Cloud servers (VPS) · Comparison
Amazon Lightsail vs Vultr Cloud Compute
2 products compared side by side: what you pay for with each one first, then the five access facts, entry prices, recorded plan limits and the bottom line of each review. The evidence note under the table says how each product was checked.
Side by side
| Metric | Amazon Lightsail | Vultr Cloud Compute |
|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Easy to adoptA fixed-price AWS server: 2 vCPUs, 4 GB, 80 GB SSD, 4 TB of transfer and an IPv4 address for $24 a month, with a path to Amazon EC2. | Worth the priceA 2 vCPU, 4 GB, 80 GB server for $20 a month with 3 TB of pooled transfer, backed by Vultr's own SOC 2 Type II report and ISO 27001. |
| Overall score | 5.6 | 6.6Best |
| Free option | Free trial | Free trial |
| Card to start | –Not measured | Card required |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $3.50/mo | $2.50/mo |
| Pricing model | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices |
| Reference server | Linux General Purpose: 2 vCPU (burstable), 4 GB, 80 GB SSD, 4 TB transfer, $24/mo with IPv4 | Regular Performance: 2 vCPU (shared), 4 GB, 80 GB SSD, 3 TB transfer, $20/mo |
| Reference scenario (US, monthly) | $28: $24 plan + $4 for one 80 GB snapshot, computed | $24: $20 plan + $4 backups (20%), computed |
| Billing | Hourly up to the monthly bundle price | Hourly, 1-hour minimum, capped at 672 hours; VX1 and GPU at 730 hours |
| Transfer overage | $0.09/GB in US regions; inbound counts toward the allowance; pooled per plan and region | $0.01/GB; pooled across the account with 2 TB free; inbound free |
| Public IPv4 | Included in IPv4 bundles; IPv6-only bundles $1.50 to $4 less | One included; reserved IP $3/mo; extra addresses for an unlisted fee |
| Backups | Automatic daily snapshots, latest 7 kept, billed as snapshot storage (Linux only) | 20% of the server price; daily to monthly schedules; two most recent kept |
| Snapshots | $0.05/GB-month, incremental | $0.05/GB-month of compressed size |
| Free credit | $100 in AWS credits, up to $100 more, Free plan up to 6 months | Coupon credit up to $300 (up to 30 days); free tier server by application |
| Dedicated vCPU from | Not offered (burstable plans) | $28/mo (CPU Optimized, 1 vCPU, 2 GB); 2 vCPU, 4 GB at $40 |
| Image export | Snapshot export to Amazon EC2 only; no download or import | No snapshot download; ISO and raw image import from a URL |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | Lightsail not listed in AWS SOC or ISO scope | SOC 2 Type II (with HIPAA) in the console; ISO 27001:2022 |
| HIPAA BAA | Lightsail not on the HIPAA eligible services list | By contract, after an architecture review |
| EU regions | Frankfurt, Ireland, Paris, Stockholm, Spain (opt-in) | Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid, Stockholm, Warsaw, Milan |
| Spend cap | AWS Budgets alerts; project spend limits that pause resources only in AWS's new sign-up experience, which is in limited release | None self-serve; bandwidth usage emails |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Lightsail is a simple way to a fixed-price AWS server, with snapshots billed by storage and an export path to EC2. It is not on AWS's compliance scope lists, and transfer beyond the allowance costs $0.09 per GB. | From its public pages, Vultr has the lowest list price for the reference server and a broad compliance file with free SSO. Some regional prices are missing from the pricing page, and several pages disagree on details such as DDoS protection. |
Evidence: Amazon Lightsail: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Vultr Cloud Compute: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
When to pick each
In the words of each review, with the date its facts were checked.
From our Amazon Lightsail review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Amazon Lightsail when
- You want the same published price in every region, a free start that suspends rather than bills when it ends, and a path to Amazon EC2.
- Pick Vultr Cloud Compute when
- You want a lower scenario price ($24, computed), a SOC 2 Type II report and ISO 27001.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- Amazon LightsailLinux 512 MB (IPv6 only)$3.50/mo$0.0047/hour; no public IPv4
- 2 burstable vCPUs, 512 MB, 20 GB SSD
- 1 TB of transfer
- Vultr Cloud ComputeLowest priceRegular Performance 0.5 GB (IPv6 only)$2.50/mo$0.004/hour; 2 per account, not available through the API; $3.50 with IPv4
- 1 shared vCPU, 0.5 GB, 10 GB SSD
- 0.5 TB of transfer
- IPv6 only
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Amazon Lightsail 2026-10-16, Vultr Cloud Compute 2026-10-16.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- Vultr Cloud ComputeSelf-serve sign-up, card required; the highest score of the 2 self-serve products here (6.6/10).
- Lowest starter price
- Vultr Cloud Compute$2.50/mo for the Regular Performance 0.5 GB (IPv6 only) plan.
- Highest overall score
- Vultr Cloud Compute6.6/10 (Good). The review shows the score breakdown and the run behind it.
Picked by fixed rules from the table above, not by hand. How we score
Full reviews
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