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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Contabo vs PostgreSQL

Contabo logo

Contabo

Cloud & Infrastructure

Affordable high-performance VPS hosting

From
€4.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PostgreSQL logo

PostgreSQL

Database & Data Management

The world's most advanced open source relational database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only PostgreSQL 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; PostgreSQL requires manual scaling across multiple machines for very large deployments
  • They diverge on capability: Contabo covers VPS Hosting, PostgreSQL covers ACID Compliance.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Contabo and PostgreSQL actually diverge.

Attributes where Contabo and PostgreSQL differ
AttributeContaboPostgreSQL
Starting price€4.5/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsLinux, WindowsLinux, Windows, macOS, BSD, Unix
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureDatabase & Data Management
Founded20031996

Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), 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 PostgreSQL

  • ACID Compliance
  • JSON/JSONB Support
  • Full-text Search
  • Extensibility
  • Advanced Indexing
  • Partitioning
  • Replication
  • pgAdmin

What people use each for

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

Contabo

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

PostgreSQL

  • Transaction processingnot Contabo
  • Data storagenot Contabo
  • Application backendnot Contabo
  • Reportingnot Contabo
  • Data analyticsnot 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

PostgreSQL

  • Requires manual scaling across multiple machines for very large deployments
  • Performance tuning requires deep knowledge of database internals
  • No built-in graphical admin interface; command-line tools are primary method

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

PostgreSQL

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the PostgreSQL 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 PostgreSQL if

  • You need acid compliance.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD, Unix.
  • You also want json/jsonb support.
PostgreSQL review

Questions people ask

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

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
PostgreSQL: Is PostgreSQL completely free?

Yes. PostgreSQL is completely free and open source with no licensing fees or restrictions on use.

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
PostgreSQL: What platforms does PostgreSQL run on?

PostgreSQL runs on all major operating systems including Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD, and commercial Unix variants, and has been proven highly scalable managing terabytes to petabytes of data.

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
PostgreSQL: What procedural languages are supported?

PostgreSQL supports stored functions and procedures in multiple languages including PL/pgSQL, Perl, Python, Tcl, Java, JavaScript, R, and Rust.

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
PostgreSQL: What is ACID compliance in PostgreSQL?

PostgreSQL has been ACID-compliant since 2001, ensuring data integrity through atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability guarantees for all transactions.

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
PostgreSQL: Does PostgreSQL support JSON data?

Yes. PostgreSQL supports JSON and JSONB data types for storing and querying JSON documents, along with XML and other document formats.

Source
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