8 of 52 providers reward us when you sign up through our links. It never changes a ranking. Which ones
Akamai Cloud (Linode) vs Vultr
Vultr starts $1.50 per month cheaper at the entry tier.
Akamai Cloud (Linode)
$5/mo entry
Akamai Cloud (Linode) pricingTeams that value platform maturity and stability over the lowest possible invoice.
Vultr
$3.50/mo entry
Get $300 free Vultr creditLatency-sensitive projects that need a specific city, and price-driven builders comfortable alone.
New Vultr accounts opened through our link get $300 of credit to use within 30 days. A card or PayPal is required; duplicate accounts are not eligible. Vultr pays us a referral fee if you stay a paying customer.
Vultr lists more regions, which matters if latency to a specific city is your constraint. Akamai Cloud (Linode) is the better pick for teams that value platform maturity and stability over the lowest possible invoice.
Specification differences
Entry plans compared line by line. Rows marked with a dash are preferences rather than measurable wins, so we do not pick a side on them.
| Attribute | Akamai Cloud (Linode) | Vultr | Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry plan price / month | $5 | $3.50 | Vultr |
| Entry plan vCPU | 1 | 1 | |
| Entry plan RAM | 1 GB | 0.5 GB | Akamai Cloud (Linode) |
| Entry plan storage | 25 GB | 10 GB | Akamai Cloud (Linode) |
| Included transfer | 1 TB | 0.5 TB | Akamai Cloud (Linode) |
| Listed regions | 20 | 32 | Vultr |
| Management model | Unmanaged (you run the OS) | Unmanaged (you run the OS) | |
| Support | Ticket and phone support; paid premium tiers available. | Ticket support; documentation is sparse relative to competitors. | |
| Billing | Hourly metering, capped at the listed monthly price. | Hourly metering, capped at the listed monthly price. | |
| Free tier | No free tier. Trial credit is offered to new accounts from time to time. | No free tier. |
Same size, side by side
The cheapest plan from each provider that meets each size, so the comparison is between equal servers rather than two entry plans. Prices include a separately-billed IPv4 address where the provider charges for one.
| Size | Akamai Cloud (Linode) | Vultr | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 vCPU / 1 GB | $5Nanode 1GB · 1 vCPU · 1 GB · 25 GBEntry shared instance. | $5Regular 1GB · 1 vCPU · 1 GB · 25 GBEntry plan with a public IPv4 address and 1GB of RAM. | same |
| 2 vCPU / 4 GB | $24Linode 4GB · 2 vCPU · 4 GB · 80 GBMid-tier shared instance. | $20Regular 4GB · 2 vCPU · 4 GB · 80 GBDirect competitor to the DigitalOcean 4GB Droplet, priced below it. | Vultr cheaper by $4 |
| 4 vCPU / 8 GB | $48Linode 8GB · 4 vCPU · 8 GB · 160 GBFour cores with the largest included transfer in the shared range. | $40Regular 8GB · 4 vCPU · 8 GB · 160 GBFour cores at a lower list price than most rivals here. | Vultr cheaper by $8 |
| 8 vCPU / 16 GB | $192Linode 32GB · 8 vCPU · 32 GB · 640 GBEight shared cores and 32GB, with 16TB of transfer included. | $160Regular 32GB · 8 vCPU · 32 GB · 640 GBEight shared cores and 32GB on the Regular Performance line. | Vultr cheaper by $32 |
Every provider at these sizes, ranked: 1 GB RAM · 4 GB RAM · 8 GB RAM · 16 GB RAM
Where each one wins and loses
Akamai Cloud (Linode)
Linode predates most of the budget cloud market and was acquired by Akamai, which folded it into a much larger edge network. The instance shapes and flat pricing remain close to DigitalOcean, and the platform is mature and stable. It is the safe, unexciting choice in this list.
Strengths
- Mature platform with a long operational track record
- Flat pricing and instance shapes broadly comparable to DigitalOcean
- Backed by Akamai edge infrastructure
Weaknesses
- Unmanaged, same operational burden as its peers
- Product direction now set by a much larger parent company
- Smaller developer community than DigitalOcean
Support: Ticket and phone support; paid premium tiers available.
Billing: Hourly metering, capped at the listed monthly price.
Free tier: No free tier. Trial credit is offered to new accounts from time to time.
Vultr
Vultr competes on footprint and price rather than on hand-holding. It lists more data center locations than any other cloud server provider we track, which matters if latency to a specific city is your binding constraint. The trade-off is a thinner documentation library and a support experience aimed at people who already know what a kernel panic is.
Strengths
- Largest region list here, including several markets rivals do not cover
- High Frequency instances put NVMe and faster clocks at a low price point
- Hourly billing with no minimum commitment
Weaknesses
- Unmanaged, with noticeably less tutorial content than DigitalOcean
- Support is functional rather than educational
- Cheapest plans are IPv6-only in some regions - check before you commit
Support: Ticket support; documentation is sparse relative to competitors.
Billing: Hourly metering, capped at the listed monthly price.
Free tier: No free tier.
The full cost stack
What a server costs beyond its sticker price, shown for 2 vCPU / 4 GB. Only figures read from each provider's own documentation appear; a gap says “not captured yet”.
| Item | Akamai Cloud (Linode) | Vultr |
|---|---|---|
| Plan (2 vCPU / 4 GB) | $24 | $20 |
| Automatic backups | not captured yet | 20% = +$4 ($24 total) |
| Outbound traffic beyond the allowance | not captured yet | $0.01/GB over allowance |
| Smallest managed load balancer | not captured yet | $10/mo |
Sources: docs.vultr.com · docs.vultr.com · www.vultr.com
Price changes we have logged
No tracked price change for either provider yet.
Full record at the change log.
Every plan
The complete plan ladders, with the date and source of every price, are on each provider's page: Akamai Cloud (Linode) and Vultr.
These are the providers' own list prices, shown in US dollars and last updated 23 Oct 2026. Where a provider bills a public IPv4 address on top, it is added to the monthly price, the ranking and every cost per vCPU or per GB, and the row shows the parts: the server, any disk priced apart, and the IPv4 charge. Each row says when we read its price, and whether it excludes VAT or needs a term. Check the provider's page before you buy.
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Where both sell
Akamai Cloud (Linode) and Vultr both have data centers in these places. Each page ranks every provider there at the price charged in that location.
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Akamai Cloud (Linode) vs Vultr — frequently asked
Every answer is computed from this pair's own prices and costs.
- Which is cheaper for 1 vCPU / 1 GB, Akamai Cloud (Linode) or Vultr?
- They cost the same: $5/mo (Akamai Cloud (Linode) Nanode 1GB and Vultr Regular 1GB).
- How many data center locations do Akamai Cloud (Linode) and Vultr have?
- Akamai Cloud (Linode) lists 20 and Vultr lists 32.
- What do backups add at Akamai Cloud (Linode) and Vultr?
- Akamai Cloud (Linode): not captured yet; Vultr: 20% of the plan price.