Compare / Unkey vs Linode Shared CPU
Unkey vs Linode Shared CPU
Pre-calculated from hand-checked data — Unkey checked 2026-08-06, Akamai Linode checked 2026-08-06.
The short version
Unkey and Linode Shared CPU split our comparison — the right pick depends on what your project values.
Price Linode Shared CPU
Linode Shared CPU is cheaper at most of the stages we model.
Ease Unkey
Unkey is easier to get running: connect GitHub for automatic builds and branch previews, or deploy a Docker image from the Unkey CLI.
Control Linode Shared CPU
Linode Shared CPU gives you more control over the stack — the flip side of the convenience trade.
Features Unkey
Unkey comes out ahead on 6 of the 15 features we track, versus 3.
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
| Unkey | Linode Shared CPU | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Production APIs that want hosting, gateway policies, API keys, rate limits, and request analytics in one place. | Developers who want a proven, boring VPS with cheap bandwidth. |
| How deploys work | Connect GitHub for automatic builds and branch previews, or deploy a Docker image from the Unkey CLI. | You get root on a Linux server; the Marketplace offers one-click apps for common stacks. |
| The tradeoff | It is a young, API-specific platform with metered billing, ephemeral storage, and no managed database. | Fully self-managed, with a smaller ecosystem than DigitalOcean's tutorials and tooling. |
| Free tier | None | None |
What you'd realistically pay
Unkey Linode Shared CPU
| Project stage | Unkey | Linode Shared CPU | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just starting | ≈$5/mo Starter — The $5 minimum includes $5 of usage, enough for a small, lightly used API. | ≈$5/mo Nanode 1GB — 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 25 GB SSD, 1 TB pooled transfer. | ≈ Tie |
| Steady traffic | ≈$18/mo Starter + usage — About 0.5 active vCPU and 1 GB of memory running continuously before egress or active-key charges. | ≈$12/mo Linode 2GB — 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 50 GB SSD, 2 TB pooled transfer. | Linode Shared CPU |
| Growing | ≈$50/mo Business — The $50 minimum becomes usage credit and raises per-instance limits to 16 vCPU and 32 GB of RAM. | ≈$24/mo Two Linode 2GB — Scale horizontally or move up the shared-CPU line. | Linode Shared CPU |
Unkey pricing notes
- Usage rates are $0.000006944 per vCPU-second, $0.000003472 per GB-second of memory, $0.00000006 per GB-second of ephemeral disk, and $0.05 per GB of egress.
- API-key authentication through the gateway adds $0.002 per active key each month. The plan minimum is included usage credit rather than an extra charge on top.
- Log retention is 3 days on Starter, 7 days on Pro, and 14 days on Business.
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 Unkey
Pricing clarity Linode Shared CPU
Free tier
Scaling Unkey
Control Linode Shared CPU
Feature by feature
Unkey wins 6, Linode Shared CPU wins 3, with 6 even.
Deploy workflow
| Unkey | Linode Shared CPU | |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy from Git push | Yes Connect GitHub; pushes to the default branch deploy production automatically. | No No deploy pipeline — bring your own CI or scripts. |
| Preview deploys | Yes Non-default branches and pull requests receive isolated preview deployments. | No Nothing built in. |
| Official CLI | Yes The Unkey CLI deploys local build contexts or pre-built container images. | Yes linode-cli covers instances, volumes, and DNS. |
| Instant rollbacks | Yes Rollbacks atomically switch traffic to a previous immutable deployment. | Partial Backups and images restore machines; no deploy-level rollback. |
Platform
| Unkey | Linode Shared CPU | |
|---|---|---|
| Custom domains + HTTPS | Yes Custom apex domains and subdomains include automatic TLS; plan limits apply. | Yes Free DNS manager; TLS on the box is yours via certbot. |
| Built-in CDN / edge network | No The global gateway routes API traffic but is not a static-asset caching CDN. | No Akamai CDN exists as a separate enterprise product; nothing bundled. |
| Serverless functions | No Applications run as container instances rather than per-request functions. | No Not a VPS feature. |
| Docker containers | Yes Build from a Dockerfile or deploy a pre-built image from a registry. | Yes Docker Marketplace app or install it yourself. |
| SSH / shell access | No The documented workflow exposes logs and metrics, not an interactive SSH shell. | Yes Full root SSH, plus a web-based LISH console. |
| EU hosting region | Yes European deployment regions are available; Starter includes three regions and paid upgrades unlock all. | Yes Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, and more at US prices. |
Runtime & operations
| Unkey | Linode Shared CPU | |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic scaling | Yes Horizontal autoscaling adjusts instance count from configured minimums and maximums based on CPU load. | No Manual resizing only. |
| Scale to zero | Partial Preview environments sleep automatically when idle; apps can also be stopped and started manually. | No Servers bill while they exist on the account. |
| Scheduled jobs | No There is no documented first-class scheduler for cron jobs. | Yes Classic cron on the box. |
| Managed database | No No managed database is included; connect an external database service. | Yes Akamai Managed Databases (Postgres, MySQL) sold separately. |
| Logs & metrics built in | Yes Runtime logs, CPU and memory metrics, request analytics, and gateway decisions appear in the dashboard. | Partial Longview basic metrics free for a few servers; app logs are yours. |
Watch out for
Unkey
- Unkey only launched public app hosting in 2026, so its production track record is much shorter than established platforms such as Heroku, Render, or Railway.
- The monthly plan price is a minimum with matching usage credit, not a compute bundle: CPU, memory, ephemeral disk, egress, and active keys are metered separately.
- Storage is ephemeral and there is no managed database, so persistent data must live with another provider.
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: Unkey and Akamai Linode. Or answer four questions to see what fits your project.