Linode (Akamai)
Independent cloud computing, now part of Akamai.
The verdict
Linode has offered cloud VPS hosting since 2003 and was acquired by Akamai in 2022, adding a global edge network to its already strong reputation for reliability, transparent pricing and developer documentation.
The full picture
Linode predates almost every cloud provider that people now think of as established. Founded in 2003, it pioneered the idea of a self-service Linux virtual server with an hourly price and an API, and it stayed independent and profitable for nineteen years before Akamai acquired it in 2022 for around nine hundred million dollars. The product is now branded Akamai Connected Cloud, but the Linode name, pricing and ergonomics remain.
The Akamai acquisition changed the strategic picture more than the day-to-day one. Linode compute is now attached to one of the largest edge networks on earth, with plans to place compute in far more locations than a standalone provider could justify. For customers, the immediate benefits are more regions, better transit, and an easier path to Akamai's CDN and security products.
The core offering remains what it was: simple, well-documented Linux instances with flat pricing, generous included transfer, dedicated CPU options, managed Kubernetes, block and object storage, and support that answers tickets quickly and does not charge extra for basic help. Like DigitalOcean, it is infrastructure rather than hosting — bring your own stack.
What you get
- Akamai global network
- NVMe block storage
- Managed Kubernetes (LKE)
- Flat, transparent pricing
- One-click Marketplace apps
Every hosting type it sells
| Product | From | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Shared CPU instances | $5/mo | Nanode and standard plans for general workloads. |
| Dedicated CPU instances | $36/mo | Guaranteed cores for databases, CI and production apps. |
| High memory instances | $60/mo | Memory-heavy workloads such as in-memory caches. |
| Managed Kubernetes | $12/mo | Free control plane, pay for nodes; HA control plane optional. |
| Object storage | $5/mo | S3-compatible, 250GB storage and 1TB transfer included. |
Plans & pricing
- 1 vCPU
- 1 GB RAM
- 2 vCPU
- 4 GB RAM
What the price actually costs you
- Flat published pricing, billed hourly and capped monthly.
- Outbound transfer allowances are pooled across the account and unusually generous.
- Backups add roughly 20 to 25% of the instance price.
- There is no money-back guarantee, but hourly billing means a test costs pennies.
Technical specification
| Control panel | Cloud Manager, plus a full API, CLI and Terraform provider |
|---|---|
| Virtualisation | KVM with shared, dedicated, high-memory and GPU plans |
| Storage | NVMe-backed local storage, resizable block storage volumes |
| Operating systems | Ubuntu, Debian, AlmaLinux, Rocky, CentOS, Arch, Gentoo and custom images |
| Marketplace | One-click apps for WordPress, cPanel, Plesk, Docker, GitLab and more |
| Networking | VPC, cloud firewall, NodeBalancers, private networking and DDoS protection at no extra cost |
| Backups | Optional Linode Backup Service with daily, weekly and biweekly snapshots |
| Transfer | Generous pooled outbound transfer included with every instance |
| Managed service | Optional Linode Managed with 24/7 incident response for a monthly fee |
| Support | Free 24/7 ticket and phone support, no paid support tier required for basics |
| Uptime SLA | 99.99% with service credits |
Performance in practice
Dedicated CPU instances deliver consistent, predictable performance that shared-core plans cannot, and the NVMe-backed storage is quick. The eleven-plus regions across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and South America were already broad and are expanding rapidly on Akamai transit, which is some of the best-peered network capacity in existence. Included outbound transfer is more generous than DigitalOcean or the hyperscalers, which matters a great deal for media-heavy workloads.
Infrastructure & support
Support channels
- 24/7 ticket system
- Community forum
- Phone support (managed plans)
- IRC/Discord
Data centers
- United States (4 regions)
- United Kingdom
- Germany
- India
- Japan
- Singapore
- Australia
- Canada
- Brazil
Security & compliance
- Free DDoS protection on all instances, inherited from Akamai scrubbing capability
- Cloud firewall and VPC private networking at no additional charge
- SSH key management and two-factor authentication on the account
- Optional managed backup service with configurable schedules
- SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS and HIPAA-eligible configurations
- You retain responsibility for operating system and application hardening
Moving a site in
No managed migration service on standard plans. You move workloads yourself, or buy Linode Managed for incident response. The Marketplace images and Terraform provider make rebuilding a stack quick, and cross-region clones are supported natively.
The trade-off
In its favour
- Long track record & stability
- Backed by Akamai edge network
- Excellent documentation
Worth knowing
- Fewer beginner tools
- Support tiers vary by plan
Who should look elsewhere
- Anyone wanting a managed website product with cPanel and email
- Non-technical buyers who do not want to run a Linux server
- Enterprises needing the very wide managed service catalogues of AWS or Azure
- Teams requiring dedicated account management on small spend
The company behind it
| Ownership | Akamai Technologies, acquired 2022 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Founded | 2003 by Christopher Aker |
| Scale | Around 800,000 customers, part of Akamai Connected Cloud |
| Notable | One of the oldest independent cloud providers before acquisition |
How it got here
- 2003 Founded by Christopher Aker, one of the first self-service Linux VPS providers.
- 2009 Introduces an hourly-billed API-driven control plane ahead of most competitors.
- 2018 Adds dedicated CPU instances and block storage.
- 2020 Launches managed Kubernetes (LKE) and object storage.
- 2022 Acquired by Akamai for approximately $900 million.
- 2023 Rebranded as Akamai Connected Cloud with aggressive region expansion.
Common questions
Did Linode change after the Akamai acquisition?
Core products remain, now enhanced with Akamai's global CDN and edge infrastructure.
The bottom line
The most engineer-respected small cloud, now with Akamai's network behind it. Pick dedicated CPU instances for anything production, take advantage of the large included transfer, and treat it as infrastructure you will administer yourself.