Compare / AWS Lightsail vs Vultr Cloud Compute
AWS Lightsail vs Vultr Cloud Compute
Pre-calculated from hand-checked data — AWS Lightsail checked 2026-08-06, Vultr checked 2026-08-06.
The short version
AWS Lightsail wins more of our comparison points, but Vultr Cloud Compute still fits if developers who want a cheap server near their users, wherever those users are describes you.
Price Vultr Cloud Compute
Vultr Cloud Compute 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; Vultr Cloud Compute 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 | Vultr Cloud Compute | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 cheap server near their users, wherever those users are. |
| 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 fresh Linux server; setup and deploys are yours to script. |
| The tradeoff | Costs more per spec than the European VPS crowd, and stopped instances keep billing. | Fully self-managed, and the hour-based billing model is less forgiving than per-second rivals. |
| 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 | Vultr Cloud Compute | 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 vc2-1c-1gb — 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 25 GB SSD, 1 TB transfer. A $3.50 512 MB plan ($2.50 IPv6-only) exists for tiny workloads. | ≈ Tie |
| Steady traffic | ≈$12/mo Small — 2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 60 GB SSD, 3 TB transfer. | ≈$5/mo vc2-1c-1gb — Fine for steady modest traffic; move up when RAM gets tight. | Vultr Cloud Compute |
| Growing | ≈$39/mo Medium + managed database — $24 Medium (4 GB RAM, 4 TB transfer) plus the $15 managed MySQL/PostgreSQL bundle. | ≈$20/mo vc2-2c-4gb — 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 80 GB SSD, 3 TB transfer. | Vultr Cloud Compute |
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.
Vultr Cloud Compute pricing notes
- Bandwidth overage costs $0.01/GB.
- IPv4 is included on Cloud Compute plans.
Our ratings
Ease of use AWS Lightsail
Pricing clarity
Free tier AWS Lightsail
Scaling AWS Lightsail
Control
Feature by feature
AWS Lightsail wins 1, Vultr Cloud Compute wins 0, with 14 even.
Deploy workflow
| AWS Lightsail | Vultr Cloud Compute | |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy from Git push | No No deploy pipeline — bring your own CI or scripts. | No No deploy pipeline — script your own. |
| Preview deploys | No Nothing built in. | No Nothing built in. |
| Official CLI | Yes The AWS CLI covers Lightsail end to end. | Yes vultr-cli manages instances, snapshots, and DNS. |
| Instant rollbacks | Partial Snapshots restore machines ($0.05/GB-month); no deploy-level rollback. | Partial Snapshots restore a machine; no deploy-level rollback. |
Platform
| AWS Lightsail | Vultr Cloud Compute | |
|---|---|---|
| Custom domains + HTTPS | Yes Lightsail DNS zones are included; TLS is yours via certbot or a Lightsail distribution. | Yes Point DNS at the server; TLS via certbot or a proxy is on you. |
| Built-in CDN / edge network | Yes Lightsail distributions add a CloudFront-backed CDN from $2.50/month (first year of 50 GB/month free). | Partial Vultr sells a separate CDN product; nothing is bundled with the server. |
| 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 image or install it yourself. |
| SSH / shell access | Yes Full root SSH, including a browser-based terminal. | Yes Full root SSH. |
| EU hosting region | Yes Frankfurt, Ireland, London, Paris, Stockholm, and Spain. | Yes Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris, and more at the same USD prices. |
Runtime & operations
| AWS Lightsail | Vultr Cloud Compute | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Powered-off servers still bill; destroy to stop charges. |
| 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 Vultr Managed Databases (Postgres, MySQL, Kafka) sold separately. |
| Logs & metrics built in | Partial Instance metrics and alarms in the console; deeper monitoring means CloudWatch or your own stack. | Partial Basic usage graphs; application monitoring is yours to set up. |
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.
Vultr
- Billing is in one-hour units and continues while a server is powered off — only destroying it stops charges.
- Some regions (like São Paulo) carry documented higher prices.
Read the full reviews: AWS Lightsail and Vultr. Or answer four questions to see what fits your project.