Cloud servers (VPS) · Comparison
Akamai Cloud (Linode) vs Amazon Lightsail vs Vultr Cloud Compute
3 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 | Akamai Cloud (Linode) | Amazon Lightsail | Vultr Cloud Compute |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Worth the priceA 2 vCPU, 4 GB Linode for $24 a month with 4 TB of pooled transfer, overage at $0.005 per GB and ISO 27001 coverage for compute. | 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 | 6.7Best | 5.6 | 6.6 |
| Free option | Free trial | Free trial | Free trial |
| Card to start | Card required | –Not measured | Card required |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $5/mo | $3.50/mo | $2.50/mo |
| Pricing model | Usage-based | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices |
| Reference server | Linode 4 GB: 2 vCPU (shared), 4 GB, 80 GB SSD, 4 TB transfer, $24/mo | 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) | $29: $24 plan + $5 Backups add-on, computed | $28: $24 plan + $4 for one 80 GB snapshot, computed | $24: $20 plan + $4 backups (20%), computed |
| Billing | Hourly, rounded up, capped at the monthly price; G8 plans and extra IPv4 uncapped | Hourly up to the monthly bundle price | Hourly, 1-hour minimum, capped at 672 hours; VX1 and GPU at 730 hours |
| Transfer overage | $0.005/GB (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific); pooled; inbound free | $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 | One per Linode included; extra addresses need justification, price not listed | 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 | Priced per plan ($2 to $5/mo at small sizes); daily, weekly and biweekly copies | 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 | One manual snapshot in Backups; captured images $0.10/GB-month | $0.05/GB-month, incremental | $0.05/GB-month of compressed size |
| Free credit | $100 for new customers via promo page or referral, payment method required | $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 | $36/mo (G6 Dedicated 4 GB) or $43 (G7) | Not offered (burstable plans) | $28/mo (CPU Optimized, 1 vCPU, 2 GB); 2 vCPU, 4 GB at $40 |
| Image export | No backup download; raw .img image upload up to 6 GB | 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 | SOC 2 Type 1 for compute; ISO 27001:2022 covers compute | Lightsail not listed in AWS SOC or ISO scope | SOC 2 Type II (with HIPAA) in the console; ISO 27001:2022 |
| HIPAA BAA | On request; compute listed in HIPAA scope | Lightsail not on the HIPAA eligible services list | By contract, after an architecture review |
| EU regions | Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Stockholm | Frankfurt, Ireland, Paris, Stockholm, Spain (opt-in) | Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid, Stockholm, Warsaw, Milan |
| Spend cap | None; transfer emails at 80, 90 and 100% | 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, Akamai Cloud keeps Linode's clear plan list and adds low-cost pooled transfer ($0.005 per GB over the allowance), ISO 27001 for compute and free support. Compute has a SOC 2 Type 1 report, and G8 plans are billed without a cap. | 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: Akamai Cloud (Linode): facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; 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 Akamai Cloud (Linode) review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Akamai Cloud (Linode) when
- You want a DPA that is part of the terms, published regional prices and support included.
- Pick Vultr Cloud Compute when
- You want the lowest scenario price here ($24, computed) and a SOC 2 Type II report.
From our Amazon Lightsail review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Amazon Lightsail when
- You want AWS identity tools, CloudTrail and snapshots that export to EC2.
- Pick Akamai Cloud (Linode) when
- You want overage at $0.005 per GB, ISO 27001 for compute and a HIPAA BAA on request.
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.
From our Vultr Cloud Compute review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Vultr Cloud Compute when
- You want a SOC 2 Type II report and a lower scenario price.
- Pick Akamai Cloud (Linode) when
- You want overage at $0.005 per GB, published regional prices and support included.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- Akamai Cloud (Linode)Nanode 1 GB$5/mo$0.0075/hour, capped at the monthly price
- 1 shared vCPU, 1 GB, 25 GB SSD
- 1 TB of transfer
- One IPv4 address included
- Backups $2/mo
- 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: Akamai Cloud (Linode) 2026-10-16, Amazon Lightsail 2026-10-16, Vultr Cloud Compute 2026-10-16.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- Akamai Cloud (Linode)Self-serve sign-up, card required; the highest score of the 3 self-serve products here (6.7/10).
- Lowest starter price
- Vultr Cloud Compute$2.50/mo for the Regular Performance 0.5 GB (IPv6 only) plan.
- Highest overall score
- Akamai Cloud (Linode)6.7/10 (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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