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The Bottom Line

Price
From €5.28/mo. Compare plans

Key facts

  • German-based Cloud VPS provider with 6 Core VPS tiers from 4 to 18 vCPU / 8 to 96 GB RAM.
  • Prices are effective monthly rates discounted for 12- or 24-month terms; billed in EUR only, no setup fee.
  • Unlimited fair-use traffic, free firewall/DDoS protection, and dedicated IPv4+IPv6 included on every plan.

Pros

  • Low effective monthly price versus resources offered, especially on longer terms
  • No setup fee charged on any contract length
  • Unlimited traffic and security features (firewall, DDoS protection) included as standard

Cons

  • Pricing is EUR-only on the vendor's own site, with no USD option shown even on the US-locale page
  • Lowest advertised price requires committing to a longer term; monthly billing costs noticeably more
  • Deploying in a US region adds a latency-based monthly surcharge on top of the base price

What is Contabo?

Contabo is a German hosting provider offering Cloud VPS, dedicated servers, GPU VPS and storage VPS. Its Core VPS line targets budget-conscious individuals, small businesses, developers and agencies running web hosting, email servers, file/backup storage and CI/CD or development environments. Plans range from 4 to 18 vCPU cores and 8 to 96 GB RAM, with SSD storage from 100 to 600 GB and storage-extension add-ons available on every tier. Every plan ships with unlimited (fair-use) traffic, a dedicated IPv4 and IPv6 address, a free firewall and always-on DDoS protection, snapshots, and a customer control panel with 1-click apps, custom images and cloud-init support. Servers can be deployed in Europe, the US, Asia or Australia, with US regions carrying a small monthly latency surcharge. Contabo prices its plans as an effective monthly rate discounted by contract length (1, 12 or 24 months), billed in EUR on its website.

Key Features

  • Cloud VPS with 4-18 dedicated vCPU cores and 8-96 GB RAM
  • 100-600 GB SSD storage with optional Storage Extension add-on
  • Free firewall and always-on DDoS protection on every plan
  • Dedicated IPv4 and IPv6 addresses
  • Snapshots (1-3 depending on tier) and optional daily Auto Backup
  • Customer Control Panel with 1-click apps, custom images and cloud-init
  • Deployment regions in Europe, the US, Asia and Australia
  • Unlimited inbound/outbound traffic under a fair-usage policy

Pricing Plans

Pricing checked Sep 28, 2026

Contabo plans and prices, checked September 2026
PlanPriceDetails
Cloud VPS 4 (24-month term)

€5.28/month

  • 4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM / 100 GB SSD
  • 1-month: EUR6.60/mo, no setup fee
  • 12-month: EUR5.61/mo (-15%), no setup fee
+1 more
  • US region: +EUR1.26 to +EUR1.86/mo
Cloud VPS 6 (24-month term)

€7.2/month

  • 6 vCPU / 12 GB RAM / 200 GB SSD
  • 1-month: EUR9.00/mo, no setup fee
  • 12-month: EUR7.65/mo (-15%), no setup fee
+1 more
  • Unlimited traffic, free firewall & DDoS protection
Cloud VPS 8 (24-month term)

€13.44/month

  • 8 vCPU / 24 GB RAM / 300 GB SSD
  • 1-month: EUR16.80/mo, no setup fee
  • 12-month: EUR14.28/mo (-15%), no setup fee
+1 more
  • 3 snapshots included
Cloud VPS 12 (24-month term)

€24/month

  • 12 vCPU / 48 GB RAM / 400 GB SSD
  • 1-month: EUR30.00/mo, no setup fee
  • 12-month: EUR25.50/mo (-15%), no setup fee
+1 more
  • 800 Mbit/s port
Cloud VPS 16 (24-month term)

€35.52/month

  • 16 vCPU / 64 GB RAM / 500 GB SSD
  • 1-month: EUR44.40/mo, no setup fee
  • 12-month: EUR37.74/mo (-15%), no setup fee
+1 more
  • 1 Gbit/s port
Cloud VPS 18 (24-month term)

€47.04/month

  • 18 vCPU / 96 GB RAM / 600 GB SSD
  • 1-month: EUR58.80/mo, no setup fee
  • 12-month: EUR49.98/mo (-15%), no setup fee
+1 more
  • 1 Gbit/s port

Is Contabo worth the price?

Great value

Contabo's cloud VPS pricing is exceptionally generous for the specs, with the Cloud VPS 4 at EUR5.28/mo on a 24-month term delivering 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM, and 100GB SSD, far below typical market rates for similar configurations.

The 15% discount for annual commitment and no setup fees make it a budget-friendly choice, though US region users face a small surcharge of EUR1.26 to EUR1.86/mo. This is best for cost-conscious developers or small businesses needing reliable, high-resource VPS hosting without breaking the bank.

Hidden Costs & Gotchas

US region adds EUR1.26 to EUR1.86/mo surcharge

24-month term required for lowest price (EUR5.28/mo)

12-month term is 15% higher than 24-month

1-month term is 25% higher than 24-month

How Contabo's pricing compares

Contabo starts at €5.28/mo, billing unit not specified. Its direct competitors are priced on a different basis (per user, or in another currency), so each entry price below is shown with its own unit and currency and is not ranked against the others.

Contabo
€5.28/mo, billing unit not specified
$4/mo, billing unit not specified
$5/mo, billing unit not specified
$2.50/mo, billing unit not specified
$0.04/mo, billing unit not specified
$1.83/mo, billing unit not specified
$3.50/mo, billing unit not specified

Entry paid plan, monthly, in each tool's own currency. Pricing checked Sep 28, 2026.

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Contabo FAQ

How does Contabo support web hosting and development environments?

Contabo's Core VPS line is designed for running web hosting, email servers, file/backup storage, and CI/CD or development environments. Each plan includes a dedicated IPv4 and IPv6 address, a free firewall, and always-on DDoS protection, making it suitable for production workloads.

How does Contabo compare to Hetzner in terms of included features?

Compared to Hetzner, Contabo includes unlimited (fair-use) traffic, a dedicated IPv4 and IPv6 address, a free firewall, and always-on DDoS protection as standard on every plan. These features are included without additional charges, which may differ from Hetzner's pricing structure.

What trade-offs should buyers consider when choosing Contabo?

Contabo's pricing is listed in EUR only, even on its US-locale page, and the lowest advertised price requires committing to a 12- or 24-month contract. Monthly billing costs noticeably more, and deploying in a US region adds a latency-based monthly surcharge on top of the base price.

What kind of user benefits most from Contabo's VPS plans?

Budget-conscious individuals, small businesses, developers, and agencies who need affordable cloud VPS, dedicated servers, or GPU options benefit most from Contabo. Its plans offer high resource-to-price ratios, especially on longer-term contracts, and include essential security and networking features.

How is Contabo priced and does it include a free tier?

Contabo is a paid product with no permanently free tier. Its plans are priced as an effective monthly rate discounted by contract length (1, 12, or 24 months), and billing is in EUR on its website.

Can Contabo servers be deployed in multiple geographic regions?

Yes, Contabo allows server deployment in Europe, the US, Asia, or Australia. However, US regions carry a small monthly latency surcharge on top of the base price.

Which security features are included with every Contabo VPS plan?

Every Contabo VPS plan includes a free firewall and always-on DDoS protection as standard. Additionally, snapshots are available for backup and recovery.

Does Contabo support automated deployment with cloud-init and custom images?

Yes, Contabo's customer control panel supports 1-click apps, custom images, and cloud-init, enabling automated and repeatable server deployments.

Source: contabo.com

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