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Contabo vs MySQL

Contabo logo

Contabo

Software

Affordable high-performance VPS hosting

From
€4.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MySQL logo

MySQL

Software

The world's most popular open source database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only MySQL 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; MySQL hot online backup is not in the free Community Server; MySQL Enterprise Backup is a paid Enterprise Edition component
  • They diverge on capability: Contabo covers VPS Hosting, MySQL covers ACID compliance.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Contabo and MySQL actually diverge.

Attributes where Contabo and MySQL differ
AttributeContaboMySQL
Starting price€4.5/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsLinux, WindowsWindows, Macos, Linux, Unix
Founded20031995

Identical on both: 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 Contabo

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

Only in MySQL

  • ACID compliance
  • SQL support
  • Multi-version concurrency control
  • Replication
  • Partitioning
  • Stored procedures
  • Triggers
  • Views

What people use each for

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

Contabo

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

MySQL

  • Web application backendnot Contabo
  • E-commerce platformsnot Contabo
  • Content management systemsnot Contabo
  • Data warehousingnot Contabo
  • Business applicationsnot 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

MySQL

  • Hot online backup is not in the free Community Server; MySQL Enterprise Backup is a paid Enterprise Edition component
  • Transparent Data Encryption, data masking and de-identification are Enterprise Edition only
  • MySQL Enterprise Firewall, which guards against SQL injection, and MySQL Enterprise Audit are both paid components
  • External authentication against PAM or Windows Active Directory requires MySQL Enterprise Authentication
  • The thread pool ships as MySQL Enterprise Scalability rather than in the community build

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

MySQL

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Open source license
    • Full SQL support
    • InnoDB storage engine
  • Standard Edition$2000/year
    • Commercial license
    • Oracle Premier Support
    • MySQL Enterprise backup
  • Enterprise Edition$5000/year
    • Advanced security
    • MySQL Enterprise Monitor
    • High Availability

Which should you pick?

Choose Contabo if

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

Choose MySQL if

  • You need acid compliance.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Macos, Linux, Unix.
  • You also want sql support.
MySQL review

Questions people ask

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

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
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