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Cloud · head to head

Contabo vs Vultr

Contabo logo

Contabo

Cloud

Affordable high-performance VPS hosting

From
€4.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vultr logo

Vultr

Cloud

High performance cloud compute

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Vultr 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; Vultr vultr Cloud Compute pricing as captured 31 December 2022 started at $5/month (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 25GB storage, 1TB transfer), scaling to $10/month and $20/month with more vCPU/RAM/storage; bandwidth overage billed at $0.01 to $0.05 per GB depending on plan
  • They diverge on capability: Contabo covers VPS Hosting, Vultr covers Cloud servers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Contabo and Vultr actually diverge.

Attributes where Contabo and Vultr differ
AttributeContaboVultr
Starting price€4.5/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsLinux, WindowsWeb, Api, Cli
Founded20032014

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

Only in Vultr

  • Cloud servers
  • Bare metal servers
  • Block storage
  • Object storage
  • Load balancers
  • Firewalls
  • Private networks
  • Terraform

Both cover

  • Kubernetes
  • Firewall
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support
  • Api support

What people use each for

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

Contabo

  • Web hostingnot Vultr
  • Game servers
  • Development environmentsnot Vultr
  • VPN serversnot Vultr

Vultr

  • High performance computingnot Contabo
  • Game servers
  • Streamingnot Contabo
  • Database hostingnot Contabo
  • Application serversnot Contabo

Both are used for game servers, 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

Vultr

  • Vultr Cloud Compute pricing as captured 31 December 2022 started at $5/month (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 25GB storage, 1TB transfer), scaling to $10/month and $20/month with more vCPU/RAM/storage; bandwidth overage billed at $0.01 to $0.05 per GB depending on 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

Vultr

Free
  • Cloud Compute$2.5/month
    • 512MB RAM
    • 10GB SSD
    • 500GB bandwidth
  • Bare Metal$32/month
    • Dedicated hardware
    • High performance
    • Full root access

Which should you pick?

Choose Contabo if

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

Choose Vultr if

  • You need cloud servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli.
  • You also want bare metal servers.
Vultr review

Questions people ask

Is Contabo or Vultr better?
Neither clearly leads. Contabo starts at €4.5/month and Vultr at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Contabo or Vultr?
Vultr has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €4.5/month for Contabo and Free for Vultr.
Does Contabo or Vultr run on more platforms?
Contabo runs on Linux, Windows. Vultr runs on Web, Api, Cli.
Can I use Vultr for free?
Yes. Vultr 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 development environments are not what Vultr is typically brought in for.
What can Contabo do that Vultr cannot?
Contabo covers VPS Hosting, Dedicated Servers, Object Storage, Snapshots. Vultr covers Cloud servers, Bare metal servers, Block storage, Object storage. Both handle Kubernetes, Firewall, Cloud deployment, Web support.

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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