--- title: "IONOS vs Contabo: Which German VPS Is Better for a First Server?" description: "IONOS is the easier first VPS: VPS L+ costs $249 in year one for 8 GB of RAM, with 24/7 support, a free consultant, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Contabo’s Cloud VPS…" url: "https://hostingguider.com/comparison/ionos-vs-contabo/" canonical_url: "https://hostingguider.com/comparison/ionos-vs-contabo/" date: "2026-06-09T12:20:45+00:00" modified: "2026-09-27T12:23:11+00:00" author: Rantideb Howlader type: article site: HostingGuider language: en-US --- # IONOS vs Contabo: Which German VPS Is Better for a First Server? IONOS is the easier first VPS: VPS L+ costs $249 in year one for 8 GB of RAM, with 24/7 support, a free consultant, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Contabo’s Cloud VPS 4 gives you the same 8 GB for €52.80 a year on a 24-month term, but you’re mostly on your own. Both companies are German. IONOS says it’s headquartered in Germany on its [about page](https://www.ionos.com/about?utm_source=hostingguider.com), and Contabo operates as Contabo GmbH, according to its [company details](https://contabo.com/en-us/?show=company_details&utm_source=hostingguider.com). The [IONOS review](https://hostingguider.com/reviews/ionos/) and the [Contabo review](https://hostingguider.com/reviews/contabo-review/) cover each company in full. This page focuses on their VPS plans. ## IONOS vs Contabo: the short verdict IONOS wins on help, speed, and refund terms, while Contabo wins on resources per euro and Asia-Pacific locations. ![IONOS vs Contabo hosting comparison](https://hostingguider.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ionos-vs-contabo-hosting-comparison-1024x539.webp "IONOS vs Contabo comparison.") **IONOS:** for beginners, small businesses, and anyone who wants support, a control panel, and a refund window. **Contabo:** for hobbyists and developers who want lots of RAM and storage and can run a server alone. **Both give you root access.** Neither manages the server for you, so you still install, secure, and update your software. **If you’ve never used a VPS,** consider whether you need one at all. [Shared vs VPS hosting](https://hostingguider.com/guides/shared-vs-vps-hosting-which-one-should-you-choose/) explains when the jump makes sense. ## IONOS vs Contabo at a glance | | IONOS | Contabo | | --- | --- | --- | | 8 GB RAM plan | VPS L+: $8 a month for 3 months, then $25, on a 1-year term | Cloud VPS 4: €4.40 a month on a 24-month term | | Storage | 240 GB NVMe | 100 GB SSD | | Connection | Up to 1 Gbit/s, unlimited traffic | 200 Mbit/s port, unlimited fair-use traffic | | Support | 24/7 phone line, plus chat and a free consultant | Chat and tickets | | Refunds | 30-day money-back guarantee | No money-back guarantee; 14-day consumer withdrawal | | Uptime | 99.99% stated | 99.9% annual average in its terms | | Locations | US, UK, Germany, Spain | 7 regions, including Asia-Pacific | | Current plans and prices | [See IONOS plans](https://hostingguider.com/recommend/ionos) | [See Contabo plans](https://hostingguider.com/recommend/contabo) | *Prices confirmed on September 25, 2026.* Contabo bills in euros, and its prices here exclude VAT. IONOS prices are in US dollars. ## IONOS and Contabo prices at 8 GB and 16 GB IONOS’s VPS L+ costs $249 in its first year and $300 a year after, while Contabo’s Cloud VPS 4 costs €52.80 a year on a 24-month term. | Plan | vCPUs | RAM | Storage | Price | First-year cost | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | IONOS VPS L+ | 4 | 8 GB | 240 GB NVMe | $8 a month for 3 months, then $25 | $249 | | Contabo Cloud VPS 4 | 4 | 8 GB | 100 GB SSD | €4.40 a month | €52.80 | | IONOS VPS XL+ | 8 | 16 GB | 480 GB NVMe | $14 a month for 3 months, then $47 | $465 | | Contabo Cloud VPS 8 | 8 | 24 GB | 300 GB SSD | €11.20 a month | €134.40 | IONOS’s prices come from its [VPS page](https://www.ionos.com/servers/vps?utm_source=hostingguider.com), where the introductory rate lasts three months of a 1-year term. Contabo’s come from its [Cloud VPS page](https://contabo.com/en-us/vps/?utm_source=hostingguider.com), which shows an effective monthly rate for a 24-month subscription. Prices confirmed on September 25, 2026. Prices change often, so check [IONOS’s current prices](https://hostingguider.com/recommend/ionos) and [Contabo’s current prices](https://hostingguider.com/recommend/contabo) before you buy. From the second year, IONOS VPS L+ costs $300 a year at its regular price. Contabo’s rate holds for the whole 24-month term. For your budget, this means Contabo costs a fraction of IONOS for similar CPU and RAM. IONOS gives you more storage, and it’s faster NVMe storage. ## IONOS and Contabo storage and network speed IONOS VPS+ plans pair NVMe storage with a connection of up to 1 Gbit/s, while Contabo’s Cloud VPS 4 uses SSD storage and a 200 Mbit/s port. Both list unlimited traffic, though Contabo applies a fair-use policy. Contabo’s port rises to 600 Mbit/s on Cloud VPS 8. NVMe drives handle many small reads and writes faster than standard SSDs, which helps databases and busy sites. A 1 Gbit/s port also moves data five times faster than a 200 Mbit/s one. For your site, this means IONOS should feel quicker under load. Contabo gives you more RAM to work with. **Winner: IONOS**, for speed. **Contabo**, for RAM per euro. ## IONOS and Contabo help for beginners IONOS offers a 24/7 phone line, live chat, and a free personal consultant, while Contabo offers chat and tickets. IONOS’s [consultant page](https://www.ionos.com/consultant?utm_source=hostingguider.com) says the consultant is free for every customer. The consultant helps with first steps, technical terms, contracts, and invoices during business hours. IONOS also includes its Cloud Panel for managing the server. Plesk, a full hosting control panel, costs $6 a month extra. Contabo’s [help center](https://help.contabo.com/en/support/home?utm_source=hostingguider.com) points you to chat for quick questions and tickets for complex ones. It doesn’t advertise a personal consultant. For a first-time VPS owner, this means IONOS gives you a person to ask. On Contabo, you’ll rely more on documentation and your own skills. **Winner: IONOS.** ## IONOS vs Contabo refunds, contracts, and uptime IONOS offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and states 99.99% uptime, while Contabo has no money-back guarantee and promises 99.9%. IONOS’s [money-back terms](https://www.ionos.com/terms-gtc/terms-moneyback/?utm_source=hostingguider.com) cover server packages, but exclude Cloud Servers, Bare Metal Servers, new domains, and SSL certificates. Contabo’s [terms and conditions](https://contabo.com/en-us/legal/terms-and-conditions/?utm_source=hostingguider.com) set initial terms of one to twelve months. They renew automatically for the same length, with four weeks’ notice to cancel. Contabo’s [right of withdrawal](https://contabo.com/en-us/legal/right-of-withdrawal/?utm_source=hostingguider.com) lets consumers withdraw within 14 days, but you pay for the service already used. Contabo’s 99.9% is an annual average, excluding maintenance and force majeure. That allows about 8.8 hours of downtime a year. **Winner: IONOS**, for a refund window and a higher uptime claim. ## IONOS and Contabo data center locations Contabo offers 7 regions, including Singapore, Japan, India, and Australia, while IONOS lists VPS data centers in 4 countries. IONOS lists the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain. Contabo lists the European Union, United Kingdom, United States, Singapore, Japan, India, and Australia. **Winner: Contabo**, for Asia-Pacific coverage. ## IONOS and Contabo backups and security IONOS publishes its Cloud Backup prices, from $7 a month or $0.07 per GB, while Contabo includes 1 to 3 free snapshots but doesn’t list its Auto Backup price. IONOS’s [Cloud Backup page](https://www.ionos.com/cloud/cloud-backup?utm_source=hostingguider.com) lists plans from $7 a month and a Flex option at $0.07 per GB a month. Contabo’s snapshot count depends on the plan. Its Auto Backup add-on, a daily off-server backup, costs extra. Both include DDoS protection. The IONOS VPS page lists active DDoS protection, and Contabo’s [DDoS protection page](https://contabo.com/en-us/ddos-protection/?utm_source=hostingguider.com) says it’s free for all servers. **Winner: Tie.** IONOS publishes its backup price, and Contabo includes free snapshots. ## IONOS vs Contabo winners by category IONOS wins five of the nine categories below, Contabo wins three, and backups end in a tie. | Category | Winner | Why | | --- | --- | --- | | RAM per euro | Contabo | A fraction of IONOS’s first-year cost at 8 GB | | Storage speed | IONOS | NVMe vs SSD | | Network speed | IONOS | 1 Gbit/s vs 200 Mbit/s at 8 GB | | Beginner support | IONOS | 24/7 support plus a personal consultant | | Refund window | IONOS | 30-day money-back guarantee | | Uptime promise | IONOS | 99.99% stated vs 99.9% in Contabo’s terms | | Locations | Contabo | Seven regions, including Asia-Pacific | | Long-term price stability | Contabo | No three-month intro rate to lose | | Backups | Tie | Published price vs free snapshots | **Our pick:** IONOS for a first VPS, especially for a small business. Contabo for experienced users who want maximum resources on a budget. ## Should you choose IONOS or Contabo? IONOS fits a first server where help matters, while Contabo fits experienced users who want the most RAM for the money. **Setting up your first server for a small business website?** IONOS, for the consultant, control panel, and refund window. **If you run a home lab or several Docker containers,** Contabo’s RAM per euro makes it the better value. **Serving customers in Asia or Australia?** Contabo offers Singapore, Japan, India, and Australia. **Unsure you’ll keep the server?** IONOS’s refund window lowers the risk. On Contabo, mark the four-week notice date in your calendar. A new VPS needs some setup whichever you choose, and the [VPS setup tutorial](https://hostingguider.com/guides/setup-vps-hosting-tutorial/) walks through it. Contabo also faces Hetzner in [Contabo vs Hetzner](https://hostingguider.com/comparison/contabo-vs-hetzner/), and wider questions sit in the [VPS hosting](https://hostingguider.com/topics/vps-hosting/) section. **Ready to check prices?** [Visit IONOS](https://hostingguider.com/recommend/ionos) or [visit Contabo](https://hostingguider.com/recommend/contabo) to see today’s plans before you buy. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Contabo cheaper than IONOS? Yes. An 8 GB Contabo server costs €52.80 a year on a two-year term, against $249 for the first year of IONOS VPS L+ and $300 a year after. ### Which is better for beginners, IONOS or Contabo? IONOS. You get a 24/7 phone line, live chat, a free consultant, and a Cloud Panel, while Contabo offers chat and tickets only. ### Do IONOS and Contabo offer a money-back guarantee? Only IONOS, with 30 days on VPS plans. Contabo gives consumers a 14-day withdrawal right but charges for the days already used. ### Which has more data center locations, IONOS or Contabo? Contabo, with seven regions against four IONOS VPS countries. Only Contabo covers Asia and Australia. ### Which has faster storage, IONOS or Contabo? IONOS. Its VPS+ plans run on NVMe drives, while Contabo’s Cloud VPS line uses standard SSDs. ## How we compared IONOS and Contabo This comparison is built from official sources. For IONOS, we used its VPS page, about page, consultant page, money-back terms, and Cloud Backup page. For Contabo, we used its Cloud VPS page, company details, terms and conditions, right of withdrawal, help center, and DDoS protection page. All details were checked on September 25, 2026. Our [Methodology](https://hostingguider.com/methodology/) and [Editorial Guidelines](https://hostingguider.com/editorial-guidelines/) explain how we research hosts and correct errors.