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Contabo vs Proxmox VE

Contabo logo

Contabo

Software

Affordable high-performance VPS hosting

From
€4.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Proxmox VE logo

Proxmox VE

Software

Open-source hypervisor combining KVM and LXC virtualisation

From
€120/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Contabo fully unmanaged infrastructure requires all setup and maintenance by customer; Proxmox VE per-socket licensing model: cost scales with CPU socket count, not vCore count, resulting in high costs for multi-socket servers

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Contabo and Proxmox VE actually diverge.

Attributes where Contabo and Proxmox VE differ
AttributeContaboProxmox VE
Starting price€4.5/month€120/year
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsLinux, WindowsLinux, Web, API, Self-hosted
Founded2003Unknown

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 Contabo

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

Only in Proxmox VE

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 Proxmox VE
  • Game serversnot Proxmox VE
  • Development environmentsnot Proxmox VE
  • VPN serversnot Proxmox VE

Proxmox VE

  • Open-source datacenter virtualisation for hosting providers and cloud platformsnot Contabo
  • Cost-sensitive enterprise virtualisation replacing commercial hypervisorsnot Contabo
  • High-availability clustering for disaster recovery and business continuitynot Contabo
  • Container deployments using LXC as lighter-weight alternative to Dockernot Contabo
  • Hybrid VM and container workloads in a single management interfacenot Contabo
  • Backup and archival infrastructure alongside primary virtualisationnot 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

Proxmox VE

  • Per-socket licensing model: cost scales with CPU socket count, not vCore count, resulting in high costs for multi-socket servers
  • Linux-based host only; Windows hypervisors not supported, limiting adoption in Windows-focused organisations
  • Clustering and high-availability setup requires operational expertise and careful network configuration
  • Commercial support tiers limit advanced features (just-in-time access, network flow logs) to paid subscriptions
  • Smaller ecosystem of third-party plugins and integrations compared to VMware vSphere

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

Proxmox VE

€120/year
  • Community$120/year
    • Enterprise Repository access
    • Community forum support only
    • Per-socket subscription model
  • Basic$370/year
    • 3 support tickets per year
    • 1 business day response time
    • Stable updates and Enterprise Repository
  • Standard$550/year
    • 10 support tickets per year
    • 4-hour response time for critical issues
    • Remote SSH support and offline updates
  • Premium$1100/year
    • Unlimited support tickets
    • 2-hour response time for critical issues
    • Remote SSH support and offline updates

Which should you pick?

Choose Contabo if

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

Choose Proxmox VE if

  • You work on Linux, Web, API, Self-hosted.
Proxmox VE review

Questions people ask

Is Contabo or Proxmox VE better?
Neither clearly leads. Contabo starts at €4.5/month and Proxmox VE at €120/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Contabo or Proxmox VE?
Contabo starts at €4.5/month and Proxmox VE at €120/year.
Does Contabo or Proxmox VE run on more platforms?
Contabo runs on Linux, Windows. Proxmox VE runs on Linux, Web, API, Self-hosted.
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 Proxmox VE is typically brought in for.
What can Contabo do that Proxmox VE 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
Proxmox VE: What is the licensing model for Proxmox VE?

Proxmox VE is open-source and free to deploy. Optional subscription tiers provide technical support, priority response times, and access to the Enterprise Repository for stable update channels. All tiers include identical virtualisation 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
Proxmox VE: Can I run Proxmox VE without a support subscription?

Yes. Community Edition (€120/year per socket) provides Enterprise Repository access with community-based support through forums. The core Proxmox VE platform is fully functional without any subscription.

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
Proxmox VE: What hypervisors does Proxmox VE support?

Proxmox VE includes both KVM for full virtualisation and LXC for Linux containers. It does not support Xen or Hyper-V. Workloads on those platforms must be migrated or reimplemented.

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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