Comparing prices across every provider we track...
CloudHosting.ioCloudHosting.io
Simple Application Server · $4.55/mo (512 MB RAM, 2 vCPU, 40 GB SSD)
Alibaba Cloud's $4.55/mo plan is competitively priced but offers lower specs (0.5GB RAM) than several cheaper alternatives with 1GB RAM. IONOS, Scaleway (if available), and Vultr deliver better value per dollar, though renewal pricing and hidden costs vary significantly across providers.
Half the price with double the RAM (1GB vs 0.5GB), 10GB NVMe storage, and unlimited traffic up to 1 Gbit/s; 99.99% SLA matches or beats Alibaba.
Caveat: Intro pricing renews at 2-6x higher after contract term; additional IPv4 addresses cost $6/mo each; outbound data transfer beyond 2TB pooled allowance is tiered at $0.036/GB.
Matches Alibaba's 512MB RAM and 2vCPU core count at 55% lower price; includes 10GB disk and 500GB transfer; 100% network uptime SLA.
Caveat: Bandwidth overage rates vary by data center; Windows licensing not included; fewer vCPU than Alibaba (1 vs 2).
Matches Alibaba's 512MB RAM and 2vCPU at 23% lower price; includes 20GB SSD and 1000GB transfer (5x Alibaba's bandwidth).
Caveat: Data transfer overage at $0.09-$0.132/GB depending on region; Windows bundles cost 70-90% more.
Matches Alibaba's 512MB RAM at 12% lower price; includes 10GB SSD and 500GB transfer; transparent 99.99% SLA.
Caveat: Bandwidth overages billed at $0.01/GB; only 1vCPU vs Alibaba's 2vCPU.
Before you switch
| Vultr | Cloud Compute · Regular 1vCPU/0.5GB | $2.5/mo | 512 MB RAM, 1 vCPU, 10 GB | Visit |
| InMotion Hosting | Shared Hosting · Core | $2.99/mo | 512 MB RAM, 100 GB SSD | Visit |
| AWS Lightsail | Virtual Servers · GP 0.5GB (Linux, IPv6) | $3.5/mo | 512 MB RAM, 2 vCPU, 20 GB SSD | Visit |
| UpCloud | Cloud Servers - Starter · STARTER-1xCPU-1GB | $3.5/mo | 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 10 GB Standard SSD | Visit |
| Microsoft Azure | Virtual Machines · B1ls | $3.8/mo | 512 MB RAM, 1 vCPU | Visit |
| Namecheap | VPS Hosting · Spark | $3.88/mo | 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 20 GB SSD | Visit |
| DigitalOcean | Droplets · Basic 512MB | $4/mo | 512 MB RAM, 1 vCPU, 10 GB SSD | Visit |
| Kamatera | Cloud VMs · Type A base (Availability, 1 vCPU/1GB) | $4/mo | 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 20 GB NVMe SSD | Visit |
| Liquid Web | VPS Hosting · Compute 1 | $5/mo | 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 30 GB SSD | Visit |
| Linode (Akamai) | Shared CPU Compute · Nanode 1 GB | $5/mo | 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 25 GB SSD | Visit |
| Civo | Compute Instances · xSmall | $5.43/mo | 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 25 GB NVMe | Visit |
| Exoscale | Standard Instances · Micro | $5.75/mo | 512 MB RAM, 1 vCPU, 200 GB SSD | Visit |
IONOS
Vultr
View Alibaba Cloud's plan
AWS Lightsail
DigitalOcean