Linode (Akamai) review
Cloud infrastructure from Akamai, sold under the Linode name, with shared-CPU VMs from $5/month, dedicated CPU, GPUs, managed Kubernetes, storage, and databases.
By Noahlast updated pricing verified
Linode (Akamai) screenshots & video
Linode (Akamai) in 20 seconds
Best for: developers and small teams wanting published, capped per-plan cloud pricing and a simpler console than AWS or Azure
Pricing: Shared CPU from $5/month (Nanode 1GB), dedicated CPU from $36/month, GPUs from $0.52/hour, all billed hourly up to a monthly cap; no free tier beyond a $100, 60-day credit for new customers.
- Linode has operated under Akamai since Akamai's 2022 acquisition and is now marketed as Akamai Cloud.
- Linode's cheapest plan, the Nanode 1GB (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 25GB storage, 1TB transfer), costs $5/month or $0.0075/hour.
- Linode dedicated CPU plans start at $36/month (G6, 2 vCPUs, 4GB RAM), and GPU instances start at $0.52/hour for an RTX 4000 Ada.
- Network transfer beyond a Linode plan's allowance costs $0.005/GB; G8 dedicated plans include no bundled transfer.
- New Akamai Cloud customers get $100 in credit valid for 60 days.
- Linode holds a 4.6/5 rating from 22 reviews on Capterra.
Limitations: Support response times reported at 1-2 business days.; Fewer advanced managed services than AWS or Google Cloud.; No permanently free tier; new customers get only a $100 credit for 60 days.
Top alternatives: DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Vultr, AWS, Google Cloud — full list
What is Linode (Akamai)?
Linode is a cloud infrastructure provider, founded in 2003 and acquired by Akamai in 2022, that now operates as Akamai Cloud: developers rent virtual machines, GPU instances, managed Kubernetes clusters, block and object storage, managed databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Valkey), NodeBalancers, Cloud Firewall, and DNS through one console, API, and CLI. Linode publishes a price for every plan and bills hourly up to that plan's monthly cap, and a service keeps accruing charges while powered off. Shared CPU plans run from the $5/month Nanode 1GB up to Linode 192GB; dedicated CPU comes in G6 ($36/month for 2 vCPUs and 4GB), G7 ($43/month), and G8 (from $0.07/hour) generations, alongside Premium, High Memory (from $60/month for 24GB), and GPU plans (from $0.52/hour). G6 and G7 plans bundle up to 20TB of monthly transfer depending on size; G8 plans bundle none, and egress beyond the allowance costs $0.005/GB. Akamai positions the platform as compute that runs close to its edge network, with low egress fees as its main pitch against AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
Linode is the cloud computing platform Akamai acquired in 2022 and now sells as Akamai Cloud: virtual machines, GPU instances, managed Kubernetes (LKE), block and object storage, managed MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Valkey databases, and NodeBalancers, all billed hourly up to a monthly cap per plan. Shared CPU starts at $5/month ($0.0075/hour) for the Nanode 1GB with 1 vCPU, 25GB storage, and 1TB transfer, and Linode 2GB costs $12/month; dedicated CPU starts at $36/month for 2 vCPUs and 4GB on G6 hardware, $43/month on G7, or $0.07/hour on the new G8 line, which no longer bundles egress. Transfer beyond a plan's allowance costs $0.005/GB, the standard LKE control plane is free, and GPUs start at $0.52/hour for an RTX 4000 Ada. New customers get $100 in credit for 60 days. Linode holds a 4.6/5 rating from 22 reviews on Capterra.
Standout feature: Every plan has a published price billed hourly up to a fixed monthly cap, G6 and G7 plans bundle up to 20TB of transfer, and extra egress costs $0.005/GB, which Akamai markets as its cost edge over the hyperscalers.
Biggest weakness: Support response times run slower than premium-tier support at larger hyperscalers per reviewer reports, and advanced networking and load-balancing configuration has a steeper learning curve than the core compute product suggests.
Linode (Akamai): pros and cons
Pros
- Published per-plan pricing from $5/month, billed hourly and never above each plan's monthly cap apart from transfer overages.
- The standard LKE control plane is free; Kubernetes users pay only for worker nodes, or $60/cluster/month for a high-availability control plane.
- Extra egress costs $0.005/GB, and G6 and G7 plans include 1-20TB of transfer a month.
- Dashboard and console rated more intuitive than AWS or Azure by reviewers switching from hyperscalers.
- New customers get $100 in credit for 60 days, and larger migrations can apply through sales for up to $5,000 in credits.
Cons
- Support response times reported at 1-2 business days by reviewers, slower than premium hyperscaler support tiers.
- Fewer advanced managed services than AWS or Google Cloud's full catalog.
- The new G8 dedicated plans include no transfer, and some plans and GPUs cost more in certain regions.
- Instances keep billing while powered off; only deleting a service stops the charges.
Linode (Akamai) pricing
From $5/mo · verified from the vendor's pricing page
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shared CPU: Nanode 1GB | $5/mo | 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 25GB storage, 1TB transfer; $0.0075/hour, billed hourly up to the monthly cap. Jakarta and São Paulo cost $6 and $7/month. |
| Shared CPU: Linode 2GB | $12/mo | 1 vCPU, 2GB RAM, 50GB storage, 2TB transfer; $0.018/hour. Linode 4GB (2 vCPUs, 80GB, 4TB) is $24/month. |
| Dedicated CPU: G6 Dedicated 4GB | $36/mo | 2 dedicated vCPUs, 4GB RAM, 80GB storage, 4TB transfer; $0.054/hour. G7 Dedicated 4GB is $43/month; G8 Dedicated 4x2 is $0.07/hour with no bundled transfer. |
| High Memory: Linode 24GB | $60/mo | 2 vCPUs, 24GB RAM, 20GB storage, 5TB transfer; $0.09/hour. |
| GPU: RTX 4000 Ada x1 Small | Custom | $0.52/hour, billed hourly; 1 GPU, 4 vCPUs, 16GB RAM. RTX 6000 x1 is $1.50/hour and RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell x1 is $3.00/hour. |
| Managed Kubernetes (LKE) | Custom | Standard control plane included at no charge; worker nodes billed as regular instances. High-availability control plane $60/cluster/month; LKE Enterprise $300/cluster/month. |
What reviewers say
Scores belong to their platforms; we display them with attribution and never fold them into our own ratings.