Compare / AWS Lightsail vs Linode Shared CPU
AWS Lightsail vs Linode Shared CPU
Pre-calculated from hand-checked data — AWS Lightsail checked 2026-08-06, Akamai Linode checked 2026-08-06.
The short version
AWS Lightsail wins more of our comparison points, but Linode Shared CPU still fits if developers who want a proven, boring VPS with cheap bandwidth describes you.
Price Linode Shared CPU
Linode Shared CPU is cheaper at most of the stages we model.
Ease AWS Lightsail
AWS Lightsail is easier to get running: pick a blueprint (WordPress, LAMP, Node.js, plain Linux), get SSH in the browser or your terminal, and manage it like any VPS.
Free tier AWS Lightsail
AWS Lightsail has a free tier; Linode Shared CPU doesn't.
Features AWS Lightsail
AWS Lightsail comes out ahead on 1 of the 15 features we track, versus 0.
What developers say about this matchup
We couldn't find a substantive first-person discussion comparing this exact pair. We leave the section empty instead of filling it with vendor marketing or generic SEO comparisons.
At a glance
| AWS Lightsail | Linode Shared CPU | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Projects that want predictable AWS — a fixed-price server with a clear upgrade path into the wider AWS ecosystem. | Developers who want a proven, boring VPS with cheap bandwidth. |
| How deploys work | Pick a blueprint (WordPress, LAMP, Node.js, plain Linux), get SSH in the browser or your terminal, and manage it like any VPS. | You get root on a Linux server; the Marketplace offers one-click apps for common stacks. |
| The tradeoff | Costs more per spec than the European VPS crowd, and stopped instances keep billing. | Fully self-managed, with a smaller ecosystem than DigitalOcean's tutorials and tooling. |
| Free tier | 90-day free trial (750 hours/month) on the $5–$12 Linux bundles and the $15 database, plus $100–$200 in new-account AWS credits. | None |
What you'd realistically pay
| Project stage | AWS Lightsail | Linode Shared CPU | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just starting | ≈$5/mo Nano — 2 vCPU, 512 MB RAM, 20 GB SSD, 1 TB transfer. $3.50 as IPv6-only. Free for the first 90 days. | ≈$5/mo Nanode 1GB — 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 25 GB SSD, 1 TB pooled transfer. | ≈ Tie |
| Steady traffic | ≈$12/mo Small — 2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 60 GB SSD, 3 TB transfer. | ≈$12/mo Linode 2GB — 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 50 GB SSD, 2 TB pooled transfer. | ≈ Tie |
| Growing | ≈$39/mo Medium + managed database — $24 Medium (4 GB RAM, 4 TB transfer) plus the $15 managed MySQL/PostgreSQL bundle. | ≈$24/mo Two Linode 2GB — Scale horizontally or move up the shared-CPU line. | Linode Shared CPU |
AWS Lightsail pricing notes
- Billed hourly up to the monthly cap — partial months cost less, but stopped instances still bill.
- IPv6-only bundles are 20–30% cheaper; an unattached static IPv4 costs ~$3.60/month.
- Bundles scale up to 64 vCPU / 256 GB RAM ($1,764/month), with compute- and memory-optimized variants.
Linode Shared CPU pricing notes
- US and EU core regions share identical pricing; transfer overage is $0.005/GB.
- IPv4 is included; private same-datacenter traffic doesn't count against the allowance.
Our ratings
Ease of use AWS Lightsail
Pricing clarity Linode Shared CPU
Free tier AWS Lightsail
Scaling AWS Lightsail
Control
Feature by feature
AWS Lightsail wins 1, Linode Shared CPU wins 0, with 14 even.
Deploy workflow
| AWS Lightsail | Linode Shared CPU | |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy from Git push | No No deploy pipeline — bring your own CI or scripts. | No No deploy pipeline — bring your own CI or scripts. |
| Preview deploys | No Nothing built in. | No Nothing built in. |
| Official CLI | Yes The AWS CLI covers Lightsail end to end. | Yes linode-cli covers instances, volumes, and DNS. |
| Instant rollbacks | Partial Snapshots restore machines ($0.05/GB-month); no deploy-level rollback. | Partial Backups and images restore machines; no deploy-level rollback. |
Platform
| AWS Lightsail | Linode Shared CPU | |
|---|---|---|
| Custom domains + HTTPS | Yes Lightsail DNS zones are included; TLS is yours via certbot or a Lightsail distribution. | Yes Free DNS manager; TLS on the box is yours via certbot. |
| Built-in CDN / edge network | Yes Lightsail distributions add a CloudFront-backed CDN from $2.50/month (first year of 50 GB/month free). | No Akamai CDN exists as a separate enterprise product; nothing bundled. |
| Serverless functions | No Not in Lightsail — that is the wider AWS (Lambda), with the à la carte billing this product avoids. | No Not a VPS feature. |
| Docker containers | Yes Install Docker on any instance, or use the Lightsail container service from $7/month. | Yes Docker Marketplace app or install it yourself. |
| SSH / shell access | Yes Full root SSH, including a browser-based terminal. | Yes Full root SSH, plus a web-based LISH console. |
| EU hosting region | Yes Frankfurt, Ireland, London, Paris, Stockholm, and Spain. | Yes Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, and more at US prices. |
Runtime & operations
| AWS Lightsail | Linode Shared CPU | |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic scaling | No No autoscaling — resize by restoring a snapshot to a bigger bundle. | No Manual resizing only. |
| Scale to zero | No Stopped instances bill at full rate; only deletion stops charges. | No Servers bill while they exist on the account. |
| Scheduled jobs | Yes Classic cron on the box. | Yes Classic cron on the box. |
| Managed database | Yes Managed MySQL/PostgreSQL bundles from $15/month. | Yes Akamai Managed Databases (Postgres, MySQL) sold separately. |
| Logs & metrics built in | Partial Instance metrics and alarms in the console; deeper monitoring means CloudWatch or your own stack. | Partial Longview basic metrics free for a few servers; app logs are yours. |
Watch out for
AWS Lightsail
- Stopped instances bill at the full rate — only deleting an instance (snapshot first, $0.05/GB-month) stops charges.
- Transfer overage costs $0.09/GB in US/EU regions, and some regions (Mumbai, Sydney, São Paulo…) include only half the listed allowance.
- The new-account AWS Free plan expires after 6 months or when credits run out, then the account auto-closes with a 90-day grace period.
- Outgrowing Lightsail means migrating to EC2 — a real project, not a plan toggle.
Akamai Linode
- Charges accrue while a server exists on the account, powered on or off.
- Transfer allowances are prorated for partial months.
- Some regions (Jakarta, São Paulo) carry documented higher prices.
Read the full reviews: AWS Lightsail and Akamai Linode. Or answer four questions to see what fits your project.