AWS Lightsail vs UpCloud

AWS Lightsail is strongest for AWS ecosystem users. UpCloud is strongest for performance-sensitive VPS workloads. Here's how they stack up on price, uptime, and support.

Feature	AWS Lightsail	UpCloud
Starting price	$0.8/mo	$3.5/mo
Best for	AWS ecosystem users Predictable bundled pricing Windows workloads	Performance-sensitive VPS workloads European data residency Simple predictable billing
Stated uptime SLA	99.9%	99.999%
Storage	SSD	NVME
Regions	16	13
Managed Kubernetes	No	Yes
Support channels	AWS Support plans (separate from Lightsail), Community forums, Docs	Ticket, Docs, Community
Compliance	SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA eligible	GDPR, ISO 27001
Hidden costs to watch for	Data transfer overage varies significantly by AWS region ($0.09-$0.132/GB) Windows bundles cost 70-90% more than equivalent Linux bundles	Simple Backups add-on billed as a percentage surcharge on server price (Day +10%, Week +20%, Month +40%, Year +60%) Data transfer beyond the Fair Transfer Policy allowance can incur overage charges despite marketing free egress Premium plans require MaxIOPS block storage which is priced/allocated differently than Starter plan Standard SSD
Last reviewed	2026-07-17	2026-07-18