Software · head to head
Vultr vs Alibaba Cloud
The short version
- Each has a real cost: 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; Alibaba Cloud technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
- They diverge on capability: Vultr covers Cloud servers, Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Vultr and Alibaba Cloud actually diverge.
| Attribute | Vultr | Alibaba Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, Api, Cli | Linux, Windows, Api, Cli |
| Founded | 2014 | 2009 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), 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 Vultr
- Cloud servers
- Bare metal servers
- Block storage
- Object storage
- Load balancers
- Firewalls
- Private networks
- API
Only in Alibaba Cloud
- Elastic Compute Service
- Object Storage Service
- RDS Database
- MaxCompute
- Function Compute
- CDN
- Load Balancer
- API Gateway
Both cover
- Kubernetes
- Terraform
- Ansible
- Cloud deployment
- Api support
- Cli support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Vultr
- High performance computingnot Alibaba Cloud
- Game serversnot Alibaba Cloud
- Streamingnot Alibaba Cloud
- Database hostingnot Alibaba Cloud
- Application serversnot Alibaba Cloud
Alibaba Cloud
- Cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in China and Asia Pacificnot Vultr
- Pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitmentnot Vultr
- Committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloadsnot Vultr
- CDN and data transfer packages for content deliverynot Vultr
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Alibaba Cloud
- Technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
- Service prices are not shown as a rate card and route through a calculator or sales
- Committed discounts require savings plans, reserved instances or capacity packages rather than being automatic
Pricing, plan by plan
Vultr
Free- Cloud Compute$2.5/month
- 512MB RAM
- 10GB SSD
- 500GB bandwidth
- Bare Metal$32/month
- Dedicated hardware
- High performance
- Full root access
Alibaba Cloud
Free- Free TrialFree
- Free tier credits
- ECS instances
- Cloud storage
- Pay-as-You-GoFree
- Flexible billing
- No commitments
- Global reach
Which should you pick?
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.
Choose Alibaba Cloud if
- You need elastic compute service.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
- You also want object storage service.
Questions people ask
- Is Vultr or Alibaba Cloud better?
- Neither clearly leads. Vultr starts at Free and Alibaba Cloud at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Vultr or Alibaba Cloud?
- Vultr starts at Free and Alibaba Cloud at Free.
- Does Vultr or Alibaba Cloud run on more platforms?
- Vultr runs on Web, Api, Cli. Alibaba Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
- Can I use Vultr for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Vultr best used for?
- Vultr is most often used for high performance computing, game servers, streaming, database hosting. Of those, high performance computing and game servers are not what Alibaba Cloud is typically brought in for.
- What can Vultr do that Alibaba Cloud cannot?
- Vultr covers Cloud servers, Bare metal servers, Block storage, Object storage. Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Object Storage Service, RDS Database, MaxCompute. Both handle Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible, Cloud deployment.
Related pages
More on Alibaba Cloud
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