Contabo vs Vultr (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Vultr grades higher than Contabo: 1.8 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Vultr 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.
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 Vultr if
- Fits if you want inexpensive servers across many locations
- Works for projects that need bare metal or GPUs from the same provider
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want to set up and patch a server
- Not for you if you need IPv4 on the $2.50 plan, since it's IPv6 only
- Watch out: backups, block storage, load balancers and extra bandwidth cost more
- Watch out: Vultr's own pricing pages weren't readable, so prices are from its public plans API
How we grade them
| 1.6GPAContaboWeak | 1.8GPAVultrWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | B$2.50 a month for the IPv6-only 512MB plan, $3.50 with IPv4, $5 for 1GB. Inside the cheaper quarter ($5.28). The IPv6-only plan has no IPv4 at all. |
| 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. | CCloud Compute, high-frequency and optimized plans, bare metal, GPUs and Kubernetes docs. The listing shows servers, not databases or an app platform, and extras cost more. |
| Ease of use | DNo rating on record. An unmanaged VPS means installing, patching and troubleshooting it yourself. | DNo store rating on record. Unmanaged servers: you set up and patch the OS. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb panel only, with no integrations listed. | BWeb only, with a v2 API, a CLI, a Terraform provider and SDKs. |
| Best for | cheap servers with lots of RAM | inexpensive cloud servers in many locations |
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 Vultr. 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. Vultr starts at $2.50 a month and scores 2.0.
Vultr scores higher and starts $2.78 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 23 score higher than Contabo for less, and 6 score higher than Vultr 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
At a glance
| Contabo | Vultr | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $5.28 per month excl. VAT, 24-month subscription (Cloud VPS 4) | $2.50 per month (IPv6-only 512MB Cloud Compute) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Contabo GmbH | Vultr |
| Price read from | contabo.com | api.vultr.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.
Vultr
- Vultr's pricing and product pages sit behind a bot check, so these prices are read from its public plans API.
- The cheapest $2.50 plan has an IPv6 address only and no IPv4.
- Servers are unmanaged: the buyer sets up and patches the operating system.
- Backups, block storage, load balancers and bandwidth beyond a plan's allowance cost extra.
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.
Vultr
- Cloud Compute
- Virtual machines in standard and high-frequency classes, with plan sizes starting at 512MB RAM.
- High-performance and optimized compute
- The plans API also lists high-performance and optimized compute types, for example a 1 vCPU, 2GB optimized plan at $28 a month.
- Bare metal and GPUs
- Bare metal servers and GPU instances are sold, with an NVIDIA L40S server listed at $1,122.91 a month.
- Kubernetes and AI workloads
- Vultr's docs cover Kubernetes setup, GPU workloads, AI model docs and a beta documentation agent.
- Public API and CLI
- A v2 API, a CLI, a Terraform provider and SDKs are referenced in the reference documentation.
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.
Vultr
Cloud Compute 512MB$3.50
per month, with IPv4
1 vCPU, 512MB RAM, 10GB storage and 512GB of bandwidth. An IPv6-only version is $2.50 a month.
Cloud Compute 1GB$5
per month ($0.007 per hour)
1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 25GB storage and 1TB of bandwidth.
Cloud Compute 2GB$10
per month
1 vCPU, 2GB RAM, 55GB storage and 2TB of bandwidth. The 2 vCPU, 2GB size is $15 a month.
High Frequency 1GB$6
per month
1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 32GB storage and 1TB of bandwidth. The 2GB size is $12 and the 2 vCPU, 2GB size is $18.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Contabo or Vultr?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Vultr is cheaper to start with: $2.50 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 Vultr starts at $2.50 per month (IPv6-only 512MB Cloud Compute).
Which has a free plan, Contabo or Vultr?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Contabo nor Vultr 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.