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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Lambda (AWS Serverless) vs Contabo

Lambda (AWS Serverless) logo

Lambda (AWS Serverless)

Cloud & Infrastructure

Run code without thinking about servers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Contabo logo

Contabo

Cloud & Infrastructure

Affordable high-performance VPS hosting

From
€4.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Lambda (AWS Serverless) has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Lambda (AWS Serverless) billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does; Contabo fully unmanaged infrastructure requires all setup and maintenance by customer
  • They diverge on capability: Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Contabo covers VPS Hosting.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lambda (AWS Serverless) and Contabo actually diverge.

Attributes where Lambda (AWS Serverless) and Contabo differ
AttributeLambda (AWS Serverless)Contabo
Starting priceFree€4.5/month
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, Windows
Founded20142003

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud & Infrastructure).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Lambda (AWS Serverless)

  • Function-as-a-Service
  • Event-driven execution
  • Auto-scaling
  • Pay-per-use
  • Multiple languages
  • Concurrency limits
  • Dead Letter Queues
  • Environment variables

Only in Contabo

  • VPS Hosting
  • Dedicated Servers
  • Object Storage
  • Snapshots
  • DDoS Protection
  • Custom ISO
  • Multiple Locations
  • SSD Storage

Both cover

  • Encryption
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Lambda (AWS Serverless)

  • Event-driven functions without managing serversnot Contabo
  • API backends behind API Gatewaynot Contabo
  • Processing S3, DynamoDB, SQS and Kinesis eventsnot Contabo
  • Scheduled jobs without a always-on instancenot Contabo
  • Edge compute through Lambda@Edgenot Contabo

Contabo

  • Web hostingnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
  • Game serversnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
  • Development environmentsnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)
  • VPN serversnot Lambda (AWS Serverless)

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Lambda (AWS Serverless)

  • Billed on two axes at once, $0.20 per million requests plus $0.0000166667 per GB-second of duration, so memory settings change the bill as much as traffic does
  • Provisioned concurrency, used to avoid cold starts, is charged separately at $0.0000041667 per GB-second whether or not the function runs
  • Ephemeral storage beyond the included 512 MB is metered
  • Lambda@Edge costs $0.60 per million requests, three times the standard request rate
  • VPC use and cross-region data transfer carry EC2 charges on top

Contabo

  • Fully unmanaged infrastructure requires all setup and maintenance by customer
  • No formal SLA with financial compensation for downtime violations

Pricing, plan by plan

Lambda (AWS Serverless)

Free
  • Free TierFree
    • 1M free requests/month
    • 400,000 GB-seconds/month
    • Always free

Contabo

€4.5/month
  • Cloud VPS$4.5/month
    • 4 vCPU
    • 8 GB RAM
    • 100 GB SSD
  • Cloud VDS$39/month
    • Dedicated cores
    • 24 GB RAM
    • 180 GB NVMe
  • Dedicated Server$149/month
    • AMD CPU
    • 64 GB RAM
    • 1 TB NVMe

Which should you pick?

Choose Lambda (AWS Serverless) if

  • You need function-as-a-service.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want event-driven execution.
Lambda (AWS Serverless) review

Choose Contabo if

  • You need vps hosting.
  • You work on Linux, Windows.
  • You also want dedicated servers.
Contabo review

Questions people ask

Is Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Contabo better?
Neither clearly leads. Lambda (AWS Serverless) starts at Free and Contabo at €4.5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Contabo?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Lambda (AWS Serverless) and €4.5/month for Contabo.
Does Lambda (AWS Serverless) or Contabo run on more platforms?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) runs on Web, Api. Contabo runs on Linux, Windows.
Can I use Lambda (AWS Serverless) for free?
Yes. Lambda (AWS Serverless) has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Contabo starts at €4.5/month.
What is Lambda (AWS Serverless) best used for?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) is most often used for event-driven functions without managing servers, api backends behind api gateway, processing s3, dynamodb, sqs and kinesis events, scheduled jobs without a always-on instance. Of those, event-driven functions without managing servers and api backends behind api gateway are not what Contabo is typically brought in for.
What can Lambda (AWS Serverless) do that Contabo cannot?
Lambda (AWS Serverless) covers Function-as-a-Service, Event-driven execution, Auto-scaling, Pay-per-use. Contabo covers VPS Hosting, Dedicated Servers, Object Storage, Snapshots. Both handle Encryption, Cloud deployment, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Contabo: What is the base pricing for Contabo VPS?

Contabo Cloud VPS starts at EUR 4.50 per month (approximately $4.95 USD) with 4 vCPU cores and 8 GB RAM. Prices scale up to EUR 39+ per month for dedicated performance VPS with higher specs.

Source
Contabo: Does Contabo raise prices at renewal?

No. Unlike many hosting providers, Contabo does not increase renewal prices. The promotional price you get at sign-up is locked in for future renewals.

Source
Contabo: What data center locations does Contabo offer?

Contabo operates 9 global data center regions including multiple EU locations, US East/Central/West Coast, United Kingdom, India, Singapore, Japan, and Australia.

Source
Contabo: Does Contabo provide managed services?

No. Contabo VPS is fully unmanaged. You handle all setup, security patching, and system maintenance. Managed hosting adds 2 hours per month of dedicated support for a fee.

Source
Contabo: What is Contabo's uptime guarantee?

Contabo maintains a 99.996% uptime guarantee across all plans. The platform includes unlimited traffic and free DDoS protection.

Source

Related pages

More on Lambda (AWS Serverless)

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