Linode (Akamai Cloud) vs UpCloud
Neither wins outright: Linode (Akamai Cloud) is cheaper for 1 of 3 workloads and UpCloud 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) | UpCloud | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | $5.00/mo | $5.00/mo | Same |
| Compute | $0.0075/vCPU-hr | $0.0074/vCPU-hr | 1× UpCloud |
| Data transfer out | $0.0050/GB | $0.010/GB | 2× Linode (Akamai Cloud) |
| Free tier | Yes | No | — |
Source: Akamai pricing (May 2026) · UpCloud 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) | UpCloud | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side projectA personal site or small app with modest traffic, a few gigabytes of assets, and one small always-on process. | $5.47 | $5.40 | UpCloudsaves $0.07/mo (1%) |
| Growing SaaSA funded product serving a few thousand daily users, with an image-heavy frontend and two application servers. | $11 | $11 | UpCloudsaves $0.15/mo (1%) |
| Media-heavy siteA publisher or video product where delivery dominates the bill and compute is almost an afterthought. | $50 | $95 | Linode (Akamai Cloud)saves $45/mo (47%) |
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
UpCloud
by UpCloud
A Finnish host selling on MaxIOPS block storage performance, with a transfer allowance per instance and pricing close to DigitalOcean's.
Common questions
- Is Linode (Akamai Cloud) or UpCloud cheaper in 2026?
- It depends on volume — Linode (Akamai Cloud) wins 1 of the 3 modelled workloads and UpCloud wins 2. The scenario table above shows where the crossover falls.
- What is the difference in egress cost between Linode (Akamai Cloud) and UpCloud?
- Linode (Akamai Cloud) charges $0.0050 per GB against UpCloud'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 UpCloud?
- Linode (Akamai Cloud) does — 1 TB of egress included on the $5 plan. UpCloud 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.