Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head
Linode vs Okta

Linode
Cloud & Infrastructure
Affordable cloud hosting and infrastructure
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Linode linode.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to akamai.com/cloud/pricing; the service is now sold as Akamai Cloud; Okta requires $1,500 annual minimum contract
- They diverge on capability: Linode covers Compute instances, Okta covers Single sign-on (SSO).
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Linode and Okta actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Linode
- Compute instances
- Object storage
- Block storage
- Kubernetes
- Managed database
- Load balancers
- Firewalls
- Private networks
Only in Okta
- Single sign-on (SSO)
- Multi-factor authentication
- Lifecycle management
- Universal directory
- API access management
- B2B integration
- Passwordless authentication
- Adaptive MFA
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Linode
- Running Linux virtual machines on hourly billed shared or dedicated CPU plansnot Okta
- Managed Kubernetes, block storage and object storage on a single cloud accountnot Okta
- Hosting workloads in a specific one of the listed global regionsnot Okta
Okta
- Employee SSOnot Linode
- Customer identitynot Linode
- B2B integrationnot Linode
- Zero Trust securitynot Linode
- Compliancenot Linode
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Linode
- linode.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to akamai.com/cloud/pricing; the service is now sold as Akamai Cloud
- Charges accrue for any service on the account even when it is powered off, because RAM and network capacity stay reserved; only deleting the service stops billing
- Network transfer beyond the monthly allotment is billed from $0.005 per GB and the rate varies by region
- The Akamai Cloud pricing landing page shows no rates and directs visitors to regional pricing pages or sales
Okta
- Requires $1,500 annual minimum contract
- Admin-only MFA can be vulnerable to push notification fatigue attacks
- Implementation requires significant services and integration fees in year one
Pricing, plan by plan
Linode
Free- Nanode 1GB$5/month
- 1GB RAM
- 1 vCPU
- 25GB SSD
- Linode 4GB$20/month
- 4GB RAM
- 2 vCPU
- 80GB SSD
Okta
Free- Starter Suite$6/user/month
- SSO
- MFA
- Universal Directory
- Core Essentials Suite$14/user/month
- Adaptive MFA
- Privileged Access
- Lifecycle Management
- Essentials Suite$17/user/month
- Same as Core Essentials
- Most popular
- Professional Suite$null/custom
- Device Access
- Identity Security Posture
- Threat Protection
Which should you pick?
Choose Linode if
- You need compute instances.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api, Cli.
- You also want object storage.
Choose Okta if
- You need single sign-on (sso).
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, SaaS.
- You also want multi-factor authentication.
Questions people ask
- Is Linode or Okta better?
- Neither clearly leads. Linode starts at Free and Okta at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Linode or Okta?
- Linode starts at Free and Okta at Free.
- Does Linode or Okta run on more platforms?
- Linode runs on Web, Api, Cli. Okta runs on Web, SaaS.
- Can I use Linode for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Linode best used for?
- Linode is most often used for running linux virtual machines on hourly billed shared or dedicated cpu plans, managed kubernetes, block storage and object storage on a single cloud account, hosting workloads in a specific one of the listed global regions. Of those, running linux virtual machines on hourly billed shared or dedicated cpu plans and managed kubernetes, block storage and object storage on a single cloud account are not what Okta is typically brought in for.
- What can Linode do that Okta cannot?
- Linode covers Compute instances, Object storage, Block storage, Kubernetes. Okta covers Single sign-on (SSO), Multi-factor authentication, Lifecycle management, Universal directory.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Okta: What is the minimum contract for Okta Workforce Identity?
Okta requires a $1,500 annual minimum contract for Workforce Identity plans. Pricing starts at $6 per user per month (Starter) and ranges to $17 per user per month (Essentials), billed annually.
SourceOkta: Does Okta offer a free trial?
Yes, Okta provides a 30-day free trial so customers can explore all product capabilities before committing to a paid plan.
SourceOkta: How many pre-built integrations does Okta support?
Okta offers over 7,000 pre-built integrations with popular enterprise applications including Salesforce, Slack, Workday, Box, Confluence, and Zendesk.
SourceOkta: What security features does Okta provide for admins?
Okta provides multi-factor authentication, adaptive MFA, single logout, and identity threat detection and response. However, only 94% of Okta customers have MFA enabled for administrators.
SourceOkta: Can Okta integrate with on-premises directories?
Yes, Okta's Universal Directory and lifecycle management support cloud and on-premises identity sources, including Active Directory and LDAP.
SourceRelated pages
Other head to heads
- Linode vs Grafana Cloud
- Linode vs Neon
- Linode vs DigitalOcean
- Linode vs AWS (Amazon Web Services)
- Linode vs Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Linode vs Deno Deploy
- Linode vs Heroku
- Linode vs Hetzner Cloud
- Linode vs Packer
- Linode vs Pulumi
- Linode vs Render
- Linode vs Upstash
- Linode vs Vagrant
- Linode vs Vultr
- Linode vs Akamai
- Linode vs Alibaba Cloud
- Linode vs Chef
- Linode vs Contabo
- Linode vs Asana
- Linode vs ClickUp
- Linode vs Figma
- Linode vs Linear
- Linode vs Monday.com
- Linode vs Greenhouse
- Linode vs Notion
- Linode vs Amplitude
- Linode vs Datadog
- Linode vs PostHog
- Linode vs PyCharm
- Linode vs Sketch
- Linode vs Docker
- Linode vs Netlify
- Linode vs Aha!
- Linode vs Coda
- Linode vs Dashlane
- Linode vs GitHub
- Okta vs Grafana Cloud
- Okta vs Neon
- Okta vs DigitalOcean
- Okta vs AWS (Amazon Web Services)
- Okta vs Lambda (AWS Serverless)
- Okta vs Deno Deploy
- Okta vs Heroku
- Okta vs Hetzner Cloud
- Okta vs Packer
- Okta vs Pulumi
- Okta vs Render
- Okta vs Upstash
- Okta vs Vagrant
- Okta vs Vultr
- Okta vs Akamai
- Okta vs Alibaba Cloud
- Okta vs Chef
- Okta vs Contabo
- Okta vs Asana
- Okta vs ClickUp
- Okta vs Figma
- Okta vs Linear
- Okta vs Monday.com
- Okta vs Greenhouse
- Okta vs Notion
- Okta vs Amplitude
- Okta vs Datadog
- Okta vs PostHog
- Okta vs PyCharm
- Okta vs Sketch
- Okta vs Docker
- Okta vs Netlify
- Okta vs Aha!
- Okta vs Coda
- Okta vs Dashlane
- Okta vs GitHub

