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The Contabo Insider’s Guide

Everything we know about Contabo in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.

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ToolGPANovember 2026

Contabo

The Insider’s Guide

Low-priced VPS and dedicated servers from a German host

Contabo, as pictured on contabo.com

Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among web hosts, read from Contabo’s own pages.

Made by Contabo GmbH · checked Nov 12, 2026 · toolgpa.com

1.6GPA

Contents

  1. 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
  2. 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
  3. 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
  4. 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
  5. 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
  6. 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
  7. 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from Contabo’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Contabo’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 12, 2026.

Part 01 · Overview

Welcome

What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first

1.6

GPA, above 1 of the 54 other web hosts we grade

Contabo, founded in Munich in 2003, rents Cloud VPS plans with unlimited traffic, plus Performance, Storage, Windows and GPU VPS variants and dedicated servers. The entry Cloud VPS 4 gives 4 vCPU cores and 8GB RAM from $5.28 a month excluding VAT on a 24-month subscription.

To get you started, here are 8 things to know about Contabo, taken from its own pages and our grades.

An unmanaged VPS means installing, patching and troubleshooting it yourself.
From our grade for ease of use
  1. 1

    Best for cheap servers with lots of RAM

    Contabo rents VPS and dedicated servers with a lot of RAM and disk for the price.

  2. 2

    Paid plans start at $5.28 a month

    As its pricing page puts it: $5.28 per month excl. VAT, 24-month subscription (Cloud VPS 4).

  3. 3

    It runs on Web

    Web.

  4. 4

    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.

  5. 5

    Other VPS lines

    Performance VPS on AMD EPYC CPUs with NVMe storage, Max Performance, Storage VPS, Windows VPS and GPU VPS are sold alongside.

  6. 6

    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.

  7. 7

    A 1.6 GPA, above 1 of 54

    That is against the other web hosts we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.

  8. 8

    You could make this

    What Contabo does at its core is plain work, and that is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well.

Contabo at a glance

Pricing
Paid, from $5.28 per month excl. VAT, 24-month subscription (Cloud VPS 4)
Free plan
No
Free trial
None stated
Runs on
Web
Made by
Contabo GmbH, since 2003
Category
Web Hosting
Our grade
1.6 GPA, weak

The report card

Best for cheap servers with lots of RAM

Contabo rents VPS and dedicated servers with a lot of RAM and disk for the price. The lowest rate needs a 24-month commitment, there's a setup fee on monthly contracts, and you look after the server yourself.

ToolGPA report cardContaboGraded Nov 12, 2026
SubjectGradeComment
Value for moneyB$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.
Free plan and trialFNo free plan and no trial on record; every plan is paid from the first day.
FeaturesCVPS 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.
Ease of useDNo rating on record. An unmanaged VPS means installing, patching and troubleshooting it yourself.
Platforms and integrationsCWeb panel only, with no integrations listed.
Grade point averageWeak, out of 4.01.6

An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.

Who Contabo is for

  • 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

Who it is not for

  • 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

Good to know

Good for

  • Buyers who want a lot of RAM and storage for little money
  • Hobby servers, staging environments and CI runners
  • Anyone comfortable committing for 24 months for the lowest rate

Worth knowing

  • 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.

Part 02 · Pricing

What it costs

Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved

$5.28

A month to start

Contabo is a paid product, starting at $5.28 per month excl. VAT, 24-month subscription (Cloud VPS 4).

Terms differ and the price after the term isn't shown.
From our grade for value for money

  • 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.

Read from contabo.com on Nov 12, 2026.

Part 03 · Features

What it does

Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it

1

Place it runs: Web

Low-priced VPS and dedicated servers from a German host. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, AI features.

The gap: it's a bare server, and Contabo supports the VPS, not the software on it.
From our grade for features
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.

Where it runs

  • Web

What it works with

Its own pages name no integrations.

Contabo is made by Contabo GmbH, and has been around since 2003.

Part 04 · Standing

Where it stands

Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own

1/54

Other web hosts it is graded above

Contabo's GPA of 1.6 is higher than 1 of the 54 other web hosts we grade, and level with 7.

It stands best on value for money (B, above 27 of 54) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).

Its paid plans start at $5.28 a month, against a middle price of $9 for the category: 23 of the 52 others that charge start lower.

On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. 23 tools score higher and cost less.

Each grade against the category

Every bar is all 55 web hosts we grade, cut by the letter each got. Contabo’s own letter is outlined.

  • BValue for moneyAbove 27 of 54
  • FFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 54
  • CFeaturesAbove 0 of 54
  • DEase of useAbove 0 of 54
  • CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 54

Price against what you get

Each dot is one of 53 web hosts. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Contabo is the marked dot.

D1.0C2.0B3.0A4.0$1$2$5$10$20$50$100More for lessCosts more, scores moreCosts less, scores lessCosts more, scores lessContaboHetznerChemiCloudDreamHostCloudflare PagesKinsta

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

Keep it, or make your own?

Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.

You could make this

What Contabo does at its core is plain work, and that is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well.

You would give up 2 things, listed below, and little else. It costs $63.36 a year. An AI app builder starts at about $20 a month on our listings, and you only need it while you build.

What you could make

  • It runs in a browser, which is where something home-made would run too.

What you could not

  • An API that other software can build on.
  • AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.

What this rests on. Contabo’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.

Part 05 · Alternatives

The alternatives

The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side

Hetzner, OVHcloud, Vultr, DigitalOcean and Akamai Linode

The 5 tools Contabo is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.

Part 06 · Questions

Quick answers

The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two

12

Questions, each answered in a line or two

The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.

Is Contabo free?

No. Contabo is a paid product, starting at $5.28 per month excl.

How much does Contabo cost?

Contabo lists 6 plans. Cloud VPS 4: $5.28 per month excl.

What platforms does Contabo work on?

Contabo is available on Web.

Does Contabo have an Android app?

No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Contabo is listed for Web.

Does Contabo have an iPhone app?

No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Contabo is listed for Web.

Is Contabo open source?

Contabo is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.

Does Contabo have an API?

Yes. Contabo offers a public API, according to its own site.

Who makes Contabo?

Contabo is made by Contabo GmbH. It dates from 2003.

What are the alternatives to Contabo?

The closest alternatives to Contabo in our directory are Hetzner, OVHcloud, Vultr, DigitalOcean and Akamai Linode.

How does Contabo compare with other web hosts?

Contabo's GPA of 1.6 is higher than 1 of the 54 other web hosts we grade, and level with 7.

Is Contabo good value for money?

ToolGPA grades Contabo B for value for money. Its paid plans start at $5.28 a month, against a middle price of $9 for the category: 23 of the 52 others that charge start lower.

Could I make my own version of Contabo?

What Contabo does at its core is plain work, and that is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well.

Where this guide comes from

The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Contabo’s own pages on Nov 12, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 12, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Contabo's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. The pricing page showed no figures to our page reader, so the prices stand on the listing.

Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Contabo GmbH. Prices change, so check contabo.com before you buy.

Part 07 · About

About ToolGPA

Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

5,038

Tools graded, in 95 categories

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

  • 5,038

    tools graded

  • 95

    categories

  • 739

    price changes on record

  • 579

    apps priced in 12 countries

What else is on toolgpa.com

Scan for the live page

Prices and grades as they are today

Quoting this guide?

Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:

ToolGPA, "Contabo: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 12, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/contabo

Know someone choosing between web hosts?

Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/contabo/guide

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See our other guides

The best-graded web hosts after Contabo, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.

ToolGPA

Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.

Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›

Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Contabo’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Contabo is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Contabo GmbH. Prices and plans change: check contabo.com before you buy.