Raff vs Kamatera: Custom Cloud Servers Compared (2026)

Introduction

Raff vs Kamatera is a comparison between two cloud VPS providers that both serve developers, SMBs, startups, and infrastructure teams, but with very different buying experiences. Raff Technologies focuses on simple cloud server tiers, included NVMe storage, unmetered bandwidth, and predictable pricing. Kamatera focuses on highly customizable cloud servers where you can tune CPU, RAM, storage, server type, traffic, and location more granularly.

That difference matters. If you want a cloud VM that is easy to price, easy to explain, and ready for common workloads, Raff is the cleaner choice. If you want to design a very specific cloud server shape across a wider global data center menu, Kamatera has a stronger customization story.

This comparison looks at Raff and Kamatera across pricing, compute, bandwidth, storage, regions, backups, support model, and ideal use cases. The goal is not to force a winner in every category. The goal is to help you choose the provider that fits your workload, your team, and your budget in 2026.

Raff Overview

Raff is a cloud infrastructure provider built around straightforward virtual machines, storage, networking, backups, snapshots, and developer-friendly infrastructure. The platform is designed for teams that want to deploy real cloud servers without stepping into hyperscaler-level complexity.

Raff’s VM model is intentionally clear. You choose from General Purpose or CPU-Optimized plans, then scale as your workload grows. That makes Raff easier to budget for websites, APIs, staging environments, production apps, internal tools, DevOps workloads, and small SaaS infrastructure.

Raff’s main strengths are:

• Simple VM pricing
• NVMe SSD storage included in VM tiers
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Hourly billing
• Linux and Windows VM options
• DDoS protection
• Snapshots and backups
• Private networking
• Firewall controls
• Browser-based web console
• API and automation support

For small teams, the most important part is not only price. It is clarity. A team can look at a Raff VM, compare plans on the pricing page, and understand the monthly economics quickly.

That is Raff’s strongest advantage against providers with more complex calculators.

Kamatera Overview

Kamatera is a long-running cloud infrastructure provider known for customizable cloud servers. Instead of forcing users into only fixed VPS bundles, Kamatera lets buyers configure CPU, RAM, storage, traffic, operating system, server type, and data center more directly.

That flexibility is the main reason someone chooses Kamatera. A team may not want a standard 2 vCPU / 4 GB VM. It may want a specific CPU type, a particular storage size, a specific country, Windows licensing, a managed service option, or a specialized server profile. Kamatera is built for that kind of buyer.

Kamatera’s main strengths are:

• Highly customizable cloud servers
• Broad data center selection
• Monthly and hourly billing options
• Linux and Windows support
• Multiple server types
• Optional managed services
• Optional backups
• Load balancers, firewalls, and private networking
• 30-day trial offer up to $100
• Configurable scaling

Kamatera is not difficult for experienced cloud users, but it asks the buyer to make more decisions. That can be useful when you know exactly what you want. It can be distracting when you just need a good VM at a clear price.

Pricing Comparison

Pricing is where this comparison becomes interesting because Raff and Kamatera package cloud servers differently.

Raff uses published VM tiers. You choose a plan, and the package includes CPU, RAM, NVMe storage, and unmetered bandwidth. That model is easy to compare and easy to explain.

Kamatera uses a more configurable model. Its public pricing page shows recommended plans, but the custom calculator can change the final price depending on CPU type, RAM, storage, traffic model, operating system, licenses, backups, and add-ons. That model is flexible, but less simple.

Published Entry Examples

This is the key pricing takeaway: Raff is easier to compare because the tiers are fixed and include unmetered bandwidth. Kamatera can be tuned more precisely, but that precision means the buyer must understand the calculator.

For buyers who want quick pricing clarity, Raff has the advantage. For buyers who want to shape a server very precisely, Kamatera has the advantage.

Feature Comparison

The short version is simple: Raff is the cleaner VPS product for predictable infrastructure. Kamatera is the stronger fit for users who want more custom configuration knobs.

Compute and Performance

Raff separates its VM lineup into General Purpose and CPU-Optimized categories. That distinction helps buyers choose based on workload behavior instead of guessing from price alone.

General Purpose VMs are useful for websites, staging environments, development servers, internal tools, and everyday workloads. CPU-Optimized VMs are better for production applications, databases, CI/CD runners, and workloads that benefit from more predictable compute.

Kamatera uses a different model. Its calculator exposes server types such as Availability, General Purpose, Dedicated, and Burstable. That gives advanced buyers more flexibility because they can tune the server type directly.

This creates a practical difference in buying experience.

Raff asks:

“Which workload category are you in?”

Kamatera asks:

“Which exact resource shape and server type do you want?”

Neither model is universally better. Raff is better when simplicity and pricing clarity matter. Kamatera is better when exact customization matters.

Bandwidth and Traffic Policy

Bandwidth is one of the biggest practical differences between Raff and Kamatera.

Raff includes unmetered bandwidth on VM tiers. That makes budgeting easier for small teams, especially when traffic is hard to forecast. If you are running APIs, SaaS apps, staging environments, developer tools, demos, or small production services, predictable bandwidth economics matter.

Kamatera’s public recommended examples include 5 TB of traffic, and its pricing page shows additional traffic pricing. For many workloads, 5 TB is more than enough. But it is still a defined traffic amount, not the same as Raff’s unmetered bandwidth positioning.

This does not mean Kamatera’s bandwidth model is bad. It means buyers should pay attention to traffic assumptions.

Choose Raff if you want bandwidth simplicity. Choose Kamatera if you are comfortable modeling traffic inside a more detailed infrastructure calculator.

Storage and Backups

Raff includes NVMe SSD storage inside its VM tiers. It also supports snapshots, automated backups, block storage volumes, and S3-compatible object storage. That makes the storage model straightforward for developers and small teams.

Kamatera also supports SSD/NVMe storage and gives users more granular storage selections. Its cloud server page notes optional daily backups for an additional monthly cost based on the server’s specifications.

The important difference is packaging.

Raff is stronger when you want storage and data protection features to feel like part of a simple VM platform. Kamatera is stronger when you want to configure storage capacity and backup behavior as separate decisions.

For small teams, the Raff model can be easier to adopt. For infrastructure-heavy buyers, the Kamatera model can be more flexible.

Regions and Data Center Footprint

Kamatera has the stronger global data center story. Its public pages list a broad menu of locations across regions such as the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Australia.

That matters if your workload has a specific latency requirement or if your customers are concentrated in a region outside Raff’s current public footprint.

Raff’s public positioning is more focused. Raff is not trying to win by offering the longest list of regions. Raff is trying to win by giving small teams clearer VM economics, simple pricing, unmetered bandwidth, and a focused infrastructure experience.

So the decision is practical:

• Choose Kamatera if region choice is critical.
• Choose Raff if simplicity, bandwidth predictability, and straightforward VM pricing matter more.

Ease of Use

Raff is easier for teams that want a clear path: choose a VM, deploy it, secure it, and scale when needed.

Kamatera is easier for users who already know how to think in custom infrastructure terms. If you know exactly how many vCPUs, how much RAM, how much storage, which server type, which data center, which traffic model, and which add-ons you want, Kamatera gives you more direct control.

For beginners and small teams, too many choices can become friction. For experienced operators, those choices are useful.

That is the real difference.

Raff optimizes for decision simplicity. Kamatera optimizes for configuration freedom.

Developer Experience

Both platforms can serve developers well, but they serve different developer personalities.

Raff is a better fit for developers who want to deploy quickly and spend less time thinking about cloud packaging. It is suitable for backend APIs, staging servers, self-hosted tools, CI/CD runners, app servers, Linux learning environments, Windows workloads, and small SaaS infrastructure.

Kamatera is a better fit for developers who want to tune infrastructure more specifically. It is useful when you need a specific data center, a non-standard server shape, Windows or Linux options, or optional managed service support.

If your team is still deciding how much CPU and RAM you need, read Choosing the Right VM Size. If you are comparing Raff against other developer-focused clouds, Raff vs DigitalOcean and Raff vs Vultr are useful next reads.

Support and Managed Services

Kamatera has a more visible managed service angle. Its public product pages mention managed cloud services and technical support options, which can be useful for companies that want help operating the infrastructure.

Raff’s strength is different. Raff focuses on giving small teams core infrastructure that is easier to understand and operate directly. That includes VMs, storage, backups, snapshots, private networking, and web console access.

If you want to offload more operational work, Kamatera may be attractive. If you want a simpler self-managed cloud VM platform, Raff is likely the better fit.

This is a decision about operating style, not just features.

Who Should Choose Raff?

Choose Raff if you want:

• Simple VM pricing
• Unmetered bandwidth
• NVMe SSD included in VM tiers
• A lower-friction cloud VPS experience
• Clear shared vs dedicated compute categories
• Developer-friendly Linux and Windows VMs
• Snapshots and automated backups
• Private networking and firewall controls
• Small-team infrastructure without hyperscaler complexity

Raff is strongest when the workload is straightforward: web apps, APIs, staging environments, production VMs, internal tools, self-hosted services, learning environments, and small SaaS deployments.

Raff is also a strong fit when your team wants to avoid pricing surprises. If bandwidth unpredictability is a concern, Raff’s unmetered bandwidth positioning is a major advantage.

Who Should Choose Kamatera?

Choose Kamatera if you want:

• Highly custom server configuration
• More granular CPU/RAM/storage choices
• Broader global data center selection
• Optional managed cloud services
• Custom traffic, backup, and add-on decisions
• A calculator-driven infrastructure model
• Multiple server types for different performance patterns

Kamatera is strongest when your team knows exactly what it wants. If you need a specific resource ratio, data center, server type, operating system, or managed service package, Kamatera gives you more knobs to turn.

Kamatera is not necessarily the simpler choice. It is the more configurable choice.

Migration: Kamatera to Raff

Migrating from Kamatera to Raff follows the same pattern as most VPS-to-VPS migrations.

A basic migration plan looks like this:

1. Create a Raff VM with the same operating system family.
2. Install required packages and dependencies.
3. Copy application files with rsync, scp, Git, or your deployment pipeline.
4. Export and import databases.
5. Recreate environment variables and secrets.
6. Configure firewall rules.
7. Test the application on the Raff VM.
8. Lower DNS TTL before cutover.
9. Update DNS records.
10. Monitor logs and traffic after migration.
11. Keep the old Kamatera server temporarily as rollback.
12. Decommission the old server when the Raff environment is stable.

The most important step is testing. Do not update DNS until the Raff VM runs the workload correctly.

For application teams, the migration is usually straightforward if the workload is already documented. If the old server was configured manually over time, the migration may reveal hidden dependencies.

Conclusion

Raff vs Kamatera is not a comparison between identical cloud platforms.

Raff is better when you want simpler VM economics, unmetered bandwidth, clear published tiers, and a focused cloud experience for small teams and developers. Kamatera is better when you want highly customizable cloud servers, more granular infrastructure choices, and broader global location flexibility.

The practical decision is this:

• Choose Raff for predictable pricing, simpler VM deployment, included NVMe storage, and unmetered bandwidth.
• Choose Kamatera for custom cloud server shapes, global region choice, and calculator-driven infrastructure flexibility.

If your team mainly needs clean VPS infrastructure, Raff is the more straightforward choice. If your team needs to tune every resource dimension, Kamatera deserves a close look.

For your next step, compare plans on the Raff pricing page, review Raff vs Linode for another developer-cloud comparison, or read Choosing the Right VM Size before deploying your first server.