Comparing prices across every provider we track...
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Compute Engine · $36.11/mo (2 GB RAM, 2 vCPU)
Google Cloud's e2-highcpu-2 at $36.11/mo is significantly more expensive than comparable 2vCPU/2GB alternatives, and the hidden costs (egress fees, sustained-use discount complexity, GKE cluster fees) compound the pain. Several providers offer matching or better specs at 7-15% of the price, though most carry renewal-price traps or bandwidth overages you'll need to monitor.
Exact spec match (2vCPU, 2GB RAM, 90GB NVMe) at $5/mo intro pricing with unlimited traffic up to 1 Gbit/s, eliminating Google's per-GB egress surprise.
Caveat: Intro pricing is 1-year contract; renewal is 2-6x higher (likely $10-30/mo), and additional IPv4 addresses cost $6/mo each.
Exceeds specs (2vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB NVMe) at $4.54/mo with unlimited traffic and daily backups included.
Caveat: Windows license adds $0.039/vCore/hour; APAC egress loses free status after mid-2026; IPv4 addresses billed separately.
Exceeds specs (2GB RAM, 1vCPU, 50GB NVMe SSD) at $2.09/mo intro with unmetered bandwidth and root SSH access.
Caveat: Renewal jumps to $9.99-$15.99/mo after intro term; requires 36-month contract for lowest price; domain and privacy upsells after year 1.
Exceeds specs (2vCPU, 1GB RAM, 40GB SSD, 2TB transfer) at $5/mo with predictable flat pricing and no sustained-use discount games.
Caveat: Data transfer overage is $0.09-$0.132/GB depending on region; Windows bundles cost 70-90% more.
Transparent $5/mo pricing with 1TB transfer included and no hidden cluster management fees like GKE.
Caveat: Only 1vCPU (shared) and 1GB RAM, so underspec; backups add ~$1/mo; overage egress is $0.005/GB after allowance.
Before you switch
| UpCloud | Cloud Servers - Starter · STARTER-1xCPU-1GB | $3.5/mo | 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 10 GB Standard SSD | Visit |
| Namecheap | VPS Hosting · Spark | $3.88/mo | 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 20 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 |
| OVHcloud | VPS · VPS-1 | $4.54/mo | 4 GB RAM, 2 vCPU, 40 GB NVMe | Visit |
| Vultr | Cloud Compute · Regular 1vCPU/1GB | $5/mo | 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 25 GB NVMe SSD | Visit |
| AWS Lightsail | Virtual Servers · GP 1GB (Linux, IPv6) | $5/mo | 1 GB RAM, 2 vCPU, 40 GB SSD | Visit |
| IONOS | VPS Hosting (VPS+) · VPS S+ | $5/mo | 2 GB RAM, 2 vCPU, 90 GB NVMe | 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 |
| IONOS | IONOS CLOUD Cubes (Basic) · Basic Cube XS | $5.76/mo | 2 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 60 GB NVMe | Visit |
| Fly.io | Machines (Shared CPU) · shared-cpu-1x - 1GB | $5.92/mo | 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU | Visit |
IONOS
OVHcloud
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Bluehost
AWS Lightsail
Linode (Akamai)