Linode is now Akamai Cloud, having been acquired in 2022 and folded into Akamai's edge network. It sells Shared CPU and Dedicated CPU compute, managed databases, Kubernetes, object storage and a large regional footprint, with the developer documentation and community that made Linode's name. Raff Technologies runs the same shape of platform — VMs, managed databases, Kubernetes, object storage, Functions and Apps on one account — from a single us-east region. At the matched shape, a Linode Shared CPU plan with 2 vCPU, 4 GB and 80 GB is $24/month; the identical Raff plan is $17.99.
Linode VPS and Raff at a glance
Akamai Cloud sells two compute lines. Shared CPU runs from $5/month for 1 vCPU, 1 GB and 25 GB, up to $576/month at 20 vCPU and 96 GB — and Akamai's own pricing page labels this line "Legacy Hardware." Dedicated CPU is the current G8 generation, from $50.40/month for 2 vCPU, 4 GB and 40 GB.
Every plan includes a generous transfer allowance — 1 TB at the entry plan rising to 20 TB — with overage at $0.005 per GB, half what most competitors charge. Around the compute sit managed MySQL and PostgreSQL from $16/month, Kubernetes with an optional HA control plane at $60 per cluster per month, and object storage at $0.02/GB with the first 1 TB of egress free each month. Behind all of it is Akamai's global edge network, which no independent provider can match.
Raff Technologies runs 15,000+ VMs for 3,000+ customers from us-east, with a 99.90% monthly uptime SLA backed by service credits, rated 4.5/5 on Trustpilot and 4.6/5 on G2. VMs run AMD EPYC with DDR5 ECC memory and NVMe storage in two lines: General Purpose with shared vCPU from $4.99/month, and CPU-Optimized with dedicated vCPU from $15.99/month, scaling to 16 vCPU and 32 GB. Every plan includes a 3 Gbps port with unmetered transfer, automated Daily or Weekly backup schedules, uncapped snapshots, firewall controls, private networking and full root access.
Raff's catalog covers managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, Valkey, ClickHouse and Kafka from $7.99/month, S3-compatible object storage at $7/month for 100 GB with 1 TB of egress, managed Kubernetes with a free control plane and workers from $9.99/month, Functions with a free monthly tier, block volumes at $0.08/GiB-month, and Raff Apps from $3/month.
Linode VPS pricing vs Raff pricing
Linode Shared CPU matches Raff General Purpose; Linode Dedicated CPU matches Raff CPU-Optimized.
Shared vCPU: Raff General Purpose against Linode Shared CPU
| Shape | Raff General Purpose | Linode Shared CPU |
|---|---|---|
| 1 vCPU / 1 GB | $4.99 — 25 GB, unmetered | $5.00 — Nanode 1 GB, 25 GB, 1 TB |
| 1 vCPU / 2 GB | $8.99 — 50 GB, unmetered | $12.00 — Linode 2 GB, 50 GB, 2 TB |
| 2 vCPU / 4 GB | $17.99 — 80 GB, unmetered | $24.00 — Linode 4 GB, 80 GB, 4 TB |
| 4 vCPU / 8 GB | $33.99 — 160 GB, unmetered | $48.00 — Linode 8 GB, 160 GB, 5 TB |
| 8 vCPU / 16 GB | $71.99 — 240 GB, unmetered | $96.00 — Linode 16 GB, 6 vCPU, 320 GB, 8 TB |
| 8 vCPU / 32 GB | $119.99 — 320 GB, unmetered | $192.00 — Linode 32 GB, 640 GB, 16 TB |
Four of those rows are identical on cores, memory and disk — 25 GB, 80 GB, 160 GB and 640 GB. Raff runs 25% to 38% cheaper across them, and at the 16 GB shape Raff gives 8 vCPU against Linode's 6 for 25% less.
Dedicated vCPU: Raff CPU-Optimized against Linode Dedicated CPU (G8)
| Shape | Raff CPU-Optimized | Linode Dedicated G8 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 vCPU / 4 GB | $36.99 — 80 GB | $50.40 — 40 GB |
| 4 vCPU / 8 GB | $72.99 — 120 GB | $100.80 — 80 GB |
| 8 vCPU / 16 GB | $144.99 — 180 GB | $194.40 — 160 GB |
Raff is 25% to 28% cheaper on dedicated vCPU, with more included disk at every shape.
Akamai Cloud prices read from the North America pricing page on 2026-08-20. Akamai labels the Shared CPU line "Legacy Hardware"; the Dedicated CPU line is the current G8 generation.
The hardware-generation caveat
That "Legacy Hardware" label matters, and it cuts both ways. The Shared CPU line is the one priced against Raff General Purpose above, and Akamai is signalling it runs on older hosts. If you are buying shared vCPU from Akamai today, you are buying a line the vendor itself marks as legacy — but it is also the line where the transfer allowances are largest, and none of that tells you how a given workload performs.
Bandwidth cost math
Linode's transfer allowances are the most generous in this comparison set — 1 TB to 20 TB by plan, pooled across the account — and overage is $0.005/GB, half DigitalOcean's rate. Raff includes unmetered transfer on a 3 Gbps port.
| Monthly egress on a 2 vCPU / 4 GB VM | Raff | Linode (4 TB included) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 TB | $17.99 | $24.00 |
| 8 TB | $17.99 | $24.00 + $20.48 = $44.48 |
| 20 TB | $17.99 | $24.00 + $81.92 = $105.92 |
At 20 TB Linode costs about seven and a half times Raff. But at typical volumes the allowance covers it, and $0.005/GB is a fair overage rate — this axis matters less against Linode than against providers charging twice that.
Automated backups
Linode sells Backups as a per-plan add-on. Raff includes a free backup and snapshot storage pool — 50 GB per account plus 10–15% of each VM's disk — with Daily and Weekly schedules you configure, retention from 1 to 365 days, and uncapped snapshots. Storage above the pool is $0.06/GB-month.
Linode VPS performance vs Raff
This is a clean pairing: both machines are shared-CPU with no dedicated or burstable allocation, both are 2 cores with 4 GB and 80 GB, and both sit in US East — Linode in Cedar Knolls, New Jersey, Raff in us-east.
Methodology
Raff figures are internal, measured March–May 2026 on a General Purpose 2 vCPU / 4 GB instance in us-east. Linode figures are third-party, from VPSBenchmarks, on a Shared 4GB plan ($24.00/month, 2 cores / 4 GB / 80 GB, KVM) in New Jersey running Ubuntu 24.04, trial started 17 October 2025 — older than Raff's run, and worth weighing accordingly.
Results
| Metric | Raff General Purpose | Linode Shared 4GB | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 single-core | 2,266 | 1,245 | Raff 1.82x higher |
| Geekbench 6 multi-core | 4,057 | 2,222 | Raff 1.83x higher |
| fio 4K read, 50/50 mix | 48,670 IOPS | 32,269 IOPS | Raff 1.51x higher |
| fio 1M sequential read | 2,491 MB/s | 2,206 MB/s | Raff 1.13x higher |
| fio 1M sequential write | 1,257 MB/s | 2,353 MB/s | Linode 1.87x higher |
| iperf3 to NYC, upload | 9,574 Mbps | 4,506 Mbps | Raff 2.12x higher |
| iperf3 to NYC, download | 3,635 Mbps | 8,049 Mbps | Linode 2.21x higher |
| Processor | AMD EPYC, DDR5 ECC | AMD EPYC 7542 (Zen 2, 2019) | |
| Monthly price | $17.99 | $24.00 |
What the results tell us
Raff is roughly 1.8x faster per core, on the same shared-CPU basis, at the same shape, in the same region — and for 25% less money.
The processor line explains why, and it corroborates Akamai's own label. The benchmarked Linode host runs an AMD EPYC 7542, a Zen 2 part launched in 2019. That is consistent with Akamai marking the Shared CPU line "Legacy Hardware": the plans are priced against current-generation shared vCPU elsewhere but run on older silicon. It is also a reason to treat the CPU gap as a hardware-generation gap rather than a permanent platform difference — Akamai could refresh the line.
Linode wins two axes, and both are real. Sequential 1M write measured 2,353 MB/s against Raff's 1,257, and download to New York 8,049 Mbps against 3,635. The download figure reflects capability rather than measurement noise: Linode publishes a 4,000 Mbps maximum network speed on this plan against Raff's 3 Gbps port. If your workload pulls large volumes inbound or writes large sequential files, Linode's configuration is the stronger one.
Random I/O and sequential read favour Raff — 1.51x on the 4K mixed job, which is the pattern most databases actually run.
Read it as a trade: Raff for CPU-bound work and small-block I/O at lower cost, Linode for sequential writes and inbound bandwidth.
Linode vs Raff: features and reliability
Compute
Linode scales to 20 vCPU and 96 GB on Shared CPU and well beyond on Dedicated, against Raff's ceiling of 16 vCPU and 32 GB. Below that ceiling Raff resizes on demand: stop the VM, switch plan, restart, with the difference settled to the account balance and a resize API endpoint for CPU, RAM and disk.
Networking and bandwidth
Raff includes a 3 Gbps port with unmetered transfer, private networking, VPC, firewall controls and site-to-site VPN gateways. Linode includes 1–20 TB of pooled transfer with $0.005/GB overage, private networking, cloud firewalls and NodeBalancers — and sits on Akamai's edge network, which is a genuine advantage for globally distributed delivery.
Storage and object storage
Raff separates storage into VM disk, block volumes at $0.08/GiB-month, and S3-compatible object storage at $7/month for 100 GB with 1 TB of egress.
Linode object storage is $0.02/GB-month with the first 1 TB of egress free and $0.005/GB after. On object storage Linode is substantially cheaper — roughly $0.02/GB against Raff's effective $0.07/GB at the entry tier. If your workload is storage-heavy rather than compute-heavy, that difference can outweigh the VM saving.
Managed databases
Raff runs PostgreSQL, MySQL, Valkey, ClickHouse and Kafka from $7.99/month. Linode runs managed MySQL and PostgreSQL from $16/month for a single shared 1 GB node.
Raff is roughly 50% cheaper at entry and covers five engines against two.
Kubernetes
Both offer managed Kubernetes. Raff provides a free control plane with workers from $9.99/month and an HA add-on at $30. Linode's LKE HA control plane is $60 per cluster per month. For a production cluster needing high availability, Raff's HA option is half the price.
Support and ecosystem
Raff provides 24/7 human support through live chat, with a first response typically under 10 minutes. No bots triaging you first, and no support tier to buy: a single $4.99 VM reaches the same engineers as a hundred production machines.
Linode's advantage is the ecosystem around it: a documentation and tutorial library built over two decades, an active community, and since the Akamai acquisition, integration with one of the largest edge and security networks in the world. Raff has none of that reach, and no comparison should pretend otherwise.
When you should choose Linode over Raff
- Object-storage-heavy workloads — $0.02/GB-month with 1 TB of free egress, against Raff's $7 for 100 GB
- Global delivery — Akamai's edge network and a regional footprint spanning North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific against Raff's single us-east region
- Very large instances — up to 20 vCPU and 96 GB on Shared CPU and further on Dedicated, against Raff's 16 vCPU / 32 GB ceiling
- Inbound-heavy and sequential-write workloads — measured 2.21x higher download to New York and 1.87x higher 1M sequential write, on a 4,000 Mbps port
- Large monthly transfer within allowance — 4 TB to 20 TB included by plan, with a low $0.005/GB overage
- Teams that rely on documentation and community — two decades of Linode guides and an active forum
When you should choose Raff over Linode
- Lower cost on equivalent VMs — 25% to 38% below Shared CPU and 25% to 28% below Dedicated G8, at identical disk on four matched shapes (VPS for application hosting)
- Current hardware on the shared line — Akamai labels its Shared CPU plans "Legacy Hardware", and the benchmarked host runs a 2019-era EPYC 7542; Raff measured 1.82x faster single-core at the same shape
- Database-backed products — managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, Valkey, ClickHouse and Kafka from $7.99/month against $16 for two engines (VPS for databases)
- Highly available Kubernetes — $30 for the HA add-on against $60 per cluster per month
- Egress-heavy applications — unmetered transfer on a 3 Gbps port, with no allowance to track
- Backups without an add-on — Daily and Weekly schedules on a free storage pool with 1 to 365 day retention
Migrating from Linode to Raff
- Match the line, not the price — Linode Shared CPU maps to Raff General Purpose, Dedicated G8 to Raff CPU-Optimized. Mapping by monthly cost will land you in the wrong class.
- Check the ceiling — Raff stops at 16 vCPU and 32 GB. Larger Linode instances have no equivalent.
- Price object storage separately — Linode is cheaper per GB. If you hold significant object data, consider leaving it where it is rather than assuming the whole account should move.
- Check what the edge network is doing for you — if Akamai's CDN or security services are in your delivery path, moving compute does not move those, and you may still need them.
- Move data in order — files with rsync or SCP, then database dumps into managed Postgres or MySQL, then assets to object storage. Keep the Linode instance running throughout.
- Cut over and delete, don't power off — lower DNS TTL beforehand, switch, then delete the Linode. A powered-off instance still bills.
About Linode
Linode is a cloud computing provider founded in 2003 and headquartered in Philadelphia, acquired by Akamai Technologies in 2022 and now operating as Akamai Cloud. It offers Shared CPU and Dedicated CPU compute, managed databases, Kubernetes, object storage and NodeBalancers from regions across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, integrated with Akamai's global edge platform. See Akamai Cloud pricing for current rates.
Conclusion: Linode or Raff?
The comparison resolves across four axes:
- VM price — Raff wins, 25% to 38% below Shared CPU and 25% to 28% below Dedicated G8, at identical disk on four matched shapes
- Object storage — Linode wins, $0.02/GB-month with 1 TB free egress against Raff's $7 for 100 GB
- Reach — Linode wins, with Akamai's edge network and regions across three continents against Raff's single us-east
- Managed services — Raff wins, five database engines from $7.99/month against two from $16, and HA Kubernetes at $30 against $60
If you need global reach, cheap object storage at scale, instances above 16 vCPU, or Akamai's edge and security services, choose Linode. If your users are in North America and your bill is dominated by VMs and managed databases, choose Raff — the same workload costs 25% to 38% less.
Raff runs 15,000+ VMs for 3,000+ customers and is rated 4.5/5 on Trustpilot, with a 99.90% monthly uptime SLA in writing.