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Cloud · head to head

Contabo vs Helm

Contabo logo

Contabo

Cloud

Affordable high-performance VPS hosting

From
€4.5/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
H

Helm

Developer Tools

The package manager for Kubernetes

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Helm 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; Helm licensed under Apache License 2.0 per the project's GitHub repository (helm/helm LICENSE); as open source software it has no paid tier or vendor price to compare
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Contabo and Helm actually diverge.

Attributes where Contabo and Helm differ
AttributeContaboHelm
Starting price€4.5/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsLinux, WindowsWeb
CategoryCloudDeveloper Tools
Founded2003Unknown

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 Helm

Nothing recorded that Contabo does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Contabo

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

Helm

  • Kubernetes package manager and deployment toolnot 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

Helm

  • Licensed under Apache License 2.0 per the project's GitHub repository (helm/helm LICENSE); as open source software it has no paid tier or vendor price to compare
  • Contributors must sign commits under the Developer Certificate of Origin to have them accepted, per helm.sh, a process requirement not all Kubernetes tools impose

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

Helm

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Helm review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Contabo if

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

Choose Helm if

  • You want to start without paying.
Helm review

Questions people ask

Is Contabo or Helm better?
Neither clearly leads. Contabo starts at €4.5/month and Helm at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Contabo or Helm?
Helm has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €4.5/month for Contabo and Free for Helm.
Does Contabo or Helm run on more platforms?
Contabo runs on Linux, Windows. Helm runs on Web.
Can I use Helm for free?
Yes. Helm 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 Helm is typically brought in for.
What can Contabo do that Helm cannot?
Contabo covers VPS Hosting, Dedicated Servers, Object Storage, Snapshots.

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
Helm: How much does Helm cost?

Helm is free and open-source. It is a graduated project in the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) with no commercial pricing model.

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
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