanode 1GB), billed hourly.
Which has a free plan, Contabo or Akamai Linode?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Contabo nor Akamai Linode 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.