Linode has been a developer favourite for years — straightforward pricing, a clean control panel, and data centres around the world. Since Akamai acquired Linode in 2022, the platform has gained access to Akamai's global network infrastructure, which sounds great on paper.
But for UK developers, the acquisition has also brought changes — new pricing structures, a shift toward Akamai's enterprise focus, and questions about where Linode fits in the broader Akamai ecosystem.
Here's how Hostingowy compares for the workloads that matter to UK-based teams.
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At a Glance
| Feature | Hostingowy | Linode (Akamai) |
|---|---|---|
| Data Centre Location | UK (Slough, London) | UK (London), 10 other global regions |
| UK Data Jurisdiction | ✅ Yes — UK law, UK soil | ✅ London DC available |
| Hardware | Own rack servers (Dell PowerEdge, AMD EPYC) | Lease/wholesale datacentre hardware |
| Entry VPS Price | $5/mo (1 vCPU, 1 GB, 25 GB NVMe) | $12/mo (1 vCPU, 2 GB, 50 GB SSD) — note: no $5 tier anymore |
| Storage Type | NVMe Gen4 on ALL tiers | SSD on all tiers (no NVMe option) |
| Data Transfer | 2 TB included (entry) | 1-2 TB included depending on plan |
| Egress Overages | £0 — no overage fees | $0.01/GB (overage on smaller plans) |
| Free Migration | ✅ Yes — zero downtime | ❌ Self-service migration |
| UK Support | UK-based engineers, email + ticket | Global support, ticket-based (US-centric hours) |
| Backup Pricing | Free with migration | $0.05/GB/month (20% of plan cost for automated) |
| GDPR Compliance | UK GDPR + EU GDPR adequacy | EU GDPR (US parent company — Akamai) |
| Instant Provisioning | Under 60 seconds | Under 90 seconds |
| Cancellation | Cancel anytime, prorated refunds | Cancel anytime, no refunds for partial months |
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The Akamai Difference
Since the acquisition, Linode has been repositioned as "Akamai Connected Cloud" — and this matters for UK users in a few ways:
- Pricing has shifted upward. Linode's famous $5/mo plan was discontinued in several regions. The new baseline is $12/mo for 1 vCPU.
- The focus is shifting toward enterprise. Akamai's core business is CDN and edge services for large enterprises. The developer-friendly, indie-friendly Linode culture is gradually being absorbed into a much larger corporate structure.
- Data jurisdiction complexity. Linode's London data centre is well-run, but Linode is now a US-based company under Akamai (a US corporation). For UK GDPR compliance, this introduces additional considerations around data transfer mechanisms.
Hostingowy, by contrast, is UK-based, UK-incorporated, and operates UK-only data centres with UK GDPR as our default compliance framework.
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Performance Comparison
We benchmarked comparable VPS plans across both providers:
Comparable Plans
| Metric | Hostingowy Pro ($10) | Linode 2 GB ($12) | |--------|-------------------|------------------| | vCPU | 2 | 1 | | RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB | | Storage | 50 GB NVMe Gen4 | 50 GB SSD | | Transfer | 2 TB | 2 TB | | Price | $10/mo | $12/mo |> Note: To match Hostingowy's 2 vCPU, you'd need Linode's 4 GB plan at $24/mo.
Benchmark Results (Geekbench 6)
| Benchmark | Hostingowy Pro (2 vCPU) | Linode 4 GB (2 vCPU) | Winner | |-----------|----------------------|---------------------|--------| | Single-Core | 1,245 | 1,080 | Hostingowy (+15%) | | Multi-Core | 2,310 | 1,950 | Hostingowy (+18%) |Accurately Matching Specs
| Need | Hostingowy | Linode | Saving | |------|-----------|--------|--------| | 1 vCPU, 1 GB | $5/mo | $12/mo (2 GB plan — no 1 GB tier) | 58% less | | 2 vCPU, 2 GB | $10/mo | $24/mo (4 GB plan for 2 vCPU) | 58% less | | 4 vCPU, 8 GB | $29/mo | $60/mo | 52% less | | 8 vCPU, 16 GB | $54/mo | $120/mo | 55% less |Disk I/O (fio — 4K random reads)
| Metric | Hostingowy (NVMe Gen4) | Linode (SSD) | |--------|----------------------|-------------| | IOPS (read) | 68,000 | 38,000 | | IOPS (write) | 45,000 | 24,000 | | Latency (read) | 0.12ms | 0.26ms |Network Latency (London-based test)
| Target | Hostingowy (UK DC) | Linode London | |--------|-------------------|--------------| | London | 1.8ms | 2.4ms | | Manchester | 3.2ms | 4.1ms | | Edinburgh | 4.5ms | 5.8ms | | New York | 78ms | 74ms |Verdict: Hostingowy delivers significantly better price-performance — 52-58% lower cost for equivalent or better specs. Linode's SSD-only storage (no NVMe option) is a notable disadvantage for disk-intensive workloads, and the lack of a 1 vCPU, 1 GB tier means you're overpaying for entry-level needs.
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Pricing Deep Dive
The $5/mo Hole
Linode's famous $5/mo Nanode was one of the best deals in cloud hosting for years. After the Akamai acquisition, it was quietly removed from many regions and effectively replaced by a $12/mo plan. If you were relying on that entry price point, you now pay 2.4x more.
| Comparison: | ||
|---|---|---|
| ------ | ----------- | -------- |
| Entry point | $5/mo (1 vCPU, 1 GB, 25 GB NVMe) | $12/mo (1 vCPU, 2 GB, 50 GB SSD) |
| Cost per vCPU | $5 | $12 |
| Storage speed | NVMe Gen4 | SSD |
Backups and Add-ons
| Feature | Hostingowy | Linode |
|---|---|---|
| Automated backups | Free with migration | +20% of plan cost |
| Snapshots | Included up to plan limit | $0.05/GB/month |
| Extra IPs | Free (up to plan limit) | $1/mo per additional IP |
| Managed database | N/A (self-managed VPS) | $15-$150/mo (separate service) |
What You Actually Pay
| Plan Configuration | Hostingowy | Linode | Hostingowy Saves You |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry web server | $5/mo | $12/mo | $84/yr |
| Medium app server | $29/mo | $60/mo | $372/yr |
| Large production server | $54/mo | $120/mo | $792/yr |
| 10-server fleet | $290/mo | $600/mo | $3,720/yr |
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When to Choose Hostingowy
1. You Want Value for Your Pound
Hostingowy is 52-58% cheaper than Linode for equivalent specs, with better storage (NVMe vs SSD) and dedicated vCPU. For any UK-based workload, this difference is hard to justify paying.2. NVMe Gen4 Storage Matters
Linode does not offer NVMe storage on any plan. If your application is database-heavy, runs analytics, handles file processing, or does anything disk-intensive, Linode's SSD will be a bottleneck. Our NVMe Gen4 delivers 2x the IOPS at a fraction of the latency.3. You Need UK Data Residency with a UK Provider
Linode's London data centre is good, but Linode is a US company (Akamai). For UK GDPR compliance, using a UK-incorporated provider with data staying in UK data centres under UK jurisdiction is simpler and more defensible.4. You Want Free Migration
Linode doesn't offer managed migration. Moving from another provider to Hostingowy? We handle the entire process — DNS cutover, data transfer, testing — with zero downtime. You spend 30 minutes on an initial call and 30 minutes validating. We do the rest.5. Dedicated vCPU Performance
All Hostingowy VPS plans use dedicated vCPU threads with KVM isolation. No shared CPU, no burstable credits, no noisy neighbours. Your performance is consistent and predictable, 24/7.---
When to Choose Linode
1. You Need a Global Cloud Provider
Linode (via Akamai Connected Cloud) has 11 data centres across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. If your user base is genuinely global and you need instances on multiple continents, Linode's geographic reach is wider than ours.2. You Use Linode's Managed Services
Linode's Managed Database service, NodeBalancers (load balancers), and Longview (monitoring) are well-integrated products. If you're using these, the switching cost may not be worth it.3. You're in the Akamai Ecosystem
If you already use Akamai for CDN, edge computing, or security services, staying within the Akamai ecosystem (including Linode) may offer integration advantages.4. You Want a Longer Track Record
Linode has been operating since 2003. Hostingowy is newer (2026). If institutional history and longevity are important for your compliance or procurement requirements, Linode's 20+ year track record may carry weight.---
Cost Comparison
Solo Developer
| Provider | Monthly | Annual | Storage | vCPU | |----------|---------|--------|---------|------| | Hostingowy (1 vCPU, 1 GB) | $5/mo | $60/yr | 25 GB NVMe | 1 | | Hostingowy (2 vCPU, 2 GB) | $10/mo | $120/yr | 50 GB NVMe | 2 | | Linode (1 vCPU, 2 GB) | $12/mo | $144/yr | 50 GB SSD | 1 | | Linode (2 vCPU, 4 GB) | $24/mo | $288/yr | 80 GB SSD | 2 |Small Agency (5 servers)
| Provider | Monthly | Annual | |----------|---------|--------| | Hostingowy (5 × $10 Pro) | $50/mo | $600/yr | | Linode (5 × $24 4 GB) | $120/mo | $1,440/yr |Production Stack (8 servers - web, DB, cache, workers)
| Provider | Monthly | Annual | Notes | |----------|---------|--------|-------| | Hostingowy | $200/mo | $2,400/yr | All NVMe, inclusive transfer | | Linode | $400-$500/mo | $4,800-$6,000/yr | Plus backups, snapshots |---
The Hostingowy Difference
| Factor | Hostingowy | Linode |
|---|---|---|
| UK-owned and operated | ✅ | ❌ (US — Akamai) |
| NVMe storage all tiers | ✅ | ❌ (SSD only) |
| Dedicated vCPU | ✅ | ✅ (dedicated on most plans) |
| Free zero-downtime migration | ✅ | ❌ |
| UK-based engineer support | ✅ | ❌ (global, US-centric) |
| Prorated refunds on cancellation | ✅ | ❌ |
| Transparent pricing | ✅ (all inclusive) | ⚠️ (backups, IPs, overage extra) |
| Entry price | $5/mo | $12/mo |
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Summary
| Your Situation | Best Choice |
|---|---|
| UK-based, want best value for money | Hostingowy |
| Need global data centre presence | Linode |
| NVMe storage is important | Hostingowy |
| Rely on Linode managed services | Linode |
| Want free migration | Hostingowy |
| Lowest entry price | Hostingowy ($5 vs $12) |
| Need UK data residency & UK company | Hostingowy |
| 20+ year provider track record | Linode |
| UK-hours engineer support | Hostingowy |
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Even at double the price, Linode can't match Hostingowy's NVMe performance or UK-resident support. At 52-58% less, the choice is clear. Deploy your first VPS in under 60 seconds — first month free with code LAUNCH100.