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Cloud · head to head

Contabo vs Scaleway

Contabo logo

Contabo

Cloud

Affordable high-performance VPS hosting

From
€4.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Scaleway logo

Scaleway

Cloud

European cloud for developers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Scaleway 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; Scaleway no free tier or trial period mentioned on homepage
  • They diverge on capability: Contabo covers VPS Hosting, Scaleway covers Virtual Instances.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Contabo and Scaleway actually diverge.

Attributes where Contabo and Scaleway differ
AttributeContaboScaleway
Starting price€4.5/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsLinux, WindowsWeb, Api, Cli
Founded20031999

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

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
  • Snapshots
  • DDoS Protection
  • Custom ISO
  • Multiple Locations
  • SSD Storage
  • cPanel

Only in Scaleway

  • Virtual Instances
  • Bare Metal
  • Kubernetes Kapsule
  • Serverless Functions
  • Managed Databases
  • Container Registry
  • Load Balancer
  • Terraform

Both cover

  • Object Storage
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • Encryption
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support
  • Api support

What people use each for

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

Contabo

  • Web hosting
  • Game serversnot Scaleway
  • Development environments
  • VPN serversnot Scaleway

Scaleway

  • Web hosting
  • Container orchestrationnot Contabo
  • Development environments
  • Data storagenot Contabo

Both are used for web hosting, development environments, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

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

Scaleway

  • No free tier or trial period mentioned on homepage
  • Specific pricing requires navigating to individual product category pages
  • Base pricing starts at 4.99 EUR per month but varies significantly by service type

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

Scaleway

Free
  • DEV1-S$7.99/month
    • 2 vCPU
    • 2GB RAM
    • 20GB SSD

Which should you pick?

Choose Contabo if

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

Choose Scaleway if

  • You need virtual instances.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli.
  • You also want bare metal.
Scaleway review

Questions people ask

Is Contabo or Scaleway better?
Neither clearly leads. Contabo starts at €4.5/month and Scaleway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Contabo or Scaleway?
Scaleway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €4.5/month for Contabo and Free for Scaleway.
Does Contabo or Scaleway run on more platforms?
Contabo runs on Linux, Windows. Scaleway runs on Web, Api, Cli.
Can I use Scaleway for free?
Yes. Scaleway 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, game servers and vpn servers are not what Scaleway is typically brought in for.
What can Contabo do that Scaleway cannot?
Contabo covers VPS Hosting, Dedicated Servers, Snapshots, DDoS Protection. Scaleway covers Virtual Instances, Bare Metal, Kubernetes Kapsule, Serverless Functions. Both handle Object Storage, Docker, Kubernetes, Encryption.

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
Scaleway: Does Scaleway have a free tier?

Scaleway does not mention a free tier or trial period on its pricing or homepage. Users must select specific services to see rates.

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
Scaleway: What is Scaleway's pricing model?

Scaleway uses transparent, usage-based pricing that varies by service. Different categories (bare metal, compute, AI, storage, network) have separate pricing. Dedibox servers start at 4.99 EUR per month.

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
Scaleway: How does Scaleway billing work?

Scaleway emphasizes transparent, predictable billing where customers know exactly what they'll pay. Users must select products and view pricing within each category.

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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