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Software · head to head

Contabo vs Pulumi

Contabo logo

Contabo

Software

Affordable high-performance VPS hosting

From
€4.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Pulumi logo

Pulumi

Software

Modern infrastructure as code using programming languages

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Pulumi 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; Pulumi the free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update
  • They diverge on capability: Contabo covers VPS Hosting, Pulumi covers Multi-language support.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Contabo and Pulumi actually diverge.

Attributes where Contabo and Pulumi differ
AttributeContaboPulumi
Starting price€4.5/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsLinux, WindowsLinux, Windows, Mac, Api
Founded20032017

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 Pulumi

  • Multi-language support
  • Multi-cloud
  • State management
  • Secrets management
  • RBAC
  • Stacks
  • Automation API
  • Policy as Code

Both cover

  • Kubernetes
  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

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

Contabo

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

Pulumi

  • Defining cloud infrastructure as code in TypeScript, Python, Go, C# or Java rather than a DSLnot Contabo
  • Managing Pulumi state and secrets in a hosted backend instead of self-managed storagenot Contabo
  • Policy, drift detection and deployment workflows for platform engineering teamsnot 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

Pulumi

  • The free Individual plan allows one user and one concurrent stack update
  • The Team plan is $40 per month base including 40 credits, and caps the organisation at 10 users
  • SAML/SSO, RBAC, audit logs and drift detection require the Enterprise plan at $400 per month base
  • The per-resource rate rises from $0.1825 per resource per month on Team to $0.365 on Enterprise, so upgrading raises the unit price as well as the base fee
  • Managed secrets are billed separately at $0.50 per secret per month on Team and $0.75 on Enterprise
  • Self-hosting, SCIM user sync, audit log export and 24x7 support are only in Business Critical, which is custom priced with no published rate
  • Team includes up to 500 resources and Enterprise up to 2,000, with everything beyond billed on demand as credits

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

Pulumi

Free
  • Pulumi CommunityFree
    • Open source
    • Community support
    • Self-hosted
  • Pulumi Cloud$10/month
    • Hosted backend
    • Team collaboration
    • RBAC

Which should you pick?

Choose Contabo if

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

Choose Pulumi if

  • You need multi-language support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
  • You also want multi-cloud.
Pulumi review

Questions people ask

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

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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