Contabo vs Chemicloud: guide for 2024

Contabo vs Chemicloud: Final verdict

Looking over Contabo vs. ChemiCloud, it’s clear why both hosts are so popular. They have both hosted millions of
websites that run on WordPress for decades, building up a loyal customer base.

• 
  ChemiCloud (Overall grade: 8.5)
  
  provides a wide range of hosting options, including shared, cloud, WordPress, and ecommerce hosting. Known for
  superior website performance, their use of NVMe storage and LiteSpeed Web Server makes them a solid choice for
  speed and reliability. ChemiCloud excels in customer satisfaction with 24/7 live chat support, free migration
  services, and a user-friendly cPanel structure. They also offer robust security features like Imunify360,
  KernelCare, and comprehensive operational security measures. While their plans might be slightly more expensive,
  the included features and excellent customer support considerably justify the cost. However, limited
  customization and storage in some plans can be a drawback for more advanced users.
• 
  Contabo (Overall grade: 7.6)
  
  is recognized for its affordability and powerful VPS and dedicated hosting plans, which make it suitable for
  high-traffic and multimedia-intensive websites. Their use of AMD EPYC processors and high-performance SSD options
  ensures impressive performance metrics. Contabo emphasizes flexibility with extensive customization options,
  including multiple OS choices and the ability to deploy custom images. Despite these strengths, Contabo’s user
  interface can be complex for beginners, and their customer support, although potentially very efficient, operates
  within limited hours and might not match the promptness seen with ChemiCloud. Additionally, some users have reported
  occasional downtimes and issues with specific regional servers.

Hosting types offered

Both platforms provide a variety of hosting types, each designed to meet the different needs of users.

Although both offer a variety of hosting plans tailored to different needs, in certain cases, one platform may prove to be more suitable.

Detailed comparison

Winner Contabo: Contabo leads with an exceptional uptime guarantee and impressive performance features.

Contabo stands out by offering a 99.996% uptime guarantee, ensuring minimal downtime. This hosting provider uses AMD EPYC 7282 16-core processors for fast responses and includes 32TB of traffic in its plans. Global data centers and comprehensive DDoS protection add extra layers of reliability and security. Free DDoS protection and two-factor authentication further ensure data safety.

While ChemiCloud’s 99.99% uptime and 100% network uptime guarantees are strong, Contabo’s 99.996% uptime guarantee along with its faster hardware give it a slight edge. ChemiCloud’s extensive monitoring and support are useful, but Contabo’s overall performance and reliability, reflected in its higher score, make it the better option for most users.

🏆 Winner
ChemiCloud: Offers superior website performance and broader availability combined with extensive security features.

ChemiCloud and Contabo both excel in different aspects of hosting, but ChemiCloud has a slight edge when it comes to performance and customer satisfaction. Contabo utilizes AMD EPYC 7282 processors, SSD or PCIe NVMe storage, and provides a significant amount of data transfer, ensuring speedy responses and high reliability. ChemiCloud uses NVMe storage and a LiteSpeed Web Server, which is known for fast loading times and greater performance. ChemiCloud also offers a free Cloudflare CDN, enhancing its speed further by efficiently distributing content. Both provide global data centers, with Contabo focusing on fewer, high-capacity locations and ChemiCloud offering more widespread but smaller locations.

Website Speed

ChemiCloud leads in website speed with its use of LiteSpeed Web Server and 100% NVMe storage, which outperform traditional SSDs and other web servers like NGINX and Apache. The incorporation of HTTP/3 and cutting-edge caching technologies further boosts its site loading times. Contabo does provide fast AMD EPYC processors and scalable SSD options, but lacks the integrated advanced performance enhancements found in ChemiCloud’s offerings, such as built-in LiteSpeed caching and free Cloudflare CDN services.

Scalability

Contabo provides affordable plans with easy upgrading without affecting the uptime or availability. They offer significant flexibility for businesses looking to scale. However, details on the cost and elastic scaling process are not specified. ChemiCloud provides seamless scalability through its well-defined hosting tiers, but lacks information on dedicated servers and automatic scaling options. Both have strengths in scalability, but limited specifics on processes and costs for extensive scaling.

🏆 Winner ChemiCloud: ChemiCloud offers an advanced suite of security features with comprehensive measures for protection.

Technical Security Measures:

Contabo and ChemiCloud both offer robust technical security measures. Contabo provides SSL certificates, always-on DDoS protection, Imunify AV for malware scanning, and customizable PHP versions. In comparison, ChemiCloud provides free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates, Imunify360 for an all-in-one proactive defense, and a wider range of PHP versions. ChemiCloud also integrates advanced firewall protection and Web Application Firewall using mod_security. Notably, ChemiCloud offers rebootless secure kernel updates with KernelCare, adding another layer of security.

Operational Security Measures:

Both hosting services offer strong operational security measures, with some differences. Contabo’s data centers feature 24/7 CCTV surveillance, magnetic card access control, and role-based access controls. It also supports Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and has automated management tools for resellers. ChemiCloud offers advanced firewall protection, account isolation with CageFS, and proactive server monitoring. ChemiCloud’s daily backups and spam filtering services further enhance operational security. Both services offer extensive 24/7 monitoring for server protection, but ChemiCloud’s CloudLinux OS may provide better stability and security for tenants.

Compliance and Certifications:

Contabo and ChemiCloud are both GDPR compliant, ensuring secure handling of personal data. Additionally, ChemiCloud provides a Data Processing Addendum (DPA) for organizations needing to satisfy GDPR requirements. Contabo’s emphasis on industry-standard compliance suggests PCI support, but specific HIPAA information is not provided for either service. Both providers focus on maintaining strict regulatory standards to safeguard against data breaches.

🏆 Winner: ChemiCloud: Top-tier hosting marked by its expansive features, including unlimited websites and robust developer tools.

When comparing Contabo and ChemiCloud, both offer comprehensive hosting solutions, but they cater to slightly different needs. Contabo boasts an impressive infrastructure with AMD EPYC processors, multiple global data centers, and an excellent uptime guarantee. Users appreciate the extensive customization options, such as multiple operating system choices and the ability to deploy custom images. Contabo’s robust control panel allows for detailed management of services, storage, and network settings, along with numerous security features like Two-Factor Authentication and DDoS protection. However, it doesn’t explicitly provide a free domain or include specific features for shared hosting environments.

ChemiCloud, meanwhile, is particularly user-friendly, offering seamless website migrations and a free domain with its hosting packages. This provider excels in ease of use with features like one-click backups, a website builder, and automatic application updates, appealing to users who do not wish to delve deeply into technical details. Moreover, its plans include unlimited websites, bandwidth, and NVMe storage, alongside an extensive email hosting package and a variety of developer-centric tools like multiple PHP versions, preinstalled Git, and SSH/SFTP access. These ensure an accessible yet powerful hosting environment suitable for both novices and advanced users.

Both providers support a range of users from beginners to experts with user-friendly website builders and WordPress staging areas. However, in terms of developer tools, both Contabo and ChemiCloud offer robust options including SSH access, support for multiple programming languages, and Git for version control, thus appealing to developers looking for advanced capabilities.

Email services:

Both Contabo and ChemiCloud provide robust email hosting services, but ChemiCloud offers more comprehensive features. ChemiCloud includes email accounts with mailbox storage up to 2 GB per account, along with essential tools like email forwarders, autoresponders, and spam filters. It also supports transactional emails via MailChannel and allows integration with third-party services like Gmail and Outlook. Contabo provides basic email services and management tools, catering well to standard business needs. However, ChemiCloud’s extensive email capabilities and flexibility make it particularly appealing for users requiring advanced email management and integration options.

🏆 Winner Contabo: Offers diverse hosting plans and competitive pricing.

Evaluating the pricing of plans among various hosting providers can be complex due to their differing pricing and renewal strategies. Additionally, certain plans require annual commitments, which adds to the difficulty of making comparisons. The prices listed are based on monthly commitments; plans requiring annual commitments are indicated. Although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.

Comparing the pricing plans of Contabo and ChemiCloud, Contabo boasts affordable VPS plans starting at $3.99/month, offering up to 32 vCPU cores and extensive RAM options. ChemiCloud’s shared and WordPress hosting plans start at $2.95/month, inclusive of a free domain and SSL certificate, emphasizing their value with unlimited bandwidth and extensive backups. While Contabo provides a broad spectrum of VPS configurations, ChemiCloud’s plans focus on ease of use with managed services and priority technical support.

Enterprise plans

Contabo offers enterprise plans like the AMD EPYC 32 Cores at €301.97/month, providing high compute power, extensive RAM, and dedicated resources ensuring no resource contention. For ChemiCloud, Cloud 3 at $89.95/month features expansive NVMe storage, generous bandwidth, and managed support, ideal for businesses needing scalability and dedicated management. While Contabo covers high-end processing needs, ChemiCloud emphasizes managed services and ease of scalability. Each option suits enterprises differently based on specific requirements in performance and managed features.

🏆 Winner
ChemiCloud: ChemiCloud stands out for its user-friendly features and top-notch support.

Contabo uses a custom Control Panel that provides a comprehensive suite of tools for managing your server, including server control, OS reinstalls, and the ability to upgrade your VPS or move to different regions. It is designed to be intuitive but may require some familiarity with server management to fully utilize its capabilities. The interface is accessible yet might seem a bit overwhelming for complete beginners due to its range of options.

ChemiCloud, on the other hand, leverages the standard cPanel which many users find more familiar and easier to navigate. It features a one-click app installer, drag-and-drop website builder, and a quick start tour, all crafted to make the user experience as seamless as possible. The client area integrates various functionalities like email account creation and disk usage stats into a single dashboard, making it accessible for both technical and non-technical users.

When comparing migration tools, ChemiCloud offers free and swift website migration services, ensuring a smooth transition without any downtime. This makes it highly convenient for users changing hosts. Contabo does not explicitly offer a free migration service, which might require users to handle the technical aspects of migration themselves or seek third-party assistance, potentially incurring additional costs.

Contabo provides a well-rounded help center with useful tutorials and a ticket system operational from 8 am to 11 pm CEST. Their support includes a tutorial and FAQ section to guide users through common issues and tasks. ChemiCloud’s help center features an extensive knowledge base with sections covering getting started, domains, hosting management, and more. They offer 24/7 live chat support with a swift response time for tickets. ChemiCloud’s real-time chat and round-the-clock availability provide an edge in customer support accessibility.

🏆 Winner ChemiCloud: ChemiCloud provides a more streamlined and feature-rich user management experience compared to Contabo.

Contabo and ChemiCloud both offer extensive user management features, but ChemiCloud stands out in the flexibility and granularity of its user roles and permissions. While Contabo allows users to authorize others with certain permissions, ChemiCloud enables the creation of subaccounts and team roles with varying access levels. ChemiCloud’s user roles—Administrator, Database, Email, and Web—cater to specialized needs, allowing for a more customized and precise management of user permissions. Contabo’s approach is more general, focusing on a single level of authorization, making ChemiCloud more flexible for users with complex administrative requirements.

Contabo’s Control Panel is user-friendly and comprehensive, giving users a single point of control for their services and accounts. It covers everything from updating personal information to managing security settings and server-related tasks. ChemiCloud, on the other hand, uses cPanel’s User Manager, which is also intuitive but offers a specific focus on managing subaccounts and team roles. ChemiCloud’s interface for creating and editing users, along with its user role management, offers more direct access to specific tasks, simplifying the process for administrators managing multiple users.

In terms of access control measures and scalability, Contabo mandates Two-Factor Authentication and offers free DDoS protection, ensuring a secure environment for user activities. However, ChemiCloud’s ability to assign specific roles and set granular permissions provides more control over user access as a business grows. ChemiCloud’s management of email and FTP permissions within subaccounts highlights its capacity to efficiently handle an increasing number of users and their diverse needs without compromising on security or performance.

Contabo User Roles Table:

ChemiCloud User Roles Table:

🏆 Winner ChemiCloud: Offers 24/7 live chat support along with a money-back guarantee and a free SSL certificate.

Contabo and ChemiCloud both provide several customer support options, but ChemiCloud offers comprehensive 24/7 support, including live chat, which Contabo lacks. Contabo has phone support during limited hours, whereas ChemiCloud focuses on quick response times via live chat and support tickets.

Contabo’s self-help resources and extensive knowledge base match ChemiCloud’s proactive monitoring and free migration service. Despite Contabo’s emergency support upgrade, ChemiCloud’s overall customer satisfaction and value-added features like a money-back guarantee and free SSL certificate make it the more compelling choice.

Contabo vs Chemicloud: User feedback

Contabo’s hosting services are highly appreciated for their affordability and powerful VPS plans, which can handle demanding software and complex tasks efficiently. Users find the setup process relatively easy and often compliment the cost-effectiveness and reliability of the service, despite occasional downtime reported by some. However, criticisms are directed towards their customer support, which has been described as slow and unresponsive at times, and their user interface could benefit from modern improvements. Frequent downtimes without notice and issues with specific regional servers have also been noted as areas needing improvement.

ChemiCloud is highly praised for its exceptional customer service, largely attributed to its knowledgeable and responsive support team that is available 24/7. Users appreciate the reliable server performance, user-friendly control panel, and valuable features such as automatic backups and easy setup. Although there are some mentions of limited customization options and storage, the overall sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, highlighting ChemiCloud as a standout hosting provider that delivers on its promises. It is recommended for both small businesses and individuals seeking a dependable and efficient hosting solution.

Contabo vs Chemicloud: FAQ