Short answer
As of October 23, 2026, Contabo wins more of the head-to-head checks (3 vs 2) and ranks higher overall (#6 of 160). DigitalOcean is cheaper to start ($4.00 vs $6.16 a month) and DigitalOcean has more locations (13 vs 10).
Verdict
DigitalOcean is cheaper to start: Basic 512 MB (s-1vcpu-512mb-10gb) costs $4.00 per month against $6.16 at Contabo, but Contabo gives more RAM for the money ($0.70 vs $7.00 per GB, median).
DigitalOcean has the wider footprint with 13 locations in 8 countries, against 10 in 7 at Contabo; both offer New York, Singapore and Sydney.
On features, only Contabo offers Windows Server and only DigitalOcean bills hourly.
Customers rate Contabo higher on Trustpilot: 4.6 from 11,470 reviews versus 4.5 from 2,581.
Overall Contabo ranks #6 and DigitalOcean #15 of 160 providers we track. Choose Contabo if you need Windows Server; choose DigitalOcean if price matters most or you need a wider choice of locations.
Contabo and DigitalOcean side by side
| Contabo | DigitalOcean | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | Cloud VPS 4: $6.16/mo | Basic 512 MB (s-1vcpu-512mb-10gb): $4.00/mo |
| Entry plan specs | 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 100 GB SSD, unmetered traffic | 1 vCPU, 512 MB RAM, 10 GB SSD, 500 GB traffic |
| Cheapest Windows plan | Cloud VPS 4: $6.16/mo | No Windows |
| Median price per GB RAM | $0.70 | $7.00 |
| Data-center locations | 10 in 7 countries | 13 in 8 countries |
| Regions | Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania | Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania |
| Virtualisation | KVM | KVM |
| Hourly billing | No | Yes |
| NVMe storage | Yes | Yes |
| DDoS protection | Yes | Yes |
| Backups | Paid | Paid |
| Managed option | No | No |
| Payment methods | card, paypal, wire, other | card, paypal, crypto, alipay, other |
| Money-back | 14 days | Not published |
| Uptime SLA | 99.9% (annual average network availability per ToS clause 11) | 99.99% |
| Trustpilot | 4.6 (11,470 reviews) | 4.5 (2,581 reviews) |
| Founded / HQ | 2003, Munich DE | 2012, Broomfield US |
Highlighted cells mark the better value where the comparison is objective (lower price, more locations, higher rating).
Plans at the same size
The closest matching plans by RAM from each provider.
| RAM | Contabo | $/month | DigitalOcean | $/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | no plan | — | Basic 1 GB (s-1vcpu-1gb) (1 vCPU, 25 GB) | $6.00 |
| 2 GB | no plan | — | Basic 2 GB (s-1vcpu-2gb) (1 vCPU, 50 GB) | $12.00 |
| 4 GB | no plan | — | Basic 4 GB (s-2vcpu-4gb) (2 vCPU, 80 GB) | $24.00 |
| 8 GB | Cloud VPS 4 (4 vCPU, 100 GB) | $6.16 | Basic 8 GB (s-4vcpu-8gb) (4 vCPU, 160 GB) | $48.00 |
| 16 GB | no plan | — | Basic 16 GB (s-8vcpu-16gb) (8 vCPU, 320 GB) | $96.00 |
Locations
Contabo operates 10 locations (Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania); DigitalOcean operates 13 (Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania).
Cities both offer: New York, Singapore and Sydney.
Only Contabo: Mumbai, Munich, Nuremberg, Portsmouth, Seattle, St. Louis and Tokyo.
Only DigitalOcean: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Bangalore, Frankfurt, Kansas City, London, Memphis, Richmond, San Francisco and Toronto.
Frequently asked questions
Is Contabo or DigitalOcean better?
As of October 23, 2026, Contabo wins more of the head-to-head checks (3 vs 2) and ranks higher overall (#6 of 160). DigitalOcean is cheaper to start ($4.00 vs $6.16 a month) and DigitalOcean has more locations (13 vs 10).
Is Contabo cheaper than DigitalOcean?
DigitalOcean has the lower entry price: $4.00 against $6.16 per month. The plans-at-equal-RAM table compares them size by size.
Which has more data centers, Contabo or DigitalOcean?
DigitalOcean, with 13 locations in 8 countries versus 10 at Contabo. Both operate in New York, Singapore and Sydney.
Do Contabo and DigitalOcean offer Windows VPS?
Only Contabo offers Windows Server.
Sources
Prices, plans and locations were read from these pages; last checked October 23, 2026. Prices change, so confirm on the provider's site before you buy.