What is the cheapest 2 vCPU / 4 GB VPS?

OVHcloud VPS-1 at $4.54/month, then Hetzner CX23 at $6.49 (EU, USD excl. VAT). DigitalOcean, Akamai Linode, and AWS Lightsail are $24. Contabo does not sell this size.

What is the cheapest 4 vCPU / 8 GB VPS?

Contabo Cloud VPS 4 at $6.19/month (billed in EUR as €5.50 incl. VAT; €4.40 → $4.95 on 24 months). OVHcloud VPS-2 is $8.50 and Hetzner CX33 is $9.99.

Who includes the most egress?

OVHcloud (unlimited outside Asia-Pacific), Contabo (unlimited with fair use), and Hetzner (20 TB on CX in EU). DigitalOcean extra is $0.01/GiB, Akamai $0.005/GB, Lightsail from $0.09/GB. Scaleway list prices include egress (no fees) with a Mbps cap. Vultr overage was not on the HTML we fetched.

Shared or dedicated vCPU?

The cheap rows are shared (Hetzner CX, DO Basic, Vultr Regular, Linode shared, Lightsail GP). Dedicated/optimized SKUs at the same size: Hetzner CPX, DO CPU-Optimized, Vultr High Performance, Akamai G6 Dedicated, Lightsail Compute Optimized. They are 2–4× the shared price.

Compare / VPS / cloud servers

Cheap VPS pricing, normalized

For a 2 vCPU / 4 GB always-on box, OVHcloud VPS-1 is the cheapest published USD rate ($4.54/month, unlimited traffic outside Asia-Pacific). Hetzner CX23 is $6.49/month (EU, USD excl. VAT, 20 TB traffic). DigitalOcean, Akamai Linode, and AWS Lightsail all sit at $24 for the shared 2/4 SKU. There is no Contabo 2/4 size. At 4 vCPU / 8 GB, Contabo Cloud VPS 4 is $6.19/month (billed in EUR as €5.50 incl. VAT) and OVHcloud VPS-2 is $8.50. At a true 8 vCPU / 16 GB, Hetzner CX43 is $18.49; OVHcloud VPS-4 ($23.37) and Contabo Cloud VPS 8 ($15.75, billed in EUR as €14.00) are 8 vCPU / 24 GB, not 16 GB.

Prices from each provider's official pricing page, checked 18 Oct 2026. USD, excluding tax unless noted. EUR list prices (Scaleway excl. VAT; Contabo incl. VAT) are converted at the ECB euro foreign exchange reference rate, 16 Oct 2026 (1 EUR = $1.1253); the original euro amount is in the cell tooltip as billed in EUR. Hetzner is EU locations, USD excl. VAT, after the 15 Jun 2026 adjustment. Scaleway list prices exclude local/block disk and public IPv4. "Not published" means the page did not list that SKU or rate. Estimates, not guarantees.

Start on Railway

Price for the same machine size, per month

Compare by


Hetzner Cloud Details Included egress 20 TB — EU CX traffic, per box CPU type Shared vCPU (CX). Dedicated AMD is CPX. Disk of that SKU CX23 40 GB NVMe; CX33 80 GB; CX43 160 GB Extra egress Not published as a $/TB overage on the adjustment page; 20 TB included in EU IPv4 IPv4 extra; USD IPv4 not on the 15 Jun 2026 adjustment page, omitted Regions Germany, Finland, US (Ashburn, Hillsboro), Singapore	$6.49	$9.99	$18.49	20 TB
DigitalOcean Droplets Details Included egress 4,000–6,000 GiB — 2/4: 4,000 GiB; 4/8: 5,000 GiB; 8/16: 6,000 GiB. Inbound free. CPU type Basic = shared vCPU. CPU-Optimized = dedicated. Disk of that SKU Basic 80 / 160 / 320 GiB SSD Extra egress $0.01/GiB outbound overage (official bandwidth billing docs) IPv4 Public IPv4 included on Bundled Plans Regions NYC, AMS, SFO, SGP, LON, FRA, TOR, BLR, SYD, and others on the Droplet page	$24.00	$48.00	$96.00	4,000–6,000 GiB
Vultr Details Included egress 3–8 TB — Regular 2/4: 3 TB; Regular 4/8: 4 TB; HP 8/16: 8 TB CPU type Regular = shared. High Performance = newer AMD/Intel + NVMe. Disk of that SKU Regular 80 / 160 GB; HP 8/16 350 GB NVMe Extra egress Overage rate not on the pricing HTML we fetched, omitted IPv4 Not published as a separate IPv4 line Regions Many metro locations on vultr.com/pricing	$20.00	$40.00	$96.00	3–8 TB
Akamai Linode Details Included egress 4–6 TB — Shared 2/4: 4 TB; shared 4/8: 5 TB; G6 Dedicated 16 GB: 6 TB CPU type Shared CPU vs G6 Dedicated (legacy dedicated hardware) Disk of that SKU Shared 80 / 160 GB; G6 Dedicated 16 GB: 320 GB Extra egress $0.005/GB egress overage IPv4 Not published as a separate IPv4 line Regions Akamai Cloud regions; some plan prices vary by region	$24.00	$48.00	$144.00	4–6 TB
OVHcloud VPS Details Included egress Unlimited* — Unlimited except Asia-Pacific: VPS-1 500 GB, VPS-2 1 TB, VPS-4 3 TB, then 10 Mbps CPU type vCores on the VPS 2027 range (shared vs dedicated not stated as a SKU split) Disk of that SKU VPS-1 40 GB NVMe; VPS-2 75 GB; VPS-4 200 GB Extra egress APAC quota then 10 Mbps cap; no published $/GB overage IPv4 Dedicated IPv4 included Regions OVHcloud datacentres and Local Zones worldwide	$4.54	$8.50	$23.37	Unlimited*
AWS Lightsail Details Included egress 4–7 TB — GP 2/4: 4 TB; CO 4/8: 6 TB; CO 8/16: 7 TB. Inbound + outbound both count. CPU type General Purpose vs Compute Optimized (dedicated-leaning) vs Memory optimized Disk of that SKU GP 2/4: 80 GB SSD; CO 4/8: 320 GB; CO 8/16: 640 GB Extra egress Outbound overage starts at $0.09/GB in US regions (pricing-page example) IPv4 Static IPv4 included on IPv4 bundles Regions AWS Lightsail regions; APAC/SA allowances are half	$24.00	$84.00	$168.00	4–7 TB
Scaleway Details Included egress Unmetered egress — List prices include egress and IPv6; no egress fees. Bandwidth cap per SKU (200 Mbps–1.5 Gbps). CPU type PLAY/DEV development vs BASIC general purpose. ARM BASIC2 vs x86 BASIC3. Disk of that SKU Local/block storage excluded from list prices — not added here Extra egress No egress fees (official virtual-instances page) IPv4 Public IPv4 extra (price not added; not in the instance table) Regions Scaleway European data centers (PAR, AMS, WAW)	$22.62	$35.19	$145.95	Unmetered egress
Contabo Details Included egress Unlimited* — Unlimited inbound; outbound unlimited with fair-use throttle for exceptional use CPU type Cloud VPS (KVM, shared/cost-efficient). Performance VPS is a separate line. Disk of that SKU VPS 4: 100 GB SSD; VPS 8: 300 GB SSD / 150 GB NVMe Extra egress Fair-use outbound; no published $/GB overage IPv4 Dedicated IPv4 and IPv6 included Regions USA, UK, Europe, Asia, Australia (locations on the VPS page)	—	$6.19	$15.75	Unlimited*

What you actually get


Hetzner Cloud	Shared vCPU (CX). Dedicated AMD is CPX.	CX23 40 GB NVMe; CX33 80 GB; CX43 160 GB	Not published as a $/TB overage on the adjustment page; 20 TB included in EU	IPv4 extra; USD IPv4 not on the 15 Jun 2026 adjustment page, omitted	Germany, Finland, US (Ashburn, Hillsboro), Singapore
DigitalOcean Droplets	Basic = shared vCPU. CPU-Optimized = dedicated.	Basic 80 / 160 / 320 GiB SSD	$0.01/GiB outbound overage (official bandwidth billing docs)	Public IPv4 included on Bundled Plans	NYC, AMS, SFO, SGP, LON, FRA, TOR, BLR, SYD, and others on the Droplet page
Vultr	Regular = shared. High Performance = newer AMD/Intel + NVMe.	Regular 80 / 160 GB; HP 8/16 350 GB NVMe	Overage rate not on the pricing HTML we fetched, omitted	Not published as a separate IPv4 line	Many metro locations on vultr.com/pricing
Akamai Linode	Shared CPU vs G6 Dedicated (legacy dedicated hardware)	Shared 80 / 160 GB; G6 Dedicated 16 GB: 320 GB	$0.005/GB egress overage	Not published as a separate IPv4 line	Akamai Cloud regions; some plan prices vary by region
OVHcloud VPS	vCores on the VPS 2027 range (shared vs dedicated not stated as a SKU split)	VPS-1 40 GB NVMe; VPS-2 75 GB; VPS-4 200 GB	APAC quota then 10 Mbps cap; no published $/GB overage	Dedicated IPv4 included	OVHcloud datacentres and Local Zones worldwide
AWS Lightsail	General Purpose vs Compute Optimized (dedicated-leaning) vs Memory optimized	GP 2/4: 80 GB SSD; CO 4/8: 320 GB; CO 8/16: 640 GB	Outbound overage starts at $0.09/GB in US regions (pricing-page example)	Static IPv4 included on IPv4 bundles	AWS Lightsail regions; APAC/SA allowances are half
Scaleway	PLAY/DEV development vs BASIC general purpose. ARM BASIC2 vs x86 BASIC3.	Local/block storage excluded from list prices — not added here	No egress fees (official virtual-instances page)	Public IPv4 extra (price not added; not in the instance table)	Scaleway European data centers (PAR, AMS, WAW)
Contabo	Cloud VPS (KVM, shared/cost-efficient). Performance VPS is a separate line.	VPS 4: 100 GB SSD; VPS 8: 300 GB SSD / 150 GB NVMe	Fair-use outbound; no published $/GB overage	Dedicated IPv4 and IPv6 included	USA, UK, Europe, Asia, Australia (locations on the VPS page)

Best for

Hetzner Cloud
The cheapest always-on x86 8/16 and a $6.49 2/4 with 20 TB, if you will patch the box.
DigitalOcean Droplets
A predictable $24 / $48 / $96 shared Droplet when you already use DO Spaces or managed DBs.
Vultr
A $20 Regular 2/4, or an 8 vCPU / 16 GB High Performance box at $96 with 8 TB.
Akamai Linode
A $24 shared 2/4 with 4 TB, or a dedicated 8/16 when noisy neighbors matter.
OVHcloud VPS
The cheapest published 2/4 in USD, with unlimited traffic outside APAC.
AWS Lightsail
Staying inside AWS with a simple bundle, not the cheapest 4/8 or 8/16.
Scaleway
An EU box with no egress fees, when you will add disk and IPv4 on top of these compute rates.
Contabo
The cheapest published 4/8 ($6.19, billed in EUR as €5.50) if fair-use unlimited traffic is acceptable.

A $6–$10 EU box vs a $24 shared droplet vs dedicated vCPU

Shared-CPU SKUs (Hetzner CX, DigitalOcean Basic, Vultr Regular, Linode shared, Lightsail General Purpose, OVHcloud VPS 2027, Scaleway PLAY/DEV, Contabo Cloud VPS) are the cheap shape for self-hosting Coolify, Postgres, or a reverse proxy. Dedicated/optimized SKUs cost 2–4× as much at the same vCPU/RAM and only win when the box is busy all the time.

Egress is where the $24 US clouds separate. Hetzner CX includes 20 TB in EU. OVHcloud is unlimited outside Asia-Pacific (APAC quotas 500 GB / 1 TB / 3 TB, then 10 Mbps). Contabo is unlimited with a fair-use policy. DigitalOcean extra outbound is $0.01/GiB after the plan pool. Akamai extra is $0.005/GB. Lightsail counts inbound and outbound against the allowance; overage starts at $0.09/GB in US regions.

Not every vendor sells 2/4, 4/8, and 8/16. Contabo has no 2/4 SKU. Lightsail General Purpose has no 4/8 (the $44 plan is 2 vCPU / 8 GB). Vultr Regular 16 GB is 6 vCPU; the 8/16 headline is High Performance at $96. Linode shared 16 GB is 6 vCPU; the 8/16 headline is G6 Dedicated at $144. OVHcloud VPS-4 is 8 vCPU / 24 GB. Those nearest sizes are the headline, with the mismatch in the tooltip.

What would a real project cost?

Estimates, not guarantees. Built from the published rates above (checked 18 Oct 2026); check each provider's current pricing before you commit. Tax is not included. Numbers marked unverified or not published were left out rather than guessed.

Small: one always-on 2 vCPU / 4 GB box. 1 × 2 vCPU / 4 GB, 24/7, 500 GB outbound in a month (not Asia-Pacific OVH, not Lightsail APAC/SA). You patch the OS. No extra volumes, snapshots, or backup add-ons.
Medium: one always-on 4 vCPU / 8 GB box. 1 × 4 vCPU / 8 GB, 24/7, 2 TB outbound. Same exclusions as Small (non-APAC OVH, US Lightsail).
Large: one always-on 8 vCPU / 16 GB box. 1 × 8 vCPU / 16 GB where the vendor sells it, 24/7, 8 TB outbound. Nearest 8 vCPU SKUs (OVH 8/24, Contabo 8/24) are shown as such. Lightsail overage: 8 TB outbound vs 7 TB included, inbound assumed zero, US $0.09/GB.

Compare by


Hetzner Cloud	$6.49	$9.99	$18.49
DigitalOcean Droplets	$24.00	$48.00	$116.00
Vultr	$20.00	$40.00	$96.00
Akamai Linode	$24.00	$48.00	$154.00
OVHcloud VPS	$4.54	$8.50	$23.37
AWS Lightsail	$24.00	$84.00	$258.00
Scaleway	$22.62	$35.19	$145.95
Contabo	—	$6.19	$15.75

Small: one always-on 2 vCPU / 4 GB box
Try first: OVHcloud VPS-1 at $4.54 — 2 vCores / 4 GB / 40 GB NVMe, unlimited traffic outside Asia-Pacific, IPv4 and daily backup included.
Runner-up: Hetzner CX23 at $6.49 (20 TB in EU, USD excl. VAT) if you want a bigger traffic pool, or Vultr Regular at $20.
Avoid: DigitalOcean, Akamai Linode, and AWS Lightsail at $24 for this size, and Contabo (no 2/4 SKU). Scaleway PLAY2-NANO is $22.62 plus disk and IPv4 (billed in EUR as €20.10).
Medium: one always-on 4 vCPU / 8 GB box
Try first: Contabo Cloud VPS 4 at $6.19 — 4 vCPU / 8 GB / 100 GB SSD, unlimited traffic under fair use, IPv4 included (billed in EUR as €5.50 incl. VAT). Pick OVHcloud VPS-2 at $8.50 if you want USD billing and no fair-use clause.
Runner-up: OVHcloud VPS-2 at $8.50, or Hetzner CX33 at $9.99 with 20 TB.
Avoid: Lightsail Compute Optimized at $84 (there is no General Purpose 4/8), and DigitalOcean / Linode at $48 unless you already live on that cloud.
Large: one always-on 8 vCPU / 16 GB box
Try first: Hetzner CX43 at $18.49 — a true 8 vCPU / 16 GB with 160 GB NVMe and 20 TB in EU. Contabo Cloud VPS 8 at $15.75 is cheaper if 24 GB RAM and fair-use unlimited traffic are fine (billed in EUR as €14.00).
Runner-up: OVHcloud VPS-4 at $23.37 (8 vCPU / 24 GB, unlimited non-APAC) or Vultr High Performance at $96 (true 8/16, 8 TB included).
Avoid: Lightsail Compute Optimized at about $258 once 1 TB of overage is added, and Akamai G6 Dedicated at $154 after 2 TB overage, unless you need that network.

Show the math

USD conversion: Euro list prices on this page are converted to USD at the ECB euro foreign exchange reference rate, 16 Oct 2026 (1 EUR = $1.1253). The headline number is USD; the original euro amount is in the cell tooltip as "billed in EUR". The rate is an ECB reference rate, published for information, not a transaction rate. Source: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/policy_and_exchange_rates/euro_reference_exchange_rates/html/index.en.html
Project — Small: one always-on 2 vCPU / 4 GB box: 1 × 2 vCPU / 4 GB, 24/7, 500 GB outbound in a month (not Asia-Pacific OVH, not Lightsail APAC/SA). You patch the OS. No extra volumes, snapshots, or backup add-ons. Hetzner CX23 $6.49 (500 GB inside 20 TB). DO Basic $24 (500 GB inside 4,000 GiB). Vultr Regular $20 (inside 3 TB). Linode shared $24 (inside 4 TB). OVH VPS-1 $4.54 (unlimited non-APAC). Lightsail GP $24 (inside 4 TB). Scaleway PLAY2-NANO €20.10 → $22.62 compute-only. Contabo: no 2/4 SKU.
Project — Medium: one always-on 4 vCPU / 8 GB box: 1 × 4 vCPU / 8 GB, 24/7, 2 TB outbound. Same exclusions as Small (non-APAC OVH, US Lightsail). Hetzner CX33 $9.99. DO Basic $48 (2 TB inside 5,000 GiB). Vultr Regular $40 (inside 4 TB). Linode shared $48 (inside 5 TB). OVH VPS-2 $8.50. Lightsail CO $84 (2 TB inside 6 TB). Scaleway DEV1-L €31.27 → $35.19 compute-only. Contabo Cloud VPS 4 €5.50 → $6.19.
Project — Large: one always-on 8 vCPU / 16 GB box: 1 × 8 vCPU / 16 GB where the vendor sells it, 24/7, 8 TB outbound. Nearest 8 vCPU SKUs (OVH 8/24, Contabo 8/24) are shown as such. Lightsail overage: 8 TB outbound vs 7 TB included, inbound assumed zero, US $0.09/GB. Hetzner CX43 $18.49 (8 TB inside 20 TB). DO Basic $96 + (8,000−6,000) GiB × $0.01 = $20 → $116.00. Vultr HP $96 (8 TB included). Linode G6 Dedicated $144 + 2,000 GB × $0.005 = $10 → $154.00. OVH VPS-4 $23.37. Lightsail CO $168 + 1,000 GB × $0.09 = $90 → $258.00. Scaleway BASIC3-X8C-16G €129.70 → $145.95 compute-only. Contabo Cloud VPS 8 €14.00 → $15.75 (8/24).
Hetzner Cloud: Hetzner price table after the 15 Jun 2026 adjustment, EU locations, USD excl. VAT: CX23 $6.49, CX33 $9.99, CX43 $18.49. CPX22/32/42 dedicated $22.99 / $41.99 / $81.99. IPv4 extra, USD omitted. Source: https://docs.hetzner.com/general/infrastructure-and-availability/price-adjustment/ (checked 18 Oct 2026)
DigitalOcean Droplets: Official Basic Droplets: 4 GiB / 2 vCPU $24 (4,000 GiB transfer, 80 GiB SSD); 8 GiB / 4 vCPU $48 (5,000 GiB, 160 GiB); 16 GiB / 8 vCPU $96 (6,000 GiB, 320 GiB). CPU-Optimized 2/4 $42, 4/8 $84, 8/16 $168. Extra outbound $0.01/GiB. Source: https://www.digitalocean.com/pricing/droplets (checked 18 Oct 2026)
Vultr: Official Regular Performance: 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB / 3 TB $20; 4 vCPU / 8 GB / 160 GB / 4 TB $40; 6 vCPU / 16 GB $80 (not 8/16). High Performance 8 vCPU / 16 GB / 350 GB / 8 TB $96. Source: https://www.vultr.com/pricing/ (checked 18 Oct 2026)
Akamai Linode: Official shared: Linode 4 GB $24 (2 CPU, 80 GB, 4 TB); Linode 8 GB $48 (4 CPU, 160 GB, 5 TB); Linode 16 GB $96 (6 CPU — not 8/16). G6 Dedicated 16 GB $144 (8 CPU, 320 GB, 6 TB). Overage $0.005/GB. G8 dedicated hourly SKUs include 0 TB transfer. Source: https://www.akamai.com/cloud/pricing/cpu (checked 18 Oct 2026)
OVHcloud VPS: Official VPS 2027 USD: VPS-1 $4.54 (2 vCores / 4 GB / 40 GB / 500 Mbps); VPS-2 $8.50 (4/8 / 75 GB / 1 Gbps); VPS-4 $23.37 (8/24 / 200 GB / 3 Gbps). Daily backup included. APAC monthly quota 500 GB / 1 TB / 3 TB. Source: https://www.ovhcloud.com/en/vps/ (checked 18 Oct 2026)
AWS Lightsail: Official Linux/Unix IPv4: GP 4 GB / 2 vCPU $24 (4 TB); no GP 4 vCPU / 8 GB. Compute Optimized 8 GB / 4 vCPU $84 (6 TB), 16 GB / 8 vCPU $168 (7 TB). Dual-stack inbound+outbound count toward the allowance. Source: https://aws.amazon.com/lightsail/pricing/ (checked 18 Oct 2026)
Scaleway: Official approx. monthly, EUR excl. VAT, compute only, converted at the ECB euro foreign exchange reference rate, 16 Oct 2026 (1 EUR = $1.1253): PLAY2-NANO €20.10 → $22.62; DEV1-L €31.27 → $35.19; BASIC3-X8C-16G €129.70 → $145.95. ARM cheaper at 2/4 (€16.79 → $18.89) and 8/16 (€75.48 → $84.94). Disk and IPv4 excluded. Source: https://www.scaleway.com/en/pricing/virtual-instances/ (checked 18 Oct 2026)
Contabo: Official Cloud VPS, EUR incl. VAT, converted at the ECB euro foreign exchange reference rate, 16 Oct 2026 (1 EUR = $1.1253): Cloud VPS 4 €5.50/month → $6.19 (4 vCPU / 8 GB / 100 GB SSD / 200 Mbit/s); 24-month effective €4.40 → $4.95. Cloud VPS 8 €14.00 → $15.75 (8 vCPU / 24 GB). No 2/4 SKU. Source: https://www.contabo.com/en/vps/ (checked 18 Oct 2026)

FAQ

What is the cheapest 2 vCPU / 4 GB VPS?: OVHcloud VPS-1 at $4.54/month, then Hetzner CX23 at $6.49 (EU, USD excl. VAT). DigitalOcean, Akamai Linode, and AWS Lightsail are $24. Contabo does not sell this size.
What is the cheapest 4 vCPU / 8 GB VPS?: Contabo Cloud VPS 4 at $6.19/month (billed in EUR as €5.50 incl. VAT; €4.40 → $4.95 on 24 months). OVHcloud VPS-2 is $8.50 and Hetzner CX33 is $9.99.
What is the cheapest 8 vCPU / 16 GB VPS?: Hetzner CX43 at $18.49 is the cheapest true 8/16 in this table. OVHcloud VPS-4 ($23.37) and Contabo Cloud VPS 8 ($15.75, billed in EUR as €14.00) are 8 vCPU / 24 GB. Vultr High Performance is $96 for 8/16.
Who includes the most egress?: OVHcloud (unlimited outside Asia-Pacific), Contabo (unlimited with fair use), and Hetzner (20 TB on CX in EU). DigitalOcean extra is $0.01/GiB, Akamai $0.005/GB, Lightsail from $0.09/GB. Scaleway list prices include egress (no fees) with a Mbps cap. Vultr overage was not on the HTML we fetched.
Shared or dedicated vCPU?: The cheap rows are shared (Hetzner CX, DO Basic, Vultr Regular, Linode shared, Lightsail GP). Dedicated/optimized SKUs at the same size: Hetzner CPX, DO CPU-Optimized, Vultr High Performance, Akamai G6 Dedicated, Lightsail Compute Optimized. They are 2–4× the shared price.
What would a real project cost?: Estimates from published rates: one 2/4 box is about $4.54 on OVH, $6.49 on Hetzner, $20 on Vultr, $24 on DO/Linode/Lightsail. One 4/8 is about $6.19 on Contabo, $8.50 on OVH, $9.99 on Hetzner, $40–$48 on Vultr/DO. One 8/16 is about $18.49 on Hetzner, $96 on Vultr HP, $116 on DO with 8 TB egress.

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