Linode
Akamai-owned cloud, now sold as Akamai Cloud: servers from $5/month in 33 regions, plus Kubernetes, databases and GPUs.
Founded 2003
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Linode is a cloud platform launched in 2003 and bought by Akamai in 2022, which now sells it as Akamai Cloud. It rents virtual servers, called Linodes, in 33 core regions, 10 in the US. A Shared CPU Nanode with 1 vCPU, 1 GB of memory, 25 GB of storage and 1 TB of outbound transfer costs $5 a month, and dedicated-CPU plans with a monthly price start at $36. These plans are billed hourly up to a monthly cap, and their transfer is pooled across the account, with overage at $0.005 per GB.
Newer G8 Dedicated plans include no transfer, and G8 and GPU plans have no monthly cap; GPUs start at $0.52 an hour. Kubernetes has a free control plane, managed MySQL and PostgreSQL start at $16 a month and Object Storage at $5. Backups cost extra, while DDoS protection and Cloud Firewalls are included.
Best for
Developers and small teams who want predictable monthly prices on small servers, many US regions and pooled outbound transfer, with Kubernetes, managed MySQL or PostgreSQL and GPUs from the same provider.
Pros
- New customers get a $100 credit (Akamai's examples give 60 days to use it); a payment method is required and GPU plans are excluded
- 33 core regions, 10 in the US: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Fremont, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, Seattle and two in Washington, DC
- Shared CPU, High Memory and G6/G7 Dedicated plans include outbound transfer pooled across the account (1 TB on the $5 Nanode); overage is $0.005 per GB
- Free Kubernetes control plane, and managed MySQL and PostgreSQL from $16 a month with free daily backups kept 14 days
- DDoS protection is included with compute services, Cloud Firewalls cost nothing extra, and compute instances in general availability have a 99.99% monthly uptime SLA
Cons
- G8 Dedicated and the newer GPU plans (RTX 4000 Ada, RTX PRO 6000) include no outbound transfer; since July 1, 2026, G8 and GPU plans have no monthly cap
- Backups cost extra (from $2 a month on the Nanode, $5 on 4 GB plans), and automatic backups are kept for at most 14 days
- Powered-off Linodes are still billed; only removing a service from the account stops the charge
- Prices are higher in Jakarta and São Paulo: the $5 Nanode costs $6 and $7 a month there
- Managed databases cover only MySQL, PostgreSQL and Valkey, and Valkey (limited availability) starts at $59 a month
Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly (12-month total) |
|---|---|---|
| G7 Dedicated ComputeStarting price: G7 Dedicated 4 GB, 2 dedicated vCPUs, 4 GB RAM, 80 GB storage, 4 TB transfer; billed hourly up to this monthly cap; no annual price | $43/mo | no yearly price |
| G6 Dedicated ComputeStarting price: G6 Dedicated 4 GB, 2 dedicated vCPUs, 4 GB RAM, 80 GB storage, 4 TB transfer; $0.054/hour up to this monthly cap | $36/mo | no yearly price |
| Shared CPUStarting price: Nanode 1 GB, 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 25 GB storage, 1 TB transfer; $0.0075/hour up to this monthly cap; $6 in Jakarta, $7 in São Paulo | $5/mo | no yearly price |
| High MemoryStarting price: Linode 24 GB, 2 vCPUs, 24 GB RAM, 20 GB storage, 5 TB transfer; $0.09/hour up to this monthly cap | $60/mo | no yearly price |
Prices checked on .
Features
In Cloud hosting
| Feature | Linode |
|---|---|
| Free trial | Yes · $100 credit for new customers (60 days in Akamai's pricing FAQ and referral docs); a payment method is required; GPU plans excluded |
| Managed databases | Yes · MySQL and PostgreSQL from $16/month (1 node, 1 GB), 3-node clusters from $37; Valkey (limited availability) from $59; free daily backups kept 14 days |
| Managed Kubernetes | Yes · LKE: free control plane, high-availability control plane from $60/month; LKE Enterprise (approved customers) $300/month per cluster; nodes, NodeBalancers, volumes at standard rates |
| Object storage | Yes · S3-compatible; $5/month incl. 250 GB stored and 1 TB added to the transfer pool; then $0.02/GB stored, $0.005/GB transfer; in more than 20 regions |
| GPU instances | Yes · Hourly, no monthly cap: NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada from $0.52/hour, Quadro RTX 6000 from $1.50, RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell from $3; HGX B300 by quote; a $100 deposit may be needed |
| Automatic backups | Add-on · From $2/month (Nanode) or $5 (4 GB plans); daily, weekly and biweekly backups plus one manual snapshot; automated ones kept at most 14 days; volumes not included |
| DDoS protection | Yes · Included with compute services and always on; blocks UDP, SYN and HTTP floods inline and reroutes attack traffic over Akamai's backbone |
| Uptime SLA | Yes · 99.99% monthly uptime for compute instances in general availability (99% in limited availability); pro-rata credit, by ticket within 30 days of the month's end |
| Data center regions | Yes · 33 core / 10 US (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Fremont, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, Seattle, 2 in Washington, DC); 11 distributed regions on request |
| Included bandwidth | Yes · 1-20 TB a month on Shared, High Memory and G6/G7 Dedicated plans, pooled; none on G8 and most GPU plans; overage $0.005/GB ($0.015 Jakarta, $0.007 São Paulo); inbound free |