Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Linode (Akamai): Complete 2026 Comparison
In-depth comparison of these two hosting providers across pricing, performance, features, and support.
Overall Winner
Linode (Akamai)
- Wins in 3 of 7 categories
- Top in: Best Performance, Best Support, Best for Beginners
- 4.0/5 overall rating
Category Winners
Best Price
Tie
Both at $5.00/mo
Best Value
Tie
Similar renewal pricing
Best Performance
Linode (Akamai)
99.99% uptime, 4.0/5 rating
Best Support
Linode (Akamai)
Live chat, Phone, 24/7
Best for WordPress
Tie
Similar WordPress features
Best for Developers
Tie
Similar developer features
Best for Beginners
Linode (Akamai)
Higher ease of use score (6.0/10)
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Essential Info | ||
| Hosting Type | Cloud Infrastructure | Cloud Infrastructure |
| Monthly Price | $5.00/mo | $5.00/mo |
| Renewal Price | $5.00 | $5.00 |
| Renewal Markup | 0% | 0% |
| Overall Rating | 3.5/5 | 4.0/5 |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.99% | 99.99% |
| Trustpilot Rating | 1.3/5 | 2.0/5 |
| Trustpilot Reviews | 361 | 202 |
| Free SSL | ||
| Free Domain | ||
| Free Migration | ||
| Pricing Details | ||
| First Year Cost | $60.00 | $60.00 |
| Second Year Cost | $60.00 | $60.00 |
| Money Back Guarantee | — | 7 days |
| Setup Fee | Free | Free |
| Monthly Billing | ||
| Minimum Contract | 0 months | 0 months |
| Technical Specs | ||
| Storage | 40 GB | 25 GB |
| Storage Type | SSD | SSD/NVME |
| Bandwidth | 2000 GB | 1000 GB |
| Max Websites | — | — |
| Max Databases | — | — |
| PHP Versions | — | — |
| SSH Access | ||
| Git Deployment | ||
| Staging Environment | — | — |
| Cron Jobs | ||
| Redis Available | ||
| Programming Languages | ||
| Node.js Support | ||
| Python Support | ||
| Ruby Support | ||
| WordPress Features | ||
| WordPress Optimized | ||
| WordPress Auto-Install | ||
| WordPress Auto-Updates | ||
| WordPress Staging | ||
| WooCommerce Optimized | ||
| LiteSpeed Cache | ||
| Object Caching | ||
| WP Multisite | ||
| WP-CLI Access | ||
| Security | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| DDoS Protection Level | AWS Shield Standard (free); Shield Advanced ($3000/mo+) | Akamai-powered DDoS protection included on all plans |
| Malware Scanning | ||
| Malware Removal | ||
| Firewall Included | ||
| Backup Frequency | Manual/Snapshot-based | Daily automatic (paid add-on) |
| Backup Retention | — | 7 days |
| Backup Restore Fee | Free | Free |
| On-Demand Backup | ||
| Two-Factor Auth | ||
| Wildcard SSL | ||
| Dedicated IP | ||
| Support | ||
| Support Channels | Ticket, Phone, Chat, Knowledge Base, Forums | Phone, Ticket, Live Chat, Email, Knowledge Base, Community Forum, IRC |
| Live Chat | ||
| Live Chat Hours | Paid support plans | 24/7 |
| Phone Support | ||
| Phone Support Hours | 24/7 with paid support | 24/7 (US: 855-454-6633, Global: +1-609-380-7100) |
| Ticket Support | ||
| Priority Support | ||
| Support Languages | English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish | English |
| Knowledge Base Quality | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Avg Support Wait | — | — |
| Email Accounts | ||
| Email Account Limit | 0 | 0 |
| Mailbox Size | — | — |
| Webmail Access | ||
| Spam Filter | ||
| Email Forwarding | ||
| Performance | ||
| CDN Included | ||
| CDN Provider | CloudFront (additional cost) | Akamai CDN (integration available, paid) |
| Server Locations | US East (Virginia), US East (Ohio), US West (Oregon), US West (California), Canada (Central), Canada West (Calgary), South America (Sao Paulo), Europe (Ireland), Europe (London), Europe (Frankfurt), Europe (Paris), Europe (Stockholm), Europe (Milan), Europe (Spain), Europe (Zurich), Middle East (Bahrain), Middle East (UAE), Africa (Cape Town), Asia Pacific (Mumbai), Asia Pacific (Singapore), Asia Pacific (Sydney), Asia Pacific (Tokyo), Asia Pacific (Seoul), Asia Pacific (Osaka), Asia Pacific (Hong Kong), Asia Pacific (Jakarta), Asia Pacific (Melbourne), Asia Pacific (Hyderabad), China (Beijing), China (Ningxia), Israel (Tel Aviv), Thailand (Bangkok), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) | Newark (US), Atlanta (US), Dallas (US), Fremont (US), Los Angeles (US), Chicago (US), Seattle (US), Miami (US), Washington DC (US), Toronto (Canada), Sao Paulo (Brazil), London (UK), Frankfurt (Germany), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Paris (France), Milan (Italy), Stockholm (Sweden), Tokyo (Japan), Osaka (Japan), Singapore, Mumbai (India), Chennai (India), Sydney (Australia), Jakarta (Indonesia) |
| Server Location Count | 38 | 25 |
| Choose Server Location | ||
| HTTP/2 Support | ||
| Brotli Compression | — | |
| Uptime SLA Credit | ||
| Platform Support | ||
| Drupal Support | ||
| Joomla Support | ||
| Magento Support | ||
| Laravel Support | ||
| Django Support | ||
| Next.js Support | ||
| Rails Support | ||
| Static Site Support | ||
| Control Panel | ||
| cPanel Included | ||
| Control Panel | AWS Console / Lightsail Console | Linode Cloud Manager |
| Softaculous | ||
| Website Builder | ||
| Builder Name | — | — |
| Migration | ||
| Migration Websites Limit | 0 | 0 |
| Migration Turnaround | — | — |
| Paid Migration Cost | — | — |
| Migration Quality | — | — |
| Compliance | ||
| GDPR Compliant | ||
| PCI Compliant | ||
| HIPAA Compliant | ||
| Data Center Certs | SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, ISO 9001, PCI DSS Level 1, HIPAA, FedRAMP | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS |
| Ratings | ||
| Value for Money | 3.0/10 | 3.5/10 |
| Performance Rating | 5.0/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Support Quality | 2.0/10 | 3.5/10 |
| Security Rating | 5.0/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Features Rating | 5.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Ease of Use | 2.5/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Transparency Rating | 2.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Suitability Scores | ||
| For Bloggers | 2.0/10 | 2.0/10 |
| For E-commerce | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Agencies | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Developers | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| For Beginners | 1.0/10 | 2.0/10 |
| For Enterprise | 5.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Policies | ||
| Bandwidth Overage | 2TB included on $5 Lightsail; overage $0.09/GB | Transfer pooled across all Linodes (1TB-20TB depending on plan); $0.005/GB additional egress |
| Storage Overage | Pay for additional volumes/snapshots | Pay for additional Block Storage volumes |
| Adult Content Allowed | ||
| Gambling Sites Allowed | ||
| Crypto Sites Allowed | ||
| Reseller Hosting | ||
| White Label | ||
| API Access | ||
| Company Info | ||
| Year Founded | 2006 | 2003 |
| Headquarters | United States | United States |
| Parent Company | Amazon.com Inc. (subsidiary) | Akamai Technologies (acquired for $900M in March 2022; Akamai trades as NASDAQ: AKAM) |
| Green Hosting | — | |
| Instant Activation | ||
| Managed WordPress | ||
| Managed WP Available | ||
| Pricing Model | — | — |
| Monthly Visit Limit | — | — |
| Visit Overage Cost | — | — |
| PHP Workers | — | — |
| Plugin Restrictions | — | — |
| Dev Environment | — | — |
| Dev Env Name | — | — |
| Regional Info | ||
| Best Countries | United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Brazil, India, Canada | United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, India, Australia, Brazil |
| Local Currencies | USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, SGD, BRL, INR, CAD | USD |
| Support Languages | English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish | English |
| Data Sovereignty | GDPR, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, FedRAMP, SOC 2, ISO 27001 | GDPR, SOC 2, PCI-DSS |
| External Ratings | ||
| G2 Rating | 4.6/5 | 4.6/5 |
| BBB Rating | NR | NR (Not Rated) |
| Advanced Technical | ||
| Inode Limit | — | — |
| Max DB Size | — | — |
| Max Upload Size | — | — |
| Database Type | MySQL/MariaDB/PostgreSQL/MSSQL/Oracle | MySQL/PostgreSQL (managed available) |
| Elasticsearch | ||
| Image Optimization | — | — |
| PHP Switching | — | — |
| Subdomains | — | — |
| FTP Accounts | — | — |
| Additional Pricing | ||
| Free Domain Duration | — | — |
| Money Back Exclusions | Pay-as-you-go; No traditional refund; Free tier available for 12 months | 7-day unconditional refund guarantee for compute services; Hourly billing allows pay-as-you-go; Can cancel anytime |
| Payment Methods | Credit Card, Debit Card, ACH Direct Debit, Wire Transfer, AWS Credits | Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, Google Pay |
| Auto Renewal Default | ||
| Domain Privacy Included | — | |
| Domain Privacy Cost | — | — |
| SSL Provider | AWS Certificate Manager (free SSL for AWS resources) | Self-managed (Let's Encrypt recommended) or NodeBalancer SSL termination |
| Dedicated IP Cost | — | — |
| Additional Support | ||
| Phone Support Countries | Global | United States |
| Priority Support Cost | — | — |
| Community Forum | ||
| Support Outsourced | ||
| Object Cache Type | — | — |
| Business & Affiliate | ||
| Affiliate Program | ||
| Commission Type | Per sale | Fixed per acquisition |
| Commission Amount | Varies by service; AWS Partner Network available | $100 per new customer who stays active 90+ days; 90-day cookie; Referral program: $25 credit when referee spends $25 |
| Additional Policies | ||
| File Hosting Allowed | ||
| Proxy/VPN Allowed | ||
| Bandwidth Overage Cost | $0.09 | $0.01 |
| Account Suspension Policy | Violation of ToS; non-payment; abuse | Violation of ToS; fraud detection; non-payment; abuse reports |
| Malware Removal Cost | — | — |
| Downloadable Backups | ||
| Additional Platforms | ||
| PrestaShop | ||
| Ghost | ||
| Shopify Migration | ||
| Wix Migration | ||
| Squarespace Migration | ||
| Webflow Export | ||
| Editorial Info | ||
| Best For | Enterprise deployments needing AWS ecosystem; Developers comfortable with cloud infrastructure; Businesses needing compliance certifications (HIPAA, PCI, FedRAMP); Global deployments with 38 regions; Those already invested in AWS ecosystem | Developers wanting reliable infrastructure with phone support; Teams needing Akamai edge network integration; Users valuing predictable flat-rate pricing; Kubernetes users (LKE); Users needing 24/7 phone support (rare for cloud providers); Long-term Linux users comfortable with unmanaged hosting |
| Avoid If | Beginner wanting simple hosting; Need included support; Want managed WordPress; Budget-conscious without cloud expertise; Need predictable billing | Need managed WordPress hosting; Want included cPanel; Beginner requiring hand-holding; Need included email hosting; Budget-sensitive (prices increased post-acquisition); Concerned about recent support quality decline; Need extensive global coverage (fewer locations than competitors) |
| Known Issues | Extremely poor Trustpilot rating (1.3) due to billing complaints and support issues; Complex pricing can lead to unexpected bills; Support costs extra (free tier has no support); Not beginner-friendly; EC2 pricing confusing; Lightsail less flexible than competitors | Low Trustpilot rating (2.0/5) with many complaints about account verification/cancellation; Price increases post-Akamai acquisition; Some report worse support quality after acquisition; Aggressive fraud detection leads to false positives; No managed WordPress; Limited compared to hyperscalers for enterprise features; Some legacy features deprecated |
| Unique Selling Point | Market-leading cloud provider with 38 regions, most compliance certifications, and Lightsail for simplified VPS at $5/month | Only major cloud provider with 24/7 phone support, backed by Akamai's global edge network and DDoS protection |
| Ideal Customer | Enterprise or developer needing global cloud infrastructure with extensive compliance certifications and AWS ecosystem integration | Developer or business wanting reliable cloud infrastructure with phone support and enterprise-grade DDoS protection |
| Best Alternative To | Google Cloud Platform | DigitalOcean |
| Primary Competitors | Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, DigitalOcean, Vultr | DigitalOcean, Vultr, AWS Lightsail |
We strive for accuracy, but pricing and features change frequently. Some data may be outdated. Report an error and we'll update it promptly.
Our Verdict
Choose Amazon Web Services (AWS) if you...
- Need enterprise-grade features
- Want more server locations (38 available)
Choose Linode (Akamai) if you...
- Want higher-rated hosting (4.0/5)
- Require 24/7 live chat support
- Are new to web hosting