Vultr vs Linode (Akamai Cloud)
A comparison of Vultr and Linode (Akamai Cloud) built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
- Pick Vultr if
- Teams that want cheap virtual machines with generous included transfer — 2 TB a month per account — and overage at a cent per gigabyte. Block storage and managed databases sit alongside.
- Pick Linode (Akamai Cloud) if
- Akamai Cloud virtual machines from $5 a month in North America, with 1 TB of transfer included and egress at half a cent per gigabyte in core data centres.
8 sourced criteria separate them:
- Entry paid plan
- Vultr: $2.50/mo (Regular Performance Cloud Compute, IPv6-only plan)
- Linode (Akamai Cloud): $5.00/month (Nanode 1 GB shared CPU plan, North America pricing)
- Pricing model
- Vultr: Hourly billing; Cloud Compute is billed up to 672 hours per month, with a one-hour minimum billing unit
- Linode (Akamai Cloud): Hybrid hourly billing, invoiced monthly, with hourly usage capped at each service's monthly rate
- Egress over allowance
- Vultr: $0.01 per GB
- Linode (Akamai Cloud): $0.005/GB in most core data centers ($0.015/GB Jakarta, $0.007/GB Sao Paulo, $0.01/GB distributed data centers)
- When you exceed a cap
- Vultr: Billed automatically — bandwidth above the plan quota is charged at $0.01 per GB
- Linode (Akamai Cloud): Billed automatically — transfer above the monthly pool starts at $0.005/GB ($5/TB) and varies by region ($0.015/GB Jakarta, $0.007/GB São Paulo, $0.01/GB all distributed data centers), charged at the end of the billing period
- Storage (entry plan)
- Vultr: 10 GB on the cheapest paid Cloud Compute Regular Performance plan (1 vCPU / 0.5 GB, $2.50/mo, IPv6 Only)
- Linode (Akamai Cloud): 25 GB on the Nanode 1 GB plan, the cheapest Linode at $5.00/mo in North America regions (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Fremont, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, Seattle, Toronto, Washington D.C.)
- Memory (entry plan)
- Vultr: 0.5 GB on the cheapest paid Cloud Compute Regular Performance plan (1 vCPU, $2.50/mo, IPv6 Only)
- Linode (Akamai Cloud): 1 GB on the Nanode 1 GB plan, the cheapest Linode at $5.00/mo in North America regions (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Fremont, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, Seattle, Toronto, Washington D.C.)
- Included bandwidth
- Vultr: 2 TB of free bandwidth per account per month, plus each running instance's own monthly cap allocated hourly
- Linode (Akamai Cloud): 1 TB per month included with the entry-level Nanode 1 GB plan (larger shared CPU plans include more)
- File or inode limit
- Vultr: Up to 16 Vultr Block Storage volumes can be attached to the same Cloud Compute instance
- Linode (Akamai Cloud): 250 Block Storage volumes per account across all regions (default global quota; increases can be requested)
At a glance.
| Criterion | Vultr | Linode (Akamai Cloud) |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Entry paid plan | $2.50/mo (Regular Performance Cloud Compute, IPv6-only plan) | $5.00/month (Nanode 1 GB shared CPU plan, North America pricing) |
| Pricing model | Hourly billing; Cloud Compute is billed up to 672 hours per month, with a one-hour minimum billing unit | Hybrid hourly billing, invoiced monthly, with hourly usage capped at each service's monthly rate |
| Egress over allowance | $0.01 per GB | $0.005/GB in most core data centers ($0.015/GB Jakarta, $0.007/GB Sao Paulo, $0.01/GB distributed data centers) |
| When you exceed a cap | Billed automatically — bandwidth above the plan quota is charged at $0.01 per GB | Billed automatically — transfer above the monthly pool starts at $0.005/GB ($5/TB) and varies by region ($0.015/GB Jakarta, $0.007/GB São Paulo, $0.01/GB all distributed data centers), charged at the end of the billing period |
| Limits | ||
| Storage (entry plan) | 10 GB on the cheapest paid Cloud Compute Regular Performance plan (1 vCPU / 0.5 GB, $2.50/mo, IPv6 Only) | 25 GB on the Nanode 1 GB plan, the cheapest Linode at $5.00/mo in North America regions (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Fremont, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, Seattle, Toronto, Washington D.C.) |
| Memory (entry plan) | 0.5 GB on the cheapest paid Cloud Compute Regular Performance plan (1 vCPU, $2.50/mo, IPv6 Only) | 1 GB on the Nanode 1 GB plan, the cheapest Linode at $5.00/mo in North America regions (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Fremont, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, Seattle, Toronto, Washington D.C.) |
| Included bandwidth | 2 TB of free bandwidth per account per month, plus each running instance's own monthly cap allocated hourly | 1 TB per month included with the entry-level Nanode 1 GB plan (larger shared CPU plans include more) |
| File or inode limit | Up to 16 Vultr Block Storage volumes can be attached to the same Cloud Compute instance | 250 Block Storage volumes per account across all regions (default global quota; increases can be requested) |
| Execution | ||
| Managed connection pooling | Supported | Supported |
| Deployment | ||
| Containers | Supported | Supported |
| Infrastructure | ||
| Persistent storage | Supported | Supported |
| Managed databases | Supported | Supported |
| Scales to zero | Not supported | Not supported |
| Autoscaling | Limited | Limited |
Where they differ.
Entry paid plan
- Vultr
- $2.50/mo (Regular Performance Cloud Compute, IPv6-only plan)
- Linode (Akamai Cloud)
- $5.00/month (Nanode 1 GB shared CPU plan, North America pricing)
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- High Performance, High Frequency, Bare Metal, Affordable Cloud Computing - Vultr.com ↗
“1 vCPU 0.5 GB 0.50 TB 10 GB $2.50 /mo $0.004 /hr IPv6 Only”
Read 2026-09-05 · official pricing
- North America Cloud Computing Costs and Pricing | Akamai ↗
“Nanode 1 GB $5.00 $0.0075 1 GB 1 25 GB 1 TB 40/1 Gbps”
Read 2026-09-05 · official pricing
Pricing model
- Vultr
- Hourly billing; Cloud Compute is billed up to 672 hours per month, with a one-hour minimum billing unit
- Linode (Akamai Cloud)
- Hybrid hourly billing, invoiced monthly, with hourly usage capped at each service's monthly rate
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- How Am I Billed for My Servers? | Vultr Docs ↗
“Vultr bills all servers on an hourly basis. The billing model varies slightly based on the product type: GPU Instances: Billed up to 730 hours per month, aligned with the industry-standard monthly cap. All Other Server Types (including Cloud Compute, Optimized Cloud Compute, Bare Metal): Billed up to 672 hours per month.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
- Billing ↗
“Akamai uses a hybrid hourly billing model that's simple and flexible. You can continuously add, modify, and remove services throughout the month. Once the month ends, you receive an invoice for the hourly usage of each service up to the monthly cap.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
Egress over allowance
- Vultr
- $0.01 per GB
- Linode (Akamai Cloud)
- $0.005/GB in most core data centers ($0.015/GB Jakarta, $0.007/GB Sao Paulo, $0.01/GB distributed data centers)
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- What Is the Bandwidth Overage Rate? | Vultr Docs ↗
“Bandwidth usage exceeding your plan's allocated quota is billed at an overage rate of $0.01 per GB.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
- Network transfer usage and costs ↗
“Any transfer usage that exceeds the monthly allotment starts at $0.005/GB (or $5/TB) depending on the service's region (see the table below). If no transfer is included, all transfer is billed at the following rates.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
When you exceed a cap
- Vultr
- Billed automatically — bandwidth above the plan quota is charged at $0.01 per GB
- Linode (Akamai Cloud)
- Billed automatically — transfer above the monthly pool starts at $0.005/GB ($5/TB) and varies by region ($0.015/GB Jakarta, $0.007/GB São Paulo, $0.01/GB all distributed data centers), charged at the end of the billing period
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- High Performance, High Frequency, Bare Metal, Affordable Cloud Computing - Vultr.com ↗
“We charge $0.01 per GB for bandwidth used in excess of your quota.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official pricing
- Network transfer usage and costs ↗
“Any transfer usage that exceeds the monthly allotment starts at $0.005/GB (or $5/TB) depending on the service’s region (see the table below). If no transfer is included, all transfer is billed at the following rates. Transfer usage is charged at the end of the billing period.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
Storage (entry plan)
10 GB on the cheapest paid Cloud Compute Regular Performance plan (1 vCPU / 0.5 GB, $2.50/mo, IPv6 Only)
25 GB on the Nanode 1 GB plan, the cheapest Linode at $5.00/mo in North America regions (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Fremont, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, Seattle, Toronto, Washington D.C.)
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- High Performance, High Frequency, Bare Metal, Affordable Cloud Computing - Vultr.com ↗
“vCPUs | Memory | Bandwidth | Storage | Monthly Price | Hourly Price — 1 vCPU | 0.5 GB | 0.50 TB | 10 GB | $2.50 /mo | $0.004 /hr | IPv6 Only”
Read 2026-09-05 · official pricing
- North America Cloud Computing Costs and Pricing | Akamai ↗
“Plan | $/Mo | $/Hr | RAM | CPUs | Storage | Transfer | Network In/Out — Nanode 1 GB | $5.00 | $0.0075 | 1 GB | 1 | 25 GB | 1 TB | 40/1 Gbps”
Read 2026-09-05 · official pricing
Memory (entry plan)
0.5 GB on the cheapest paid Cloud Compute Regular Performance plan (1 vCPU, $2.50/mo, IPv6 Only)
1 GB on the Nanode 1 GB plan, the cheapest Linode at $5.00/mo in North America regions (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Fremont, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, Seattle, Toronto, Washington D.C.)
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- High Performance, High Frequency, Bare Metal, Affordable Cloud Computing - Vultr.com ↗
“vCPUs | Memory | Bandwidth | Storage | Monthly Price | Hourly Price — 1 vCPU | 0.5 GB | 0.50 TB | 10 GB | $2.50 /mo | $0.004 /hr | IPv6 Only”
Read 2026-09-05 · official pricing
- North America Cloud Computing Costs and Pricing | Akamai ↗
“Plan | $/Mo | $/Hr | RAM | CPUs | Storage | Transfer | Network In/Out — Nanode 1 GB | $5.00 | $0.0075 | 1 GB | 1 | 25 GB | 1 TB | 40/1 Gbps”
Read 2026-09-05 · official pricing
Included bandwidth
- Vultr
- 2 TB of free bandwidth per account per month, plus each running instance's own monthly cap allocated hourly
- Linode (Akamai Cloud)
- 1 TB per month included with the entry-level Nanode 1 GB plan (larger shared CPU plans include more)
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- How Are Bandwidth Caps Calculated? | Vultr Docs ↗
“Free Bandwidth: Vultr provides 2 TB of free bandwidth per account, allocated monthly. This allocation resets at the beginning of each calendar month and does not carry over.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
- North America Cloud Computing Costs and Pricing | Akamai ↗
“Plan $/Mo $/Hr RAM CPUs Storage Transfer Network In/Out Nanode 1 GB $5.00 $0.0075 1 GB 1 25 GB 1 TB 40/1 Gbps”
Read 2026-09-05 · official pricing
File or inode limit
Up to 16 Vultr Block Storage volumes can be attached to the same Cloud Compute instance
250 Block Storage volumes per account across all regions (default global quota; increases can be requested)
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Block Storage | Vultr Docs ↗
“Yes, you can attach up to 16 Vultr Block Storage volumes to the same Vultr Cloud Compute instance.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
- Block Storage quotas ↗
“Quota: Total number of volumes per account across all regions | Account Quota Value: 250”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
Which should you choose?
Choose Vultr if…
Teams that want cheap virtual machines with generous included transfer — 2 TB a month per account — and overage at a cent per gigabyte. Block storage and managed databases sit alongside.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose Linode (Akamai Cloud) if…
Akamai Cloud virtual machines from $5 a month in North America, with 1 TB of transfer included and egress at half a cent per gigabyte in core data centres.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- Vultr: The $2.50 entry plan is IPv6-only; the equivalent machine with IPv4 starts at $3.50, and stopped instances are still billed.
- Linode (Akamai Cloud): Pricing varies by region, so the North American rate is not what you will pay everywhere, and stopped instances continue to bill.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.