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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Contabo vs Supabase

Contabo logo

Contabo

Cloud & Infrastructure

Affordable high-performance VPS hosting

From
€4.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Supabase logo

Supabase

Technology

The open source Firebase alternative

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Supabase 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; Supabase free tier projects auto-pause after 1 week of inactivity
  • They diverge on capability: Contabo covers VPS Hosting, Supabase covers PostgreSQL database.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Contabo and Supabase actually diverge.

Attributes where Contabo and Supabase differ
AttributeContaboSupabase
Starting price€4.5/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsLinux, WindowsWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureTechnology
Founded20032020

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 Supabase

  • PostgreSQL database
  • Auto-generated APIs
  • Authentication & authorization
  • Real-time subscriptions
  • Storage
  • Edge functions
  • Vector embeddings
  • Database migrations

What people use each for

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

Contabo

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

Supabase

  • Web application backends using Postgres plus auto-generated REST/GraphQL APIsnot Contabo
  • Mobile app backends via Flutter/Swift/Kotlin client librariesnot Contabo
  • AI applications using vector/embeddings storagenot Contabo
  • Authentication with 20+ social providers plus email/passwordnot Contabo
  • File and media storage (S3-compatible with CDN) and realtime sync over WebSocketsnot 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

Supabase

  • Free tier projects auto-pause after 1 week of inactivity
  • Free tier hard caps: 500 MB database, 1 GB file storage, 5 GB egress/month, 50,000 monthly active users, max 2 active free projects per organization
  • Pro plan charges usage overages beyond included quotas, e.g. $0.00325 per MAU above 100,000 and $0.125/GB disk above 8 GB
  • SOC2/ISO 27001 certification and HIPAA (add-on) compliance require the $599/month Team plan; not available on the $25/month Pro plan

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

Supabase

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 50,000 MAU
    • 500MB database
    • 5GB egress
  • Pro$25/month
    • 100,000 MAU
    • 8GB disk
    • 250GB egress
  • Team$599/month
    • SOC2 and ISO 27001
    • HIPAA add-on
    • 28-day log / 14-day backup retention
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom limits
    • Dedicated support manager
    • 24/7/365 support

Which should you pick?

Choose Contabo if

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

Choose Supabase if

  • You need postgresql database.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want auto-generated apis.
Supabase review

Questions people ask

Is Contabo or Supabase better?
Neither clearly leads. Contabo starts at €4.5/month and Supabase at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Contabo or Supabase?
Supabase has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €4.5/month for Contabo and Free for Supabase.
Does Contabo or Supabase run on more platforms?
Contabo runs on Linux, Windows. Supabase runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Supabase for free?
Yes. Supabase 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 Supabase is typically brought in for.
What can Contabo do that Supabase cannot?
Contabo covers VPS Hosting, Dedicated Servers, Object Storage, Snapshots. Supabase covers PostgreSQL database, Auto-generated APIs, Authentication & authorization, Real-time subscriptions.

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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