IONOS Cloud Servers vs Vultr Cloud Compute
Neither wins outright: IONOS Cloud Servers is cheaper for 2 of 3 workloads and Vultr Cloud Compute for the rest.
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 | IONOS Cloud Servers | Vultr Cloud Compute | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | $4.00/mo | $2.50/mo | 1.6× Vultr Cloud Compute |
| Compute | — | $0.0040/vCPU-hr | — |
| Data transfer out | Free | $0.010/GB | — |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | — |
Source: IONOS pricing (May 2026) · Vultr 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 | IONOS Cloud Servers | Vultr Cloud Compute | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side projectA personal site or small app with modest traffic, a few gigabytes of assets, and one small always-on process. | $4.00 | $2.92 | Vultr Cloud Computesaves $1.08/mo (27%) |
| Growing SaaSA funded product serving a few thousand daily users, with an image-heavy frontend and two application servers. | $8.00 | $11 | IONOS Cloud Serverssaves $2.84/mo (26%) |
| Media-heavy siteA publisher or video product where delivery dominates the bill and compute is almost an afterthought. | $4.00 | $98 | IONOS Cloud Serverssaves $94/mo (96%) |
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
IONOS Cloud Servers
by IONOS
Per-minute billed servers from a German provider, with unlimited traffic and pricing aimed at small European businesses rather than at scale-out workloads.
Free tier: Unlimited traffic included
Vultr Cloud Compute
by Vultr
Cheap flat-rate instances across an unusually wide region list, including locations the hyperscalers do not serve. Bandwidth is allocated per instance rather than pooled.
Free tier: None; the $2.50 IPv6-only plan is the entry point
Common questions
- Is IONOS Cloud Servers or Vultr Cloud Compute cheaper in 2026?
- It depends on volume — IONOS Cloud Servers wins 2 of the 3 modelled workloads and Vultr Cloud Compute wins 1. The scenario table above shows where the crossover falls.
- What is the difference in egress cost between IONOS Cloud Servers and Vultr Cloud Compute?
- IONOS Cloud Servers does not charge for data transfer out at all, while Vultr Cloud Compute charges $0.010 per GB. On a read-heavy workload that difference is the entire comparison.
- Which has the better free tier, IONOS Cloud Servers or Vultr Cloud Compute?
- Both publish one. IONOS Cloud Servers: Unlimited traffic included. Vultr Cloud Compute: None; the $2.50 IPv6-only plan is the entry point.
- 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.