Cloud Infrastructure

Contabo

Highest specs per dollar with 8GB RAM VPS for under $5/month and 32TB bandwidth

Founded 2003GermanyIndependent

Overall Rating

3.6

Trustpilot: 4.2/5 (8,168 reviews)

Starting Price

$4.50/month

14-day money-back guarantee

Free SSL
Free Domain
Free Migration
24/7 Support

Pricing Plans

Compare Contabo's hosting plans

VPS Hosting

$4.50/mo
  • 100 GB SSD/NVMe Storage
  • 32000 GB Bandwidth
  • Full SSH Access
  • Node.js Support
  • Live Chat Support

Cloud Hosting

$4.50/mo
  • 100 GB SSD/NVMe Storage
  • 32000 GB Bandwidth
  • Full SSH Access
  • Node.js Support
  • Live Chat Support

Dedicated Server

$64.99/mo
  • 100 GB SSD/NVMe Storage
  • 32000 GB Bandwidth
  • Full SSH Access
  • Node.js Support
  • Live Chat Support

All plans include a 14-day money-back guarantee

Pros & Cons

What We Like

  • Budget-conscious users wanting high specs at low price
  • Developers comfortable with unmanaged servers
  • Users needing lots of RAM/storage cheaply
  • Long-term projects where value matters most
  • Users who don't need premium support

What Could Be Better

  • Need reliable 24/7 support
  • Want managed WordPress
  • Require consistent uptime
  • Beginner requiring hand-holding
  • Need included cPanel
  • Critical applications requiring premium reliability

Rating Breakdown

Value for Money
5.0
Performance
4.0
Support Quality
2.5
Security
3.5
Features
3.0
Ease of Use
3.0
Transparency
4.0

Overall Rating

Weighted average of all categories

3.6/5

Technical Specifications

Complete feature breakdown across all 151 data points

Storage & Resources

Storage
100 GB SSD/NVMe
Storage Type
SSD/NVMe
Bandwidth
32000 GB
Websites
Not specified
Databases
Not specified

Performance

Uptime Guarantee
99.9%
Uptime SLA Credit
CDN Included
HTTP/2

Server Locations

Location Count
11 locations
Choose Location
Locations
Nuremberg (Germany), Munich (Germany), Düsseldorf (Germany)

Security

Free SSL
Wildcard SSL
Dedicated IP
DDoS Protection
DDoS Level
Basic DDoS protection included
2FA

Backups & Malware

Malware Scanning
Malware Removal
Firewall
Backup Frequency
Manual/Snapshot-based
On-Demand Backup
Restore Fee
Free

Developer Tools

SSH Access
Git Deployment
Cron Jobs
Redis
WP-CLI

Language Support

Node.js
Python
Ruby

WordPress

WP Optimized
Auto Install
Auto Updates
WP Staging
WooCommerce
LiteSpeed Cache
Object Caching
Multisite

Support

Live Chat
Chat Hours
Business hours
Phone Support
Phone Hours
Business hours
Ticket Support
Priority Support
KB Quality
3/5
Channels
Live Chat, Ticket, Phone, Knowledge Base
Languages
German, English

Email

Email Included
Account Limit
0
Webmail
Spam Filter
Forwarding

Pricing Details

Monthly Price
$4.5/mo
Renewal Price
$4.5/mo
1st Year Cost
$54
2nd Year Cost
$54
Setup Fee
None
Money Back
14 days
Monthly Billing
Min Contract
1 months

Free Inclusions

Free SSL
Free Domain
Free Migration
Free CDN

Migration

Free Migration

Control Panel

cPanel
Panel Name
Contabo Control Panel
Softaculous
Site Builder

Compliance

GDPR
PCI
HIPAA
Certifications
ISO 27001

CMS Platforms

Drupal
Joomla
Magento
Laravel
Django
Next.js
Rails
Static Sites

Content Policies

Adult Content
Gambling
legal_only
Crypto Sites
Bandwidth Overage
32TB included; overage billed per TB
Storage Overage
Pay for additional storage

Business Features

API Access
Reseller Hosting
White Label

Best For (Score)

Beginners
1/5
Bloggers
2/5
Developers
5/5
eCommerce
3/5
Agencies
3/5
Enterprise
3/5

Company Info

Founded
2003
Headquarters
Germany
Parent Company
Independent
Trustpilot
4.2/5 (8,168 reviews)

Our Ratings

Overall
3.6/5
Value
5/5
Performance
4/5
Support
2.5/5
Security
3.5/5
Features
3/5
Ease of Use
3/5
Transparency
4/5

Managed WordPress

Available

Regional Info

Best Countries
Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, Australia
Currencies
EUR, USD, GBP
Support Languages
German, English
Data Sovereignty
GDPR

External Ratings

Trustpilot
4.2/5
Reviews Count
8,168
G2 Rating
4/5
BBB Rating
N/A (Germany-based)

Advanced Technical

DB Type
MySQL/MariaDB/PostgreSQL
Elasticsearch

Access & Limits

SSH Tier
All plans (root access)
Instant Activation

Additional Pricing

Exclusions
14-day cancellation period; Most setup fees non-refundable once server deployed
Payment Methods
Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, Bank Transfer, SEPA Direct Debit
Auto Renewal
SSL Provider
Self-managed (Let's Encrypt recommended)

Support Details

Phone Countries
Germany, United States, United Kingdom
Community Forum
Outsourced

Affiliate Program

Affiliate Available
Commission Type
Per sale
Commission Amount
€25-€100 per referral; 30-day cookie

Additional Policies

File Hosting
Proxy/VPN
Suspension Policy
Violation of ToS; non-payment; abuse reports
Downloadable Backups

Additional Platforms

PrestaShop
Ghost
Shopify Migration
Wix Migration
Squarespace Migration
Webflow Export

Editorial Notes

Best For
Budget-conscious users wanting high specs at low price; Developers comfortable with unmanaged servers; Users needing lots of RAM/storage cheaply; Long-term projects where value matters most; Users who don't need premium support
Avoid If
Need reliable 24/7 support; Want managed WordPress; Require consistent uptime; Beginner requiring hand-holding; Need included cPanel; Critical applications requiring premium reliability
Known Issues
Support response times can be slow and inconsistent; No managed services; No cPanel included; Some users report downtime issues (26-hour outage reported); Policies described as inconsistent; No phone support 24/7; Backups are manual only; Interface less polished than competitors
USP
Highest specs per dollar with 8GB RAM VPS for under $5/month and 32TB bandwidth
Ideal Customer
Developer or tech user wanting maximum specs at minimum cost who doesn't need premium support

Competition

Competitors
Hetzner, OVHcloud, Vultr
Best Alternative To
Hetzner

We strive for accuracy, but pricing and features change frequently. Some data may be outdated. Report an error and we'll update it promptly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Contabo

Contabo offers the best specs per dollar in the industry - 8GB RAM VPS for under $5/month. Their Cloud VPS 30 was ranked #1 VPS in 2025. However, support quality is inconsistent and there are no managed services.
Contabo is an independent German company founded by Michael Herpich and Michael Bolke in 2003. Originally named Giga-International, it rebranded to Contabo in 2013.
Contabo VPS starts at €4.50/month for 8GB RAM with no renewal increase. Dedicated servers from €64.99/month. 32TB bandwidth included.
No, Contabo is for technical users. There's no cPanel, no managed services, and support can be slow. Beginners should consider managed hosting alternatives.
No, Contabo VPS/dedicated servers do not include email hosting. You must configure your own mail server.
Yes, but it's completely unmanaged. You install and maintain WordPress yourself with no automated tools.
Contabo guarantees 99.9% uptime, though some users have reported extended outages. Perfect uptime recorded in Q3 2025 by HOSTtest.
Yes, with a 14-day cancellation period. Monthly billing is available. Setup fees on dedicated servers may not be refunded.