Contabo VPS vs Google Compute Engine
Contabo VPS is cheaper across every workload modelled here.
List prices checked
Rate cards side by side
Only the axes at least one of them bills on. A dash means that provider does not charge for it.
| Billing axis | Contabo VPS | Google Compute Engine | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | $5.50/mo | — | — |
| Compute | — | $0.048/vCPU-hr | — |
| Data transfer out | Free | $0.120/GB | — |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | — |
Source: Contabo pricing (May 2026) · Google pricing (May 2026). Published list prices only — committed-use discounts, regional variation, and per-request charges are not included. Not yet independently re-checked against the vendor’s page.
Monthly cost for three real workloads
The rate cards applied to identical usage. This is where the winner changes.
| Workload | Contabo VPS | Google Compute Engine | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side projectA personal site or small app with modest traffic, a few gigabytes of assets, and one small always-on process. | $5.50 | $47 | Contabo VPSsaves $41/mo (88%) |
| Growing SaaSA funded product serving a few thousand daily users, with an image-heavy frontend and two application servers. | $11 | $189 | Contabo VPSsaves $178/mo (94%) |
| Media-heavy siteA publisher or video product where delivery dominates the bill and compute is almost an afterthought. | $5.50 | $1,235 | Contabo VPSsaves $1,229/mo (100%) |
Workload definitions are identical on every comparison page, so figures here can be read against any other pair in the same category.
What each one is for
Contabo VPS
by Contabo
The most RAM and disk per dollar in the category, with unlimited traffic. Single-thread performance and network consistency are noticeably weaker than the price suggests.
Free tier: Unlimited traffic, throttled after 32 TB
Google Compute Engine
by Google
Comparable to EC2 on list price, with sustained-use discounts applied automatically as an instance runs rather than requiring an upfront commitment.
Free tier: One e2-micro instance per month, always free
Common questions
- Is Contabo VPS or Google Compute Engine cheaper in 2026?
- Contabo VPS is cheaper in all 3 modelled workloads.
- What is the difference in egress cost between Contabo VPS and Google Compute Engine?
- Contabo VPS does not charge for data transfer out at all, while Google Compute Engine charges $0.120 per GB. On a read-heavy workload that difference is the entire comparison.
- Which has the better free tier, Contabo VPS or Google Compute Engine?
- Both publish one. Contabo VPS: Unlimited traffic, throttled after 32 TB. Google Compute Engine: One e2-micro instance per month, always free.
- What do these estimates not include?
- Committed-use and reserved discounts, regional price variation, per-request API charges, support plans, and minimum retention periods. All of those move real invoices, sometimes by a lot. These figures compare published list prices for the same workload, which is the comparison the rate cards alone cannot give you.