Contabo vs OVHcloud (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, OVHcloud grades higher than Contabo: 2.0 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
OVHcloud 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 OVHcloud if
- Fits if you want inexpensive VPS and unlimited traffic
- Works for people who want cloud storage and Kubernetes from a European provider
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want to administer a server
- Watch out: VPSs in Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney have a monthly traffic quota (1 TB on VPS-1), then 10 Mbps
- Watch out: Plesk, cPanel and advanced backup cost extra
- Watch out: the dollar prices are 'starting at' figures from the US site and other regions differ
- Not for you if you want a free plan
How we grade them
| 1.6GPAContaboWeak | 2.0GPAOVHcloudFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | BVPS-1 is $4.54 a month and up, inside the cheaper quarter ($5.28), but the page states no billing term. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial on record; every plan is paid from the first day. | FNothing free on record. The site mentions a Public Cloud trial, with no terms on the listing. |
| 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. | BFour VPS sizes, anti-DDoS, daily backup, Kubernetes, object storage, databases and AI services. No core gap is named. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record. An unmanaged VPS means installing, patching and troubleshooting it yourself. | DNo store rating on record. A VPS is a server you set up and look after yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb panel only, with no integrations listed. | BWeb only, managed from the control panel and an API, with no integrations listed. |
| Best for | cheap servers with lots of RAM | cheap VPS with unlimited traffic |
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 OVHcloud. 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. OVHcloud starts at $4.54 a month and scores 2.3.
OVHcloud scores higher and starts $0.74 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 23 score higher than Contabo for less, and 1 scores higher than OVHcloud 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
- OVHcloud also covers databases.
At a glance
| Contabo | OVHcloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $5.28 per month excl. VAT, 24-month subscription (Cloud VPS 4) | $4.54 per month and up (VPS-1) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Contabo GmbH | OVH SAS |
| Price read from | contabo.com | us.ovhcloud.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.
OVHcloud
- The $ prices are 'starting at' figures from the US site, and the page does not state a billing term, so confirm at checkout.
- VPSs in Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney have a monthly traffic quota (1 TB on VPS-1) and are capped at 10 Mbps beyond it.
- Advanced backup, Plesk and cPanel are optional paid extras.
- The roster URL is the Asia site; this record reads the US VPS page, and other regions may show different currencies and prices.
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.
OVHcloud
- VPS range
- Four VPS models, VPS-1 to VPS-4, with NVMe storage in standard regions and one-click scaling with a reboot.
- Anti-DDoS and backups
- Anti-DDoS protection and a daily automatic backup are included; seven daily restore points are an optional upgrade.
- Public cloud services
- The site lists Managed Kubernetes, Object Storage, Databases, a private registry and a Public Cloud free trial.
- AI services
- AI Notebooks, AI Training and AI Deploy are listed under AI and Machine Learning.
- Control panels
- Plesk and cPanel can be added to a VPS as optional extras, and the VPS is managed from the OVHcloud Control Panel and an API.
- Local Zone VPS
- VPS-2 Local Zone is offered in more than 15 cities for lower latency, using different storage than standard regions.
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.
OVHcloud
VPS-1$4.54
per month and up
2 vCores, 4GB RAM, 40GB SSD NVMe, daily backup of the previous 24 hours, unlimited traffic and 500 Mbps public bandwidth.
VPS-2$8.50
per month and up
4 vCores, 8GB RAM, 75GB SSD NVMe, unlimited traffic and 1 Gbps public bandwidth.
VPS-3$12.32
per month and up
6 vCores, 12GB RAM, 100GB SSD NVMe, unlimited traffic and 2 Gbps public bandwidth.
VPS-4$23.37
per month and up
8 vCores, 24GB RAM, 200GB SSD NVMe, unlimited traffic and 3 Gbps public bandwidth.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Contabo or OVHcloud?
As of Nov 12, 2026, OVHcloud is cheaper to start with: $4.54 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 OVHcloud starts at $4.54 per month and up (VPS-1).
Which has a free plan, Contabo or OVHcloud?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Contabo nor OVHcloud 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.