Having spent over three years as a professional web hosting content writer, I have decided to put together an extensive review of the web host Contabo. Accordingly, I will evaluate its features, performance, customer service, value for money, and user-friendliness. Read through my assessment and suggestions to get a proper insight into Contabo’s services and solutions.
Formerly known as Giga-International, Contabo is a cloud-based web hosting provider established in Munich, Germany in 2003. It has amassed considerable experience in the web hosting industry and thus tends to be a trustworthy choice for website owners and developers.
Contabo offers shared hosting, cloud VPS, cloud VDS, bare-metal dedicated servers, object storage, and storage VPS plans. It is particularly lauded by those seeking reasonably priced web hosting in Europe. Yet, I am most fascinated by the fact that the provider utilizes its own energy-efficient data centers and speedy ports.
Contabo does not have a BBB rating as it is not a US-based company. Still, Trustpilot rated the platform 3.9 out of 5 (after its first 2,435 user reviews).
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Reliable virtual private servers
- NVMe technology
- Affordable object storage solutions
- Good customer service and uptime
- Data centers in four continents
- Over 19 years in business
- Seamless integration of Windows with servers
- Eco-friendly hosting platform
- Speedy servers and ports
- Self-owned data centers
- Easy to use
- Award-winning provider
- Tenable security
Cons:
- No one-click installer in its most basic plan
- Old-fashioned appearance
- Relatively low annual mean uptime of 95%
Contabo is your one-stop web hosting provider if you desire affordable cloud-powered virtual private servers and dedicated servers in Europe. Sign up to use Contabo today!
Rating Breakdown
In this section, I will appraise Contabo with HostAdvice’s rating methodology, which is an effective and easy technique for assessing web host brands.
| Parameter | Score | Why did we give this score? |
| Pricing | 9.6 | Contabo offers budget-friendly web hosting plans. However, it got a 9.4 rating because it provides a 14-day money-back guarantee (less than a month) and does not accept crypto payments. |
| Performance | 8.2 | The provider boasts a relatively fast response rate, especially in the US. Still, it received an 8.2 rating because it offers an annual mean uptime of 95%. |
| Features | 8.8 | Contabo is an efficient cloud-powered platform with fundamental hosting components. But, it earned an 8.8 rating because it lacks some sophisticated features, like CDN and advanced security. |
| User Friendly | 8.8 | The web host employs the industry-standard cPanel control panel and allows you to set up an account effortlessly. However, it got an 8.8 rating because of its outdated appearance. |
| Support | 8.6 | Contabo has a decent support team and a comprehensive knowledge base. However, it received an 8.6 rating due to its lack of live chat and 24/7 support service. |
| Overall Score | 8.6 | Contabo is a great option for those seeking cost-effective VPS and dedicated servers. Regardless, it received an 8.6 rating overall because it lacks many modern features. |
Contabo Prices & Plans – 2023
Contabo’s favorable pricing scheme is its main forte. One recurrent term in the provider’s customer reviews is “affordability”. After making my findings, I discovered that Contabo’s web hosting services were indeed very cheap compared to its competitors. The provider offers shared hosting, VPS hosting, cloud VDS, and dedicated servers. It also provides a 14-day money-back guarantee and accepts payment via PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.
Shared Hosting
| Plan Name | Space | Bandwidth | Panel | Email Addresses | Price |
| Webspace Package M | 50 GB | Unlimited | cPanel | 1000 | $3.99/month |
| Webspace Package L | 100 GB | Unlimited | cPanel | 2000 | $6.99/month |
| Webspace XL | 250 GB | Unlimited | cPanel | 5000 | $10.99/month |
| Webspace Package XXL | 500 GB | Unlimited | cPanel | Unlimited | $12.99/month |
Contabo’s shared hosting service is suitable for individuals who require simple and inexpensive hosting solutions for their websites. Each plan comes with free domains and SSL certificates, DDoS protection, PHP support, PhPMyAdmin, unlimited bandwidth, and cPanel. If you intend to start out with your first website, I recommend you choose the Webspace Package L plan as it is cheap ($6.99/month), has sufficient server resources and databases, and includes a one-click installer.
VPS Hosting
| Plan Name | Space | Traffic/Port Speed | RAM | Number of CPU Cores | Price |
| Cloud VPS S | 50 GB NVMe or 200 GB SSD | 32 TB Traffic | 8 GB | 4 vCPU | $8.49/month |
| Cloud VPS M | 100 GB NVMe or 400 GB SSD | 32 TB Traffic | 16 GB | 6 vCPU | $13.99/month |
| Cloud VPS L | 200 GB NVMe or 800 GB SSD | 32 TB Traffic | 30 GB | 8 vCPU | $22.99/month |
| Cloud VPS XL | 400 GB NVMe or 1.6 TB SSD | 32 TB Traffic | 60 GB | 10 vCPU | $40.49/month |
| Storage VPS S | 400 GB SSD | 32 TB Traffic 200 Mbit/s Port | 4 GB | 2 vCPU | $8.49/month |
| Storage VPS M | 800 GB SSD | 32 TB Traffic 400 Mbit/s Port | 8 GB | 4 vCPU | $13.99/month |
| Storage VPS L | 1.6 TB SSD | 32 TB Traffic 600 Mbit/s Port | 16 GB | 6 vCPU | $22.99/month |
| Storage VPS XL | 3.2 TB SSD | 32 TB Traffic 1 Gbit/s Port | 32 GB | 8 vCPU | $40.49/month |
Contabo’s virtual private servers are more sophisticated than its shared hosting plans because they offer guaranteed server resources. The web host offers both cloud and storage VPS, with both featuring 32 TB of traffic, private networking, constant DDoS protection, API, CLI, developer features, and DNS management. However, the cloud VPS plans present NVMe technology, while the storage VPS plans prioritize SSD storage capacity. If you need a speedy and inexpensive VPS plan with abundant server resources, I would suggest that you try Contabo’s Storage VPS L plan.
Cloud VDS Hosting
| Plan Name | Space | Traffic/Port Speed | RAM | Number of Cores | Price |
| Cloud VDS S | 180 GB NVMe | 32 TB Traffic 250 Mbit/s Port | 24 GB | 3 | $57.99/month |
| Cloud VDS M | 240 GB NVMe | 32 TB Traffic 500 Mbit/s Port | 32 GB | 4 | $68.99/month |
| Cloud VDS L | 360 GB NVMe | 32 TB Traffic 750 Mbit/s Port | 48 GB | 6 | $103.99/month |
| Cloud VDS XL | 480 GB NVMe | 32 TB Traffic 1 Gbit/s Port | 64 GB | 8 | $137.99/month |
| Cloud VDS XXL | 720 GB NVMe | 32 TB Traffic 1 Gbit/s Port | 96 GB | 12 | $194.99/month |
Contabo’s cloud VDS (virtual dedicated servers) service is a hybrid of its cloud VPS and dedicated servers. Each VDS plan comes with private networking, dedicated server resources, Enterprise-level NVMe SSD storage, 32 TB Traffic, API, CLI, and dedicated IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. If you want budget-friendly access to dedicated server resources, NVMe, and a speedy virtual private cloud, I recommend the Cloud VDS M plan.
Dedicated Servers
| Plan Name | Space | Traffic/Port Speed | RAM | Number of Cores | Price |
| Cloud VDS XL | 480 GB NVMe | 32 TB Traffic 1 Gbit/s Port | 64 GB | 8 | $137.99/month |
| Intel10-Core | 256 GB REG ECC | 32 TB Traffic 1 Gbit/s Port | – | 10 | $164.99/month |
| Intel Dual 10-Core | 256 GB REG ECC | 32 TB Traffic 1 Gbit/s Port | – | 20 | $194.99/month |
| AMD EPYC 16 Cores | 256 GB REG ECC | 32 TB Traffic 1 Gbit/s Port | Up to 512 GB | 16 | $249.99/month |
| AMD EPYC 32 Cores | 256 GB REG ECC | 32 TB Traffic 1 Gbit/s Port | Up to 2 TB RAM | 32 | $329.99/month |
Contabo’s dedicated servers are a more advanced hosting type than its cloud VDS, featuring bare metal, 100% dedicated resource allocation, and individual hardware configuration. All plans present 32 TB traffic, remote management, web UI, always-on DDoS protection, and DNS management. If you seek a cost-effective immediate upgrade from cloud VDS and extra CPU cores, I suggest you purchase an Intel Dual 10-Core plan.
Features
Some common web hosting tools and features that come with Contabo include:
- cPanel control panel
- Softaculous
- PHP support
- Ubuntu and Windows operating system
- API
- Developer features
- IPv4 and IPv6 addresses
- DDoS protection
- Plesk
- SSL certificates
- MySQL databases.
Performance
Contabo is a reasonable web host when it comes to performance. In terms of speed, Contabo recorded favorable response times ranging from 36 ms to 384 ms when tested for five different locations (Dallas, London, Seattle, Tel Aviv, and Hong Kong). The fastest response time was in Dallas and the slowest was in Hong Kong. My server location was in the US, so the proximity may have influenced my result.
Its page loading times are also impressive with consistently quick load times of around 2-3 seconds. However, the provider recedes in uptime with an annual mean availability of 95% globally.
Level of Support
Contabo offers fairly good customer service accessible via phone calls, email, support tickets, and its self-help/FAQ section (knowledge base). However, the provider does not provide live chat support.
Phone Support
Contabo’s technical agents can be reached via phone from 10 am to 8 pm CET (UTC+1) from Monday to Friday. The service team is helpful and strictly adheres to its period of operation. I tried putting a call across to the agents around 6 am to no avail but was able to reach them by 11 am. Fortunately, they don’t charge extra fees for phone support.
Email Support / Support Tickets
Contabo does not clearly specify its email support’s opening and response times. I sent an email to the support team but was informed that they had received a high number of emails from their customers. So, I was redirected to fill out a support ticket form and wait for a response. I got a response after 3 hours, although it was not helpful.
Self-Help / FAQ Section
Contabo’s self-help section features an extensive collection of common questions asked by customers and their answers. Unlike the other support mediums, it is always available and reliable.
User-Friendly
Registration
Signing up to use Contabo is pretty straightforward as you only have to fill in your personal data and payment details and follow the subsequent on-screen instructions. You can create an account with Contabo within 5 minutes even if you are a beginner.
Contabo Control Panel
Contabo features cPanel and Plesk control panels. The intuitive, industry-standard cPanel is particularly useful when managing a shared hosting account and environment. On the other hand, Plesk is suitable for managing cloud platforms, Linux, and Windows. You can also use its web UI to manage accounts and cloud services.
Installing WordPress on Contabo
Installing WordPress on Contabo is relatively easy as the web host employs a cPanel control panel and a Softaculous app installer. After logging into your cPanel account, scroll down to “application” to access WordPress manager and install WordPress.
Adding an Email Account with Contabo
You can easily add an email account on Contabo using the cPanel or Plesk control panel. For cPanel, go to “email accounts” and click “add an email account” after logging into your cPanel account. For Plesk, go to “mail” and click on “create email addresses” after logging into your Plesk account.
Conclusion: Do We Recommend Contabo?
From my research and personal experience, Contabo is a satisfactory web hosting provider for individuals whose websites don’t necessitate complex state-of-the-art technology and solutions. People who require dedicated servers and virtual private servers in Europe would also find Contabo valuable. The primary factor that draws website owners and businesses to Contabo is its relatively cheap pricing. Yet, another feature that deserves applause is its seamless integration of Windows with its VPS and VDS plans.
While Contabo may have several drawbacks, I would still recommend Contabo as it offers a promising web hosting service at an affordable price.
