Softwr

Software · head to head

Carbonite vs Contabo

Carbonite logo

Carbonite

Software

Simple and reliable cloud backup for businesses

From
$6/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Contabo logo

Contabo

Software

Affordable high-performance VPS hosting

From
€4.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Carbonite upload speeds are significantly slower than competitors due to lack of block-level algorithms and multithreading; Contabo fully unmanaged infrastructure requires all setup and maintenance by customer
  • They diverge on capability: Carbonite covers Automatic backup, Contabo covers VPS Hosting.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Carbonite and Contabo actually diverge.

Attributes where Carbonite and Contabo differ
AttributeCarboniteContabo
Starting price$6/month€4.5/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWindows, Mac, WebLinux, Windows
Founded20052003

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Carbonite

  • Automatic backup
  • Continuous protection
  • Remote file access
  • Bare metal restore
  • Compliance support
  • Microsoft 365
  • Windows Server
  • VMware

Only in Contabo

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

Both cover

  • Encryption
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Carbonite

  • Data protectionnot Contabo
  • Disaster recoverynot Contabo
  • Business continuitynot Contabo
  • Ransomware protectionnot Contabo
  • Compliancenot Contabo

Contabo

  • Web hostingnot Carbonite
  • Game serversnot Carbonite
  • Development environmentsnot Carbonite
  • VPN serversnot Carbonite

Where each one falls short

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

Carbonite

  • Upload speeds are significantly slower than competitors due to lack of block-level algorithms and multithreading
  • Bandwidth throttling control is limited, preventing users from managing full bandwidth allocation
  • Mobile apps and web access are more limited than sync-first services like Dropbox or Google Drive
  • Uses AES-128 encryption instead of industry-standard AES-256
  • Hybrid backup support is restricted to professional plans, unavailable for personal users

Contabo

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

Pricing, plan by plan

Carbonite

$6/month
  • Basic$6/month
    • Automatic backup
    • Unlimited cloud storage
    • Easy restore

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 Carbonite if

  • You need automatic backup.
  • You work on Windows, Mac, Web.
  • You also want continuous protection.
Carbonite review

Choose Contabo if

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

Questions people ask

Is Carbonite or Contabo better?
Neither clearly leads. Carbonite starts at $6/month and Contabo at €4.5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Carbonite or Contabo?
Carbonite starts at $6/month and Contabo at €4.5/month.
Does Carbonite or Contabo run on more platforms?
Carbonite runs on Windows, Mac, Web. Contabo runs on Linux, Windows.
What is Carbonite best used for?
Carbonite is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what Contabo is typically brought in for.
What can Carbonite do that Contabo cannot?
Carbonite covers Automatic backup, Continuous protection, Remote file access, Bare metal restore. Contabo covers VPS Hosting, Dedicated Servers, Object Storage, Snapshots. Both handle Encryption, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Carbonite: Does Carbonite offer unlimited storage?

Yes, Carbonite's personal plans (Safe Basic through Safe Server Ultimate) offer unlimited cloud storage, though business plans have tiered storage starting at 250 GB.

Source
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
Carbonite: What is Carbonite's pricing?

Personal plans range from $4.91 to $83.33 per month with annual billing. Business plans start around $50-$75 per endpoint annually, with volume discounts available for multi-year contracts.

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
Carbonite: How fast are Carbonite's upload speeds?

Carbonite's upload speeds are notably slow and are consistently identified as the platform's main weakness. The lack of block-level algorithms and multithreading contributes to these speed limitations.

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
Carbonite: What encryption does Carbonite use?

Carbonite uses AES-128 encryption at rest, which is an unusual choice in 2026 when AES-256 is the industry standard.

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
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Carbonite

More on Contabo

Keep looking

Other head to heads