UpCloud vs Linode (Akamai)
A detailed comparison to help you choose between UpCloud and Linode (Akamai).
Quick Verdict
4.2/5
UpCloud
0 reviews
4.0/5
Linode (Akamai)
0 reviews
UpCloud is rated higher (4.2 vs 4.0). Finnish cloud provider with fast MaxIOPS storage and 15 data centers. Starter cloud servers from EUR 3/month, with free outbound traffic. Linode provides managed VPS instances on SSD storage with data centers across North America, Europe, and Asia. Built for developers and small-to-medium businesses needing reliable cloud infrastructure.
UpCloud MaxIOPS storage tops disk benchmarks consistently | Linode (Akamai) High-performance Linux VPS hosting with predictable pricing. | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.2 (0 reviews)✓ | 4.0 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | paid | usage-based |
| Starting price | From $3/mo✓ | From $5/mo |
| Best for | Database-heavy European production workloads where disk I/O and a five-nines SLA matter more than raw compute price | Small production teams wanting an API-first Linux platform with a real uptime SLA, pooled transfer, managed Kubernetes and databases, and one vendor for compute plus edge delivery. |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | 1 vCPU | 1 vCPU |
| RAM | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Storage | 10 GB | 25 GB✓ |
| Bandwidth | 1 TB/mo | 1 TB/mo |
| SLA uptime | 99.999%✓ | 99.99% |
| Data-center count | 15 | 26✓ |
| €/vCPU/mo | €3.00✓ | €5.00 |
| €/GB RAM/mo | €3.00✓ | €5.00 |
| Performance | ||
| CPU score (sysbench) | 4,600✓ | 1,800 |
| Disk read (fio) | 2,800 MB/s✓ | 800 MB/s |
| Disk IOPS (4K random) | 62,000✓ | 14,000 |
| Network out | 1 Gbps✓ | 0.5 Gbps |
| Latency (TTFB) | 22 ms✓ | 30 ms |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ✓ | |
| Automated backups | ✓ | |
| Snapshots | ✓ | |
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | — | United StatesUnited KingdomGermanyIndiaSingaporeJapan+3 |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | hourly billingnvme storageipv6ddos protectionbackups includedsnapshotseu datacenterus datacenterapac datacentergdpr compliantapi accessprivate networking | free tierhourly billingnvme storageipv6ddos protectionbackups includedsnapshotsmanaged optioneu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenterapi accesskubernetes support |
| Visit UpCloud → | Visit Linode (Akamai) → | |
UpCloud
Pros
- + Best disk performance in our benchmark set: 62,000 IOPS / 2,800 MB/s on a Helsinki Simple 2-2GB (2026-04-01)
- + 99.999% uptime SLA with 50x credit payback on Premium and managed products
- + Legible pricing: hourly billing capped at 28 days, zero-cost transfer, identical prices in all 15 DCs
- + Broad platform: managed databases, Kubernetes, S3-compatible object storage, GPU and Private Cloud options
- + European-first footprint (2x Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Frankfurt and more) with 24/7 in-house support
Cons
- - CPU value lags the budget clouds — our test showed 4,600 CPU score against Hetzner's 9,400 at lower cost
- - Backups are a paid add-on (10-40% of server price) and extra MaxIOPS disk costs €0.22/GB/mo
- - Plan-line reorganization (Simple to Starter/Premium/Cloud Native) plus announced price changes create continuity risk
- - Starter tier caps (5 deployments, 250 Mbit/s port, previous-gen CPUs) despite carrying an SLA
- - APAC coverage is Singapore and Sydney only; GPU and Private Cloud lines are too new for long-run track records
Linode (Akamai)
Pros
- + Published hourly pricing with monthly caps and low egress overage ($0.005/GB)
- + 99.99% compute uptime SLA with pro-rata service credits; 99.9% for other services
- + Complete platform: LKE, managed databases, object storage, NodeBalancers, DNS, GPU
- + Excellent documentation and a well-documented REST API, CLI, and Terraform support
- + 25+ core data centers across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and South America
Cons
- - Entry price-performance is not class-leading (our Nanode benchmark: CPU 1,800 at €5/mo)
- - Backups, snapshots, and managed databases are all paid add-ons
- - Product surface is fragmenting as Akamai folds Linode into its enterprise strategy
- - Service availability varies by region (Backups are core-regions-only)
- - Shared entry plans run on explicitly legacy hardware
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