Softwr

Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Contabo vs GitHub

Contabo logo

Contabo

Cloud & Infrastructure

Affordable high-performance VPS hosting

From
€4.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
GitHub logo

GitHub

Technology

Where the world builds software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only GitHub has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Contabo fully unmanaged infrastructure requires all setup and maintenance by customer; GitHub acquired by Microsoft in 2018, reducing pure independence despite operational autonomy
  • They diverge on capability: Contabo covers VPS Hosting, GitHub covers Git repositories.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Contabo and GitHub actually diverge.

Attributes where Contabo and GitHub differ
AttributeContaboGitHub
Starting price€4.5/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsLinux, WindowsWeb, Desktop, Mobile
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureTechnology
Founded20032008

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Contabo

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

Only in GitHub

  • Git repositories
  • Pull requests
  • Code review
  • Issues & projects
  • GitHub Actions CI/CD
  • GitHub Pages
  • Security scanning
  • Dependency management

Both cover

  • Docker

What people use each for

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

Contabo

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

GitHub

  • Version controlnot Contabo
  • Code collaborationnot Contabo
  • CI/CD pipelinesnot Contabo
  • Project managementnot Contabo
  • Documentation hostingnot Contabo

Where each one falls short

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

Contabo

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

GitHub

  • Acquired by Microsoft in 2018, reducing pure independence despite operational autonomy
  • Primary focus on source control differs from purpose-built project management tools like Jira
  • Pricing for enterprise features and private repositories adds up compared to some self-hosted alternatives

Pricing, plan by plan

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

GitHub

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited public/private repos
    • 2,000 CI/CD minutes/month
    • 500MB package storage
  • Team$4/month
    • Everything in Free
    • 3,000 CI/CD minutes/month
    • 2GB package storage
  • Enterprise$21/month
    • Everything in Team
    • 50,000 CI/CD minutes/month
    • 50GB package storage

Which should you pick?

Choose Contabo if

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

Choose GitHub if

  • You need git repositories.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
  • You also want pull requests.
GitHub review

Questions people ask

Is Contabo or GitHub better?
Neither clearly leads. Contabo starts at €4.5/month and GitHub at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Contabo or GitHub?
GitHub has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €4.5/month for Contabo and Free for GitHub.
Does Contabo or GitHub run on more platforms?
Contabo runs on Linux, Windows. GitHub runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
Can I use GitHub for free?
Yes. GitHub has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Contabo starts at €4.5/month.
What is Contabo best used for?
Contabo is most often used for web hosting, game servers, development environments, vpn servers. Of those, web hosting and game servers are not what GitHub is typically brought in for.
What can Contabo do that GitHub cannot?
Contabo covers VPS Hosting, Dedicated Servers, Object Storage, Snapshots. GitHub covers Git repositories, Pull requests, Code review, Issues & projects. Both handle Docker.

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
GitHub: What is a Git repository and how does GitHub use it?

A repository is the centralized database that stores the complete collection of files and folders for a codebase, along with the revision history. GitHub uses Git to provide distributed version control access to repositories with version tracking, branching, and collaboration features.

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
GitHub: How does GitHub authentication work?

When you connect to a GitHub repository from Git, you need to authenticate with GitHub using either HTTPS or SSH. GitHub supports multiple authentication methods including passwords, personal access tokens, SSH keys, and GitHub Apps.

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
GitHub: How long has GitHub been operating?

GitHub was founded in 2008 and launched publicly on April 10, 2008, making it the dominant git hosting platform for nearly two decades.

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
GitHub: Who owns GitHub and when did the acquisition occur?

Microsoft acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion USD, with the deal announced June 4, 2018 and completed October 26, 2018. GitHub operates as an independent subsidiary within Microsoft.

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 Contabo

More on GitHub

Keep looking

Other head to heads