Amazon Web Services (AWS) vs Akamai Cloud (formerly Linode)
Cloud Infrastructure pricing comparison · 2026
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is usage-based, while Akamai Cloud (formerly Linode) costs $5–$60/mo.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers pay-as-you-go cloud infrastructure with no upfront commit
verified 10w ago
$240
$398
Akamai Cloud (formerly Linode)
Linode, now part of Akamai Technologies, offers public flat-rate cloud compute pricing sta
verified 9w ago
$240
$398
Recorded annual contract medians
Akamai
median is
$158
less than
Amazon
· different customer contracts; not a quote
Cheapest
$240
Spread
40%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
AWS Free Tier
$0/yr
year 1 license · $0/seat
Linode 2 GB (Shared CPU)
$3.6K/yr
year 1 license · $12/seat
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
Median annual
$398/yr
Vendr · n=164
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$240/yr
Vendr · n=3 · limited data
REF · 01
Sources & confidence
Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.
Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources
16 sourced facts
12 hidden-cost · 1 contract · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified
2mo ago
Confidence
Medium confidence
Sources
14 sourced facts
9 hidden-cost · 2 contract · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified
2mo ago
Confidence
Medium confidence
REF · 02
Plans at a glance
Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.
Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 04
Contract terms
The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.
Amazon
Akamai
Auto-renewal
✓
No
Yes
Cancellation
—
Any time — hourly billing stops when resource is destroyed
Commitment
None for On-Demand; 1 or 3 years for Savings Plans/Reserved Instances
None — pay-as-you-go hourly billing
Price escalation
AWS has historically not increased existing service prices; new features and services may be priced higher. Community reports proxy price increases via new service charges (e.g., Lambda Init, S3 GET/PUT fees added over time)
No published price escalation schedule found in sources
Can downgrade
✓
Yes
✓
Yes
REF · 05
What users say
Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.
User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats).
Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges.
Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
VS
Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Linode (Akamai) both operate in the cloud infrastructure category. This page compares their list pricing.
Plan-by-Plan Pricing
| Plan | Amazon Web Services (AWS) | Akamai Cloud (formerly Linode) |
|---|---|---|
| AWS Free Tier | Free /month | $5 /month |
| Pay-as-you-go (priced per service) | Custom | $12 /month |
| Linode 4 GB (Shared CPU) | — | $24 /month |
| Linode 8 GB (Shared CPU) | — | $48 /month |
| G6 Dedicated 4 GB | — | $36 /month |
| G7 Dedicated 4 GB | — | $43 /month |
| High Memory 24 GB | — | $60 /month |
| G8 Dedicated (Premium & General) | — | Custom |
| Kubernetes (LKE) | — | $60 /month per cluster (HA control plane) |
Cost at Scale
Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
2 scenarios$5,850/month ($70,200/year)
Small Kafka Cluster Storage (130TB, EBS st1, us-east)
$20,252/month
3-AZ Open Source Kafka Cluster (Full Stack)
Akamai Cloud (formerly Linode)
6 scenarios$5/month ($60/year)
Small Developer/Hobby Project
$24/month ($288/year)
Small Business Web Application
$36/month ($432/year)
Production Application with Dedicated CPU
Market Intelligence
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Median annual cost
- $398
- Based on
- 164 deals
Akamai Cloud (formerly Linode)
- Median annual cost
- $240
- Based on
- 3 deals
Contract Terms
| Term | Amazon Web Services (AWS) | Akamai Cloud (formerly Linode) |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-renewal | No | Yes |
| Cancellation | — | Any time — hourly billing stops when resource is destroyed |
| Minimum commitment | None for On-Demand; 1 or 3 years for Savings Plans/Reserved Instances | None — pay-as-you-go hourly billing |
| Price escalation | AWS has historically not increased existing service prices; new features and services may be priced higher. Community reports proxy price increases via new service charges (e.g., Lambda Init, S3 GET/PUT fees added over time) | No published price escalation schedule found in sources |
| Can downgrade | Yes | Yes |