AWS Lightsail vs Contabo VPS
Contabo has the lower starting price: $5.28 a month for 8 GB RAM, against $7.00 for 1 GB at AWS Lightsail.
Prices checked on October 27, 2026. Monthly prices in USD on the billing term shown with each plan, including discounts through our links. We earn a fee if you buy through a provider link, which never changes the ranking. How we rank
The short answer
- Contabo has the lower starting price: $5.28 a month for 8 GB RAM, against $7.00 for 1 GB at AWS Lightsail.
- Contabo gives more memory for your money: a median of $1.19 per GB of RAM, about 5.1 times cheaper than AWS Lightsail at $6.00.
- AWS Lightsail scales further, up to 512 GB RAM and 72 vCPU, while Contabo tops out at 96 GB and 24 vCPU.
- For location, only AWS Lightsail has servers in Canada, and only Contabo has servers in United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, Japan, Australia, India.
- Contabo offers NVMe storage, which is faster than the SATA SSDs the other uses.
Side by side
| Compared on | AWS Lightsail | Contabo |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $7.00/mo | $5.28/mo (better) |
| Median price per GB RAM | $6.00 | $1.19 (better) |
| Lowest price per GB RAM | $4.50 | $0.49 (better) |
| Median price per vCPU | $23.45 | $4.20 (better) |
| VPS plans | 24 | 17 |
| Largest plan RAM | 512 GB (better) | 96 GB |
| Largest plan vCPU | 72 (better) | 24 |
| NVMe storage | No | Yes |
| Unlimited bandwidth plans | No | Yes |
| Server countries | United States, Canada | United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, Japan, Australia, India |
| Discount through VPS Scouter | – | – |
| Founded | 2016 | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Seattle, USA | Munich, Germany |
Price at every RAM size
The cheapest plan from each provider with at least this much memory, per month.
| RAM | AWS Lightsail | Contabo |
|---|---|---|
| 1 GB+ | $7.00 · Lightsail 1 GB (1 GB, 2 vCPU) | $5.28 · Cloud VPS 4 (8 GB, 4 vCPU) (better) |
| 2 GB+ | $12.00 · Lightsail 2 GB (2 GB, 2 vCPU) | $5.28 · Cloud VPS 4 (8 GB, 4 vCPU) (better) |
| 4 GB+ | $24.00 · Lightsail 4 GB (4 GB, 2 vCPU) | $5.28 · Cloud VPS 4 (8 GB, 4 vCPU) (better) |
| 8 GB+ | $44.00 · Lightsail 8 GB (8 GB, 2 vCPU) | $5.28 · Cloud VPS 4 (8 GB, 4 vCPU) (better) |
| 16 GB+ | $74.00 · Lightsail 16 GB (16 GB, 2 vCPU) | $13.44 · Cloud VPS 8 (24 GB, 8 vCPU) (better) |
| 32 GB+ | $144.00 · Lightsail 32 GB (32 GB, 4 vCPU) | $24.00 · Cloud VPS 12 (48 GB, 12 vCPU) (better) |
Best value plans from AWS Lightsail and Contabo
| # | Provider and plan | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Bandwidth | Price | Visit provider |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ContaboCloud VPS 6 | 6 | 12 GB | 200 GB SSD | Unlimited | $7.20/mo2-year term · renews at $9.00/mo | Visit Contabo |
| 2 | ContaboCloud VPS 8 | 8 | 24 GB | 300 GB SSD | Unlimited | $13.44/mo2-year term · renews at $16.80/mo | Visit Contabo |
| 3 | ContaboCloud VPS 12 | 12 | 48 GB | 400 GB SSD | Unlimited | $24.00/mo2-year term · renews at $30.00/mo | Visit Contabo |
| 4 | ContaboCloud VPS 4 | 4 | 8 GB | 100 GB SSD | Unlimited | $5.28/mo2-year term · renews at $6.60/mo | Visit Contabo |
| 5 | ContaboCloud VPS 18 | 18 | 96 GB | 600 GB SSD | Unlimited | $47.04/mo2-year term · renews at $58.80/mo | Visit Contabo |
| 6 | ContaboCloud VPS 16 | 16 | 64 GB | 500 GB SSD | Unlimited | $35.60/mo2-year term · renews at $44.50/mo | Visit Contabo |
| 7 | ContaboCloud VPS Plus 6 | 6 | 12 GB | 300 GB NVME | Unlimited | $18.40/mo2-year term · renews at $23.00/mo | Visit Contabo |
| 8 | ContaboCloud VPS Plus 18 | 18 | 96 GB | 900 GB NVME | Unlimited | $95.20/mo2-year term · renews at $119.00/mo | Visit Contabo |
| 9 | ContaboCloud VPS Plus 8 | 8 | 24 GB | 450 GB NVME | Unlimited | $33.60/mo2-year term · renews at $42.00/mo | Visit Contabo |
| 10 | ContaboCloud VPS Plus 12 | 12 | 48 GB | 600 GB NVME | Unlimited | $56.80/mo2-year term · renews at $71.00/mo | Visit Contabo |
| 11 | ContaboCloud VPS Plus 16 | 16 | 64 GB | 750 GB NVME | Unlimited | $76.00/mo2-year term · renews at $95.00/mo | Visit Contabo |
| 12 | ContaboCloud VPS Plus 4 | 4 | 8 GB | 150 GB NVME | Unlimited | $13.00/mo2-year term · renews at $16.25/mo | Visit Contabo |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is AWS Lightsail cheaper than Contabo?
Contabo has the lower entry price at $5.28 a month. Per GB of RAM, Contabo is cheaper, with a median of $1.19 across its plans. Which one is cheaper for you depends on the plan size you need, so check the table by RAM size.
Which is better, AWS Lightsail or Contabo?
It depends on what you need. Contabo gives more memory for your money: a median of $1.19 per GB of RAM, about 5.1 times cheaper than AWS Lightsail at $6.00. AWS Lightsail scales further, up to 512 GB RAM and 72 vCPU, while Contabo tops out at 96 GB and 24 vCPU. Neither price tells you about speed or support, so read the provider pages and reviews too.
How do you compare the prices?
We use each provider's monthly price in USD on the billing term it advertises, which we show next to every price, including any discount you get through our links. Prices come from the providers' own pricing pages and are checked every Sunday.