Linode (Akamai Cloud) vs Scaleway Instances
Neither wins outright: Linode (Akamai Cloud) is cheaper for 2 of 3 workloads and Scaleway Instances 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 | Linode (Akamai Cloud) | Scaleway Instances | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | $5.00/mo | $4.20/mo | 1.2× Scaleway Instances |
| Compute | $0.0075/vCPU-hr | $0.0060/vCPU-hr | 1.3× Scaleway Instances |
| Data transfer out | $0.0050/GB | $0.010/GB | 2× Linode (Akamai Cloud) |
| Free tier | Yes | No | — |
Source: Akamai pricing (May 2026) · Scaleway 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 | Linode (Akamai Cloud) | Scaleway Instances | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side projectA personal site or small app with modest traffic, a few gigabytes of assets, and one small always-on process. | $5.47 | $5.38 | Scaleway Instancessaves $0.09/mo (2%) |
| Growing SaaSA funded product serving a few thousand daily users, with an image-heavy frontend and two application servers. | $11 | $19 | Linode (Akamai Cloud)saves $7.81/mo (42%) |
| Media-heavy siteA publisher or video product where delivery dominates the bill and compute is almost an afterthought. | $50 | $104 | Linode (Akamai Cloud)saves $54/mo (52%) |
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
Linode (Akamai Cloud)
by Akamai
Flat-rate VPS instances now sold under Akamai, with transfer pooled across the account and egress overage priced at half a cent per gigabyte.
Free tier: 1 TB of egress included on the $5 plan
Scaleway Instances
by Scaleway
French-hosted compute with EU data residency, billed per second, sitting between the budget hosts and the hyperscalers on price.
Common questions
- Is Linode (Akamai Cloud) or Scaleway Instances cheaper in 2026?
- It depends on volume — Linode (Akamai Cloud) wins 2 of the 3 modelled workloads and Scaleway Instances wins 1. The scenario table above shows where the crossover falls.
- What is the difference in egress cost between Linode (Akamai Cloud) and Scaleway Instances?
- Linode (Akamai Cloud) charges $0.0050 per GB against Scaleway Instances's $0.010, roughly 2× cheaper. Egress usually dominates the bill once traffic is measured in terabytes.
- Which has the better free tier, Linode (Akamai Cloud) or Scaleway Instances?
- Linode (Akamai Cloud) does — 1 TB of egress included on the $5 plan. Scaleway Instances bills from the first unit of usage.
- 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.