Linode was acquired by Akamai in 2022 and rebranded as Akamai Cloud. Vultr remains independent. Both started as developer-focused VPS providers and have expanded their offerings significantly. In 2026, Akamai Cloud leverages Akamai's global CDN network as a differentiator, while Vultr has invested heavily in High-Frequency Compute and bare-metal options. Which is right for you?
Quick Verdict
Choose Vultr if you want the best raw performance per dollar, need bare-metal servers, or want more regions globally.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Akamai Cloud (Linode) | Vultr |
|---|---|---|
| Entry VPS | $5/mo – 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 25GB SSD | $2.50/mo – 1 vCPU, 512MB RAM, 10GB SSD |
| High Performance | Dedicated CPU plans | High-Frequency Compute (NVMe) |
| Bare Metal | ✗ | ✓ (from $120/mo) |
| CDN Integration | ✓ (Akamai CDN) | ✗ |
| Managed Kubernetes | LKE (free control plane) | VKE (free control plane) |
| Object Storage | ✓ S3-compatible | ✓ S3-compatible |
| Managed Databases | MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis | Limited |
| Regions | 11 regions | 32 locations |
| Bandwidth Included | 1TB–20TB (plan-dependent) | 1TB–10TB |
| DDoS Protection | Basic | Basic |
| Windows VPS | ✗ | ✓ |
Performance Benchmarks
Vultr's High-Frequency Compute instances use AMD EPYC processors with NVMe SSD storage and consistently outperform Akamai Cloud's standard instances in CPU-intensive benchmarks. In our testing, a Vultr High-Frequency 2-vCPU instance scored approximately 20% higher in Geekbench single-core than a comparable Akamai Cloud standard plan at the same price.
For disk I/O, Vultr High-Frequency again leads. Akamai Cloud's dedicated CPU plans close the gap significantly but cost more. For network throughput, both platforms provide comparable bandwidth on their standard plans.
Akamai CDN Integration
Akamai's acquisition of Linode created an interesting value proposition: cloud compute with access to one of the world's largest CDN networks. Akamai operates over 4,000 PoPs globally. For applications that need both compute and content delivery at scale, Akamai Cloud can consolidate vendors.
However, most developers use Cloudflare's free tier as their CDN regardless of where their origin server is hosted. Akamai CDN's real value materializes at enterprise scale and pricing where their edge capabilities exceed what Cloudflare's free/Pro tiers provide.
Regional Coverage
Vultr operates 32 locations worldwide including strong Asia-Pacific coverage (Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai, Sydney). Akamai Cloud operates 11 regions with solid US and European coverage but fewer Asia-Pacific options. For global applications, Vultr's footprint is a meaningful advantage.
Windows VPS
Vultr supports Windows Server on VPS instances, which Akamai Cloud does not offer. For teams that need Windows-based workloads without moving to AWS or Azure, Vultr is one of the few affordable cloud providers that supports Windows.
Final Verdict
Akamai Cloud wins for: CDN integration, managed databases, enterprise Akamai ecosystem, slightly better UI polish.
Vultr wins for: raw performance, bare-metal, global coverage, Windows support, lower entry pricing.
For pure developer VPS needs, Vultr has the edge on price and performance. For organizations that want to consolidate compute and CDN under Akamai, the Akamai Cloud proposition is compelling at scale.
Need Offshore or Privacy-First VPS?
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