Contabo review
Updated September 28, 2026 · DeployCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026
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Our verdict
Contabo suits developers and small teams that want fixed monthly hosting and heavy traffic without per gigabyte egress fees. The entry plan, 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 100 GB SSD, comes to €5.50 a month, and the overall score of 6.6 trails a stronger offer score.
Key facts
- Best for
- A monthly VPS with unlimited traffic and low priced block storage.
- Entry price
- €5.50 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Entry plan
- 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 100 GB SSD (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Bandwidth allowance
- Unlimited traffic, 200 Mbit/s port (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Billing models
- Monthly (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Locations
- 11 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Regions
- DE, US, GB, SG, JP, AU, IN (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- DDoS protection
- Yes (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- SLA uptime
- 99.9% (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Server types
- VPS, Bare-metal (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Use cases
- Game-server, Forex (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Operating systems
- Linux, Windows (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Legal entity
- Contabo GmbH (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Headquarters
- Germany (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Founded
- 2003 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Support channels
- Help-centre, Email, Community (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Official website
- contabo.com
Storage
- Price per GB per month
- €0.0112 to €0.0211 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Egress price per GB
- €0 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Free egress
- Unlimited outgoing traffic, fair usage policy applies (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- S3-compatible
- No (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Minimum storage period
- 30 days (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Regions
- 11 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Storage types
- Block (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- SLA uptime
- 99.9% (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Legal entity
- Contabo GmbH (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Headquarters
- Germany (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Founded
- 2003 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Support channels
- Help-centre, Email, Community (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Pros and cons
Pros
- The entry plan, 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 100 GB SSD, costs €5.50 a month on monthly billing.
- VPS traffic is Unlimited traffic, 200 Mbit/s port, so a busy server is not cut off by a monthly cap.
- Egress on block storage is €0 per GB, and the free allowance is stated as Unlimited outgoing traffic, fair usage policy applies.
- 11 locations across DE, US, GB, SG, JP, AU and IN, plus both vps and bare metal server types.
Cons
- Billing runs on monthly only, so a server started for a short test still bills for a whole month.
- Support runs on help centre, email and community only, with no phone line among the channels.
- Storage covers block only, so workloads that need object storage have to look elsewhere.
Who it suits
- Teams running a game server or a forex trading workload on a steady connection
- Small teams that prefer one monthly invoice to hourly metering
- Developers who want a choice of regions including DE, US, GB, SG, JP, AU and IN
Who should look elsewhere
- Aruba, which lists an entry price of €1.99 against Contabo's €5.50
- UCloud, which quotes $5.34 in dollars, if you prefer to benchmark in another currency
- SberCloud, priced in roubles at RUB 23.75, for readers buying in that market
Core features
The cheapest listed VPS, 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 100 GB SSD, is the plan most buyers start from. Traffic on the VPS range is Unlimited traffic, 200 Mbit/s port, so a busy server is not cut off by a monthly cap. Contabo places 11 locations in regions including DE, US, GB, SG, JP, AU and IN, which covers European, North American and Asia Pacific workloads from one account.
The company behind it
Contabo is operated by Contabo GmbH, headquartered in Germany and founded in 2003, so the provider is an established German company rather than a new entrant. Support runs on help centre, email and community only, with a help centre, email and a community board covering questions before and after a sale closes.
How Contabo compares
Contabo vs ScalaHosting9.2 vs 8.3
Contabo vs Kamatera9.2 vs 9.5
Contabo vs Cloudways9.2 vs 9.2
Contabo vs PlanetHoster9.2 vs 8.7
Contabo vs Acronis9.2 vs 9.9
Contabo vs DreamHost9.2 vs 9.5
Contabo vs Aruba9.2 vs 9.3Aruba lists an entry price of €1.99, below Contabo's €5.50, so it wins if the lowest starting figure is the deciding factor.
Contabo vs Hostinger9.2 vs 9.1
Contabo vs Proton Drive9.2 vs 8.3
Contabo vs AIS Cloud9.2 vs 8.1- Contabo vs Miss Hosting FI9.2 vs 8.0
Frequently asked questions
How much is the cheapest Contabo VPS?+
The entry VPS, 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 100 GB SSD, is priced at €5.50 on monthly billing. Contabo also lists bare-metal servers alongside its virtual plans, so a team that outgrows the entry machine can move up to dedicated hardware on the same account.
Can I pay by the hour instead of monthly?+
Billing runs on monthly terms only, with no hourly or per-second metering, so a short test still bills for a full month. Hourly billing appears for 38.5% of the providers listed here, so Contabo sits in the majority group.
How much do traffic and egress cost?+
VPS traffic is Unlimited traffic, 200 Mbit/s port, so heavy transfer adds nothing to the bill. Egress on block storage is priced at €0 per GB, and the free allowance is written as Unlimited outgoing traffic, fair usage policy applies, which keeps a fair usage policy attached to it.
What does extra storage cost?+
Block storage runs €0.011 to €0.021 per GB per month, and the storage types on offer are block. Storage can be held for as little as 30, so a short test volume does not force a long commitment before a workload is proven.
Where does Contabo run its servers?+
Contabo lists 11 locations, in regions including DE, US, GB, SG, JP, AU and IN. The median across the providers listed here is 4, so the footprint is broader than a typical entry in this group and covers three continents.
Which operating systems are available?+
Both linux and windows are available, so a Linux fleet and a Windows stack can run side by side under one account. Virtual servers and bare-metal machines are both on offer, and DDoS protection is included, which suits teams that mix build agents with game servers.
How do I reach Contabo support?+
Support runs on help centre, email and community, with no phone line among the channels. Email carries account questions, the help centre covers setup, and the community board holds shared answers between customers, so urgent issues are handled in writing.
What availability does Contabo commit to?+
The uptime commitment stands at 99.9%, and DDoS protection is included with the plans listed. That protection is present on 97.2% of the providers here, so it reads as a common default rather than a paid extra.
Sources
- contabo.com/en/about-us checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Regions
“we have grown from 2 people to a team of roughly 300 people offering servers in 11 Locations across 9 Regions on 4 continents”
- contabo.com/en/about-us checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Founded, Headquarters, Legal entity, Support channels
“Since founding in 2003, Contabo has been committed to providing German quality with global availability.”
- contabo.com/en/locations checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Locations, Regions
“9 Regions, 11 Locations, Global Availability”
- contabo.com/en/storage-vps checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Egress price per GB, Free egress, Minimum storage period, Price per GB per month, S3-compatible, Storage types
“Incoming Traffic: Unlimited and unmetered. No extra charges apply. | Outgoing Traffic: Unlimited - fair usage policy applies based on average server workloads.”
- contabo.com/en/vps checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Bandwidth allowance, Billing models, DDoS protection, Entry plan, Entry price, Operating systems, Server types, SLA uptime, Use cases
“200 Mbit/s Port ... Unlimited Traffic*”
Compiled from 5 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.