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There is no single winner. Contabo is the better-documented option if you want a VPS and can administer a server yourself. Site5 appears in the comparisons we could find as a shared-hosting provider, but we could not confirm its current plan specifications, renewal pricing, support scope, or data-center locations from Site5’s own materials, so a verdict on Site5 would rest on third-party listings. Neither provider can be called faster or more reliable on the evidence available, because we did not find an independent performance or uptime test that compares them.
Start with the hosting model you need
The two providers are not really competing for the same buyer. The choice depends on how much of the server you want to manage yourself.
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- Choose shared hosting if you want a simple site, minimal server work, and a provider that handles most of the infrastructure. The comparison pages list Site5 hostBasic and hostPro as shared plans.
- Choose a VPS if you need direct control over the operating environment, want to install your own software stack, or expect a workload that outgrows shared plans. You take on the administration: updates, security hardening, backups, and performance tuning. Contabo’s Core VPS is the product its official materials describe for this kind of use.
- Check support scope before you buy. The materials we reviewed do not establish whether Contabo includes managed server administration. Assume you handle it unless the plan you choose says otherwise.
Contabo: what its official materials specify
Contabo’s server-portfolio guidance positions Core VPS for standard workloads where cost, RAM, and storage matter most. The listed uses include web hosting, content management systems, private email, development and testing, backup, and storage. A CMS such as WordPress is therefore an intended workload. That is a statement about suitability, not a promise of performance.
The published Core VPS configuration ranges are:
- vCores: 4 to 18
- RAM: 8 to 96 GB
- SSD storage: 100 to 600 GB
- Network port speed: 200 Mbit/s to 1 Gbit/s
These are vendor-stated specifications. They describe what is offered, not how a given site will perform on it.
Contabo monthly prices
Contabo’s pricing page lists the following Cloud VPS monthly prices. The displayed prices are for a 24-month term and are labelled as including VAT. The listing does not state the currency with certainty, so confirm it at checkout.
| Plan | Listed monthly price | Term shown | Currency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud VPS 4 | 4.40 | 24 months | Not stated in listing |
| Cloud VPS 6 | 6.00 | 24 months | Not stated in listing |
| Cloud VPS 8 | 11.20 | 24 months | Not stated in listing |
| Cloud VPS 12 | 20.00 | 24 months | Not stated in listing |
| Cloud VPS 16 | 29.60 | 24 months | Not stated in listing |
| Cloud VPS 18 | 39.20 | 24 months | Not stated in listing |
Before you rely on these figures, check the live checkout page for currency, taxes, discounts, renewal price, and whether your geography changes the price.
Site5: what the third-party listings show, and what they do not
The HostAdvice comparison page, titled “Contabo vs Site5 (2026 Comparison),” is the main side-by-side source we found. It is a third-party page, not provider-confirmed pricing. Its figures are in Canadian dollars and reflect Canadian market context.
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|---|---|---|
| Contabo, starting price | VPS | CA$7.47/month |
| Site5, starting price | Shared | CA$7.00/month |
| Site5 hostBasic | Shared | CA$7.00/month |
| Site5 hostPro | Shared | CA$12.65/month |
| Site5 VPS4 | VPS | CA$148.47/month |
The comparison page’s categories may not map one-to-one onto Contabo’s current official plans, and we could not verify Site5’s plan terms, specifications, or renewal pricing from Site5 directly. Treat the Site5 rows as a snapshot of what one third-party page displayed, not as a quote.
Is Contabo or Site5 cheaper?
The figures above cannot answer this question directly. Contabo’s official prices are term-bound and their currency is not confirmed, while the Site5 listings are Canadian-dollar figures from a third-party page. To compare fairly, record the same details for both providers:
- Choose the same geography and currency on each checkout page.
- Match the term length, since Contabo’s listed prices assume 24 months.
- Note the renewal price after the first term, not only the introductory rate.
- Add the options you actually need, such as backups, additional IP addresses, or extra storage.
- Include taxes and any location surcharge.
- Compare the total cost over the full term you plan to keep the service.
Reviews: what the scores can and cannot tell you
The same comparison page shows user-review scores of 4.3 for Contabo, from 991 reviews, and 1.6 for Site5, from 181 reviews. These are platform-specific user-review aggregates. They do not measure uptime, speed, support quality, or customer satisfaction across the whole customer base.
One Site5 review shown on the page, dated 20 July 2026, describes service interruptions and a lack of support. That is one individual’s experience and should not be treated as typical. Read it alongside other evidence, not as a verdict.
Changing a Contabo server: data, IP addresses, and costs
If you already run a Contabo server, the operation you choose decides whether your data survives and whether your IP address changes. Back up important data somewhere independent before any change.
Upgrading a VPS or VDS
Contabo says customers can upgrade eligible VPS and VDS plans through the customer panel. A live migration can transfer data without loss when the chosen configuration supports it. A fresh setup is faster but deletes existing server data. For the upgrade scenarios documented in Contabo’s Help Center article on plan changes, the IP address stays the same.
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Downgrading a VPS or VDS
A downgrade is not a direct action. You order a new server, migrate your data manually, and then cancel the original server. Expect an IP address change, and plan the cutover so DNS and any IP-bound services can be updated.
Moving to another region
Moving a VPS or VDS to another region changes its IP addresses. Contabo’s region guidance describes two options:
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- Live migration: a one-time fee applies.
- New setup: free, but it deletes your data.
Some regions can add a monthly location surcharge. Contabo’s documentation says this does not apply to EU regions.
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DNS hosted on Contabo name servers updates automatically. Records on other name servers, and services bound to IP addresses, may need manual reconfiguration. Backup-space add-on data does not move to the destination region: Contabo deletes the old space and creates an empty one.
Summary of the main operations
| Operation | Data outcome | IP address | Cost noted in Contabo’s guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upgrade, live migration | Preserved when the configuration supports it | Unchanged for documented upgrade scenarios | Not stated |
| Upgrade, fresh setup | Existing server data deleted | Not stated for this path | Not stated |
| Downgrade (new server, manual migration) | Kept only if you migrate it yourself | Changes | Not stated |
| Region move, live migration | Data transferred; backup-space add-on data does not move | Changes | One-time fee |
| Region move, new setup | Server data deleted; backup-space add-on data does not move | Changes | Free |
Where the cost cell reads “Not stated,” Contabo’s guidance we reviewed does not give a price for that path, so confirm it in the customer panel before you proceed.
Contabo’s Help Center articles on plan changes and region moves are the primary sources for these rules, and the exact steps may change, so check them before any migration.
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