Linode was always the underdog. Not as big as AWS, not as cheap as Vultr, but developers loved it. Clean interface, good docs, no nonsense.
Then Akamai bought it in 2022. People got nervous. Would they mess it up? Three years later, here's where Linode stands.
What Linode Does Well
The interface is still clean. Akamai didn't ruin it. Creating a Linode takes under a minute. No clutter, no upselling. You pick your plan, pick your region, hit deploy.
API is solid. If you automate things, you'll appreciate the API. Works exactly as documented. No surprises.
Global footprint got better. Akamai added more regions. Now Linode has data centers in US (Newark, Atlanta, Dallas, Fremont, Chicago, Seattle, Miami, Washington DC), Canada (Toronto), Europe (London, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Madrid), Asia (Singapore, Mumbai, Tokyo), and Australia (Sydney).
Simple pricing. No hidden costs. The $5 plan gives you 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 25GB SSD, and 1TB transfer. Same as before the merger.
Object storage is cheap. $5 per month for 250GB. Good for backups or hosting images.
Where Linode Falls Short
Price to performance isn't competitive. Let's compare with Hetzner.
| Provider | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Traffic | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linode Shared 2GB | 1 | 2GB | 50GB SSD | 2TB | $12 |
| Hetzner CPX21 | 3 | 4GB | 80GB NVMe | 20TB | €8.50 (~$9.20) |
Hetzner gives you more CPU, more RAM, more storage, and way more bandwidth for less money. Hard to ignore.
DDoS protection is basic. They have it, but not the enterprise-grade you get from OVH. If you're running a game server or anything likely to be attacked, this matters.
Support is ticket-only. No live chat for basic plans. Response times have slowed since the merger. Most tickets take 4-8 hours.
Real-World Performance
I tested a $12 Shared plan (2GB RAM) in Newark.
UnixBench single-core score: around 1100. Good, but Hetzner hits 1280. Disk speeds around 400MB/s sequential read. NVMe is faster on competitors.
Uptime has been great. 99.99% over a year. No complaints there.
Who Should Use Linode in 2026?
Developers who value simplicity. If you just want a VPS that works and don't want to think about it, Linode is great. The interface and docs are still top tier.
Teams using Akamai. If your company already uses Akamai for cdn or security, Linode integrates well.
Users who need global regions. Hetzner only has Germany, Finland, and US (Hillsboro). Linode has way more locations, especially in Asia and Canada.
People who hate surprises. Linode's pricing is transparent. No surprise bills like AWS.
Who Should Skip Linode?
Budget users. You're paying a premium for the brand and interface. Same money gets you better hardware elsewhere.
High-traffic sites. The bandwidth limits (1-2TB on basic plans) will become a problem. Hetzner gives you 20TB.
CPU-heavy workloads. Game servers, video processing, data analysis. Get dedicated CPU from Hetzner or OVH.
Final Verdict
Linode is like the Apple of VPS. Polished, reliable, and easy to use. But you're paying for the experience, not the specs.
If budget is your main concern, go with Hetzner. If you value simplicity and have the budget, Linode still works fine. The Akamai merger didn't ruin it.
Score: 7.8/10
- Ease of use: 9/10
- Price/performance: 6/10
- Reliability: 9/10
- Global reach: 8/10