Review · VPS
Contabo Review: When a Cheap VPS With Loads of Resources Really Pays Off
Contabo sells VPS plans that give you 4 cores and 8 GB of RAM for the price of a lunch. We look at the catch, the jobs it is ideal for, and when it is worth paying more for a different server.
Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through them, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend what we use ourselves. Learn more
What is Contabo
Contabo is a German hosting provider based in Munich, in business since 2003. The company sells virtual servers (VPS), servers with dedicated cores (VDS), dedicated servers and object storage. Its main data centers are in Germany, and it also has locations in the UK, the US, Asia and Australia.
Contabo is known for one thing: for the same money it gives you noticeably more RAM, cores and disk than most competitors. We use it for bots, scrapers, n8n and test servers, so this review comes from hands-on experience.
Plans and pricing
The main lineup is called Cloud VPS: plans numbered 10, 20, 30 and up. The entry-level Cloud VPS 10, as of October 2026, gives you:
| Spec | Cloud VPS 10 |
|---|---|
| CPU | 4 vCPU (AMD EPYC) |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Disk | 75 GB NVMe or a larger SSD of your choice |
| Port | 200 Mbit/s |
| Traffic | no hard cap, limited by port speed |
| Price | around €5 per month, less when paid yearly |
The higher plans scale almost linearly: more cores, up to dozens of gigabytes of RAM and hundreds of gigabytes of disk. For comparison, premium providers usually give you 1 core and 1 GB of RAM for $5.
Contabo has changed its prices several times, and they vary by region and billing term. Before ordering, check the final amount in the cart, including any one-time setup fee.
Pros
- Resources for pennies. 8 GB of RAM for the price others charge for 1-2 GB. That is the deciding argument for memory-hungry workloads: browser-based scrapers, databases, multiple Docker containers.
- A big disk. Enough room for logs, backups, files and databases without paying extra for more storage.
- Traffic isn't metered the way it is at many cloud providers, so there are no surprise bandwidth bills.
- European data centers. Germany is a solid choice for European audiences, with low latency.
- Basic DDoS protection is included.
The downsides the ads don't mention
- Lower and less consistent performance. The cores are virtual and shared with other customers, so in independent benchmarks per-core CPU and disk speed lag noticeably behind DigitalOcean. For most background jobs you won't notice, but for a busy production site you will.
- Servers aren't provisioned instantly. It can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours from payment to a ready server, while at DigitalOcean it takes a minute.
- No hourly billing. The minimum term is one month. You can't spin up a server for an hour of testing and then delete it.
- Unhurried support. They do reply, but not as fast as premium providers. Plan on relying on yourself or a sysadmin.
- Backups cost extra. A few snapshots are usually free, but automatic backups are paid separately. For important data, set up your own backups to another location.
What we recommend Contabo for
- Telegram bots, especially several on one server.
- Scrapers with browser automation (Playwright, Puppeteer) that need plenty of RAM.
- n8n and other self-hosted tools: automations with no limits on executions for €5 a month.
- Test and staging servers, where price matters more than maximum reliability.
- A backup server for your sites and databases, thanks to the large disk.
- Learning and side projects, where you want a powerful server without a big bill.
When to choose something else
- A production site or CRM where consistent speed and fast support matter: here we choose DigitalOcean.
- A WordPress site with no technical skills: it is simpler to get shared hosting, for example Hostinger, and skip server administration.
- Short experiments lasting a few hours: a provider with hourly billing is a better fit.
Contabo vs DigitalOcean
| Contabo | DigitalOcean | |
|---|---|---|
| Resources for $5-6 / €5-6 | 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM | 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM |
| Per-core performance | lower, can fluctuate | higher and more consistent |
| Server provisioning | from minutes to a few hours | about a minute |
| Billing | monthly or upfront | for the time the server actually runs |
| Backups | snapshots, automatic backups for an extra fee | weekly or daily for 20-30% of the server price |
| Support and documentation | basic | strong, lots of tutorials |
| Our pick for | bots, scrapers, n8n, staging | production sites, CRMs, client projects |
We often combine the two: production lives on DigitalOcean, while heavy background jobs and backups run on Contabo.
How to order and set it up
- Choose a Cloud VPS plan. The entry-level one is enough for a bot or n8n.
- Choose the region closest to your audience: for Europe, that's Germany.
- Choose the Ubuntu 24.04 image and a login method. It is best to add an SSH key right away.
- Choose the term. A longer term is usually cheaper per month and may waive the one-time setup fee.
- Wait for the email with the IP address and login details.
- Secure the server: a separate user, key-based login, a firewall. The step-by-step commands are in our deployment guide: everything from step 4 onward is the same for any Ubuntu VPS.
Our verdict
Contabo is great when you need lots of resources for minimal money and can live with somewhat lower and less consistent performance. For bots, scrapers, automations and test servers, it is one of the best-value options on the market. For mission-critical production, it is worth paying more for a premium provider.
Is Contabo reliable?
It is a company with a long track record and its own data centers in Germany. The servers run reliably, but guaranteed performance and support response times are lower than at more expensive providers. For important data, keep backups in another location, as you would with any host.
Can I run WordPress on Contabo?
Yes, but you will have to administer the server yourself or with a sysadmin: a website control panel isn't included in the base price. If all you need is a WordPress site, shared hosting is simpler.
Which location should I choose?
The one closest to your audience; for Europe, that means the data centers in Germany. Other regions, like some add-ons, may cost more.
Can I upgrade my plan later?
Yes, you can upgrade a Cloud VPS plan in the control panel. Downgrading is usually harder, so start smaller.