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No single winner emerges from the evidence. Contabo is the better-documented option for technically capable readers who want a VPS (virtual private server) and are prepared to administer it. Site5 may suit someone who wants shared hosting with less server work, but Site5’s current first-party plan terms, specifications and renewal rules could not be verified, so its listed prices should be treated as third-party figures only.
Side-by-side overview
The two providers are not sold in the same way, so a direct price comparison is misleading on its own. The table below separates what is documented from what is not.
| Factor | Contabo | Site5 |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting model shown in the sources | Core VPS, per Contabo’s official server-portfolio help article | Shared hosting (hostBasic, hostPro) and a VPS4 entry, per a third-party comparison page |
| Listed starting price | Cloud VPS 4 at 4.40/month on a 24-month term, shown as VAT-inclusive (Contabo pricing page; currency not confirmed) | hostBasic at CA$7.00/month (HostAdvice listing, Canadian dollars) |
| Server administration responsibility | Customer-administered VPS model; the sources describe it as suited to users who can handle server administration | Not stated in the sources reviewed |
| User-review score (HostAdvice) | 4.3 from 991 reviews | 1.6 from 181 reviews |
| Independent uptime or speed test | Not stated | Not stated |
| Current first-party plan terms | Pricing page surfaced; recheck live checkout | Not stated |
What Contabo’s VPS plans offer
Contabo’s official server-portfolio help article says its Core VPS line is intended for standard workloads where cost, RAM and storage are the priorities. It names web hosting, CMS, private email, development and testing, backup and storage as example uses. The published Core VPS range is:
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- 8 to 96 GB RAM
- 100 to 600 GB SSD storage
- Port speeds from 200 Mbit/s to 1 Gbit/s
These are vendor-stated specifications. They describe what is sold, not how a given site will perform on it. A high core count or large RAM allocation does not by itself guarantee faster page loads for a WordPress site, and the sources do not show otherwise.
Contabo pricing: what the figures do and do not show
Contabo’s pricing page lists monthly prices for several plans and states that the displayed prices apply to a 24-month term. The plans are labelled Cloud VPS on the pricing page, while the portfolio article uses the Core VPS label. The sources do not confirm that these are identical product lines, so readers should match the plan name shown at checkout to the specifications above.
| Plan (pricing page label) | Listed monthly price | Conditions stated |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud VPS 4 | 4.40 | 24-month term; VAT included; currency not confirmed |
| Cloud VPS 6 | 6.00 | Same |
| Cloud VPS 8 | 11.20 | Same |
| Cloud VPS 12 | 20.00 | Same |
| Cloud VPS 16 | 29.60 | Same |
| Cloud VPS 18 | 39.20 | Same |
The HostAdvice comparison shows a different Contabo starting price, CA$7.47 per month. That figure cannot be reconciled with the 4.40 listed on Contabo’s own pricing page from the sources available, so neither number should be quoted as the price you will pay. Renewal price, discounts, geography and taxes all need to be checked on the live checkout page.
What the Site5 listings show
HostAdvice’s 2026 comparison page is the only source reviewed that gives Site5 plan prices. It lists these in Canadian dollars, which reflects that page’s market context rather than a verified Site5 quote:
- hostBasic (shared hosting): CA$7.00 per month
- hostPro (shared hosting): CA$12.65 per month
- VPS4: CA$148.47 per month
The VPS4 figure is roughly thirty-three times the hostBasic price, which shows how different Site5’s two offerings are. The sources do not state whether these prices are monthly-only, what term they assume, or whether they are current. HostAdvice’s categories may also not line up one-to-one with Site5’s own plan names, so direct matching against Contabo’s plans is not reliable.
Ratings and reviews
HostAdvice displays a 4.3 score for Contabo from 991 reviews and 1.6 for Site5 from 181 reviews. These are aggregates of user reviews posted on that one platform. They are not measures of uptime, speed, or support quality, and they do not show how representative the reviewers are. One Site5 review dated 20 July 2026 describes service interruptions and poor support. That is a single individual’s account and should not be read as a pattern without further evidence.
Which provider fits your situation
Start with one question: do you want the provider to run the server environment for you, or do you want full control and are willing to manage it?
Rank #4
Contabo may fit if you
- Are comfortable installing and maintaining a Linux server, web stack, security updates and backups
- Need root-level control over a VPS for a CMS, private email, a development environment or storage
- Want the lowest published monthly cost per resource and can commit to a 24-month term
- Can verify the exact plan, currency, tax and renewal terms at checkout
Site5 may fit if you
- Want shared hosting for a small site and do not plan to administer a server
- Can confirm Site5’s current plan contents, support scope, renewal pricing and data-centre location directly on its own site before paying
- Are comfortable with the lower review score and the limited verification available here
Neither is a safe default if you
- Need guaranteed uptime or a measured speed advantage, since no independent test was found for either provider
- Expect a like-for-like price comparison, because the two providers’ listings use different plan structures and currencies
- Run a business-critical site with no backup plan of your own
Moving or changing an existing Contabo server
If you already run a Contabo VPS, the operation you choose determines whether your data survives. Contabo’s help articles describe the following, but readers should confirm the exact path in their customer panel before starting.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsUpgrading a plan
Eligible VPS and VDS plans can be upgraded from 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. Upgrade scenarios described in that article keep the same IP address.
Downgrading a plan
A downgrade is not a direct action. You must order a new server, migrate your data manually, and then cancel the original server. The new server gets a different IP address.
Changing region
- Moving a VPS or VDS to another region changes its IP addresses.
- A live migration carries a one-time fee. A new setup is free but deletes data.
- Some regions add a monthly location surcharge. Contabo says this does not apply to EU regions.
- DNS hosted on Contabo’s name servers updates automatically. Records on other name servers, and any service bound to an IP address, may need manual changes.
- Backup-space add-on data does not move to the new region. Contabo deletes the old space and creates an empty one.
Before any upgrade, downgrade or region move, copy important data to storage that is independent of the server.
Checklist before you buy
- Confirm the plan name, vCores, RAM, storage and port speed on the live checkout page.
- Note the currency, tax treatment, term length and renewal price for each provider.
- Check Site5’s own site for plan contents, support scope and data-centre location, since these were not verified here.
- Decide who will handle security patches, backups and server software updates.
- Test your site on a trial or small plan before migrating a production site, where the provider offers one.
Limits of this comparison
This article relies on Contabo’s official help and pricing pages, and on a third-party HostAdvice comparison page with 2026 listings. Site5’s first-party terms, current support documentation and geographic availability were not established. No independent uptime or performance measurements are available for either provider, so claims about speed or reliability should be tested on your own site rather than taken from this comparison.
Quick Recap
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