UpCloud Alternative 2026: Pricing, Performance & Features

UpCloud vs Raff: which is right for you?

Choose Raff when you want a focused VPS platform with predictable pricing, included storage, unmetered bandwidth, and strong tested compute performance. Choose UpCloud when your team needs more regions, current managed Kubernetes, file storage, managed databases, GPU options, or a broader European cloud platform.

The decision breaks down into six areas:

• Pricing — Raff is $19.99/mo at 2 dedicated vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB, while UpCloud Cloud Native is about $25.51/mo when Standard storage is matched to 80 GB.
• Bandwidth — Raff includes unmetered 3 Gbps bandwidth; UpCloud uses zero-cost egress under a Fair Transfer Policy.
• Features — UpCloud has the broader managed-service catalog today.
• Regions — UpCloud has 15 data centers across four continents; Raff is focused on Virginia, USA.
• Trust — Raff has 4.5/5 on Trustpilot with 14 reviews; UpCloud has 3.8/5 with 155 reviews.
• Performance — Raff leads CPU, memory, sequential disk, and peak network in the March 30 benchmark; UpCloud leads some 4K random file I/O tests.

Raff is the cleaner option for teams buying VPS capacity, predictable transfer, and straightforward compute. UpCloud is the stronger option for teams that need region choice, managed platform services, or EU-first infrastructure.

UpCloud overview

UpCloud is a European cloud infrastructure provider headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. The company was formed in 2011 and says its platform spans four continents with 15 data centers.

UpCloud’s current cloud server lineup includes Starter, Premium, and Cloud Native plans. Starter is aimed at cost-conscious workloads, Premium bundles compute with higher-performance storage, and Cloud Native separates compute and storage pricing.

UpCloud’s main strength is platform breadth. It offers cloud servers, block storage, object storage, file storage, managed databases, managed Kubernetes, load balancing, gateway services, GPU servers, and private cloud options. That makes UpCloud a better fit when a team wants more than VPS hosting from the same vendor.

Raff overview

Raff focuses on cloud infrastructure for VM-heavy workloads: CPU-Optimized VMs, Linux VMs, block storage volumes, snapshots, automated backups, object storage, firewalling, private networking, IPv4/IPv6, API/CLI access, and web-console management.

Raff CPU-Optimized Tier 3 costs $19.99/mo for 2 dedicated vCPU, 4 GB DDR5 RAM, and 80 GB NVMe.

Raff includes unmetered 3 Gbps bandwidth on CPU-Optimized VMs with no transfer cap.

Raff operates 10,000+ production VMs and has a 4.5/5 Trustpilot rating across 14 reviews.

The first-hand insight in this refresh is tested evidence from the March 30, 2026 benchmark. On Raff CPU-Optimized 2 vCPU / 4 GB, Raff measured 2,171 sysbench single-thread ops/sec versus UpCloud Cloud Native at 1,591 ops/sec.

UpCloud pricing vs Raff pricing

Raff pricing is simpler at the matched 2 vCPU / 4 GB tier because storage and unmetered bandwidth are included in the VM price. UpCloud Cloud Native pricing is modular: compute is priced separately from block storage.

UpCloud lists Cloud Native 4 GB / 2 CPU at €15/mo before storage. Standard storage is €0.085/GB/mo. The benchmarked UpCloud setup used 40 GB Standard storage, so the tested price is €18.40/mo, or about $21.53/mo using €1 = $1.17. When UpCloud is storage-matched to Raff’s 80 GB included NVMe allocation, the price becomes €21.80/mo, or about $25.51/mo.

For the main pricing table, storage is matched to Raff’s included storage size. UpCloud prices are converted at €1 = $1.17.

Raff also offers General Purpose VMs with shared CPU starting at $4.99/mo for development environments, low-traffic sites, or non-critical workloads where dedicated CPU isn't required. The comparison above and benchmarks below use Raff CPU-Optimized to match UpCloud Cloud Native's production compute class.

Bandwidth cost math

UpCloud does not use a classic automatic egress-overage model by default. Instead, UpCloud offers zero-cost egress under its Fair Transfer Policy. For the tested Cloud Native 2 CPU / 4 GB plan, the included transfer share is 2 TB.

The practical difference is predictability. Raff is easier to model for transfer-heavy workloads because the VM includes unmetered bandwidth. UpCloud is still attractive when the workload fits inside its fair-transfer share or when the team values UpCloud’s region footprint more than transfer simplicity.

Automated backups

Raff includes automated backups in the VM feature set. UpCloud Simple Backups are priced by server plan or by GB depending on the product family.

For Cloud Native storage, UpCloud lists backup pricing by GB. At 80 GB, UpCloud Cloud Native backup storage is approximately:

Bandwidth and transfer policy

Raff is simpler for high-transfer VPS workloads because unmetered 3 Gbps bandwidth is part of the VM plan. This matters for APIs, web applications, media-heavy sites, game servers, package mirrors, self-hosted tools, and workloads with unpredictable outbound traffic.

UpCloud’s policy is also competitive, but it works differently. UpCloud says it does not charge default egress fees and instead applies a Fair Transfer Policy. If usage exceeds the fair-transfer share, UpCloud may reduce Cloud Server bandwidth to 100 Mbps for the rest of the month.

The comparison is not “free versus expensive.” The real choice is “unmetered port model versus fair-share model.” Raff is cleaner when transfer predictability is a priority. UpCloud is stronger when region coverage or broader cloud services matter more than bandwidth simplicity.

Feature comparison: UpCloud vs Raff

UpCloud has the broader current platform. Raff has the simpler VPS path with more predictable pricing at the matched compute tier.

Performance benchmarks: Raff vs UpCloud

Performance is one part of the decision, not the whole comparison. The March 30, 2026 benchmark helps answer whether the lower Raff price also holds up on measured compute, memory, disk, and network tests.

Methodology

Single-pass benchmarks vary by region, host activity, time of day, and test method. The useful signal is the size and direction of the gaps.

Results

What the results tell us

Raff led CPU and memory by a clear margin. That supports workloads such as web applications, build jobs, analytics scripts, API services, internal tools, and other VM workloads where compute and memory throughput matter.

Disk results are mixed. Raff led fio 64K throughput and sequential 128K throughput, while UpCloud led the sysbench 4K random file-read and file-write tests. UpCloud is therefore a better fit for some small-block random-file patterns, while Raff is favored for sequential throughput and broader compute-heavy VPS workloads.

Network results favored Raff in the peak IPv4 measurements. The Raff VM measured higher best download and upload throughput, but the regions were different: Raff was tested from Virginia and UpCloud from Helsinki.

Caveats

This benchmark snapshot covers CPU, memory, disk, and network. Redis and HTTP application workload outputs were not included, so this article does not make cache-specific or API-throughput claims. Multi-pass testing should be added during the next benchmark refresh.

When you should choose UpCloud over Raff

• More regions — UpCloud lists 15 data centers across four continents.
• European footprint — UpCloud is headquartered in Helsinki and fits EU-first infrastructure planning.
• Managed Kubernetes today — UpCloud lists managed Kubernetes with Development and Production control-plane options.
• Managed databases today — UpCloud offers managed relational databases and in-memory database products.
• File storage — UpCloud has a dedicated file storage product.
• 4K random file I/O — UpCloud measured 151.07 MiB/s random read 4K versus Raff at 52.31 MiB/s.
• Larger review base — UpCloud has 155 Trustpilot reviews, compared with Raff’s 14 reviews.

When you should choose Raff over UpCloud

• Lower matched price — Raff is $19.99/mo at 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB, while UpCloud Cloud Native is about $25.51/mo when storage-matched.
• Simpler bandwidth — Raff includes unmetered 3 Gbps bandwidth without a fair-transfer cap.
• Higher CPU scores — Raff measured 2,266 Geekbench 6 single-core versus UpCloud at 1,627.
• Higher memory throughput — Raff measured 11.42 GiB/sec memory write versus UpCloud at 4.70 GiB/sec.
• Higher sequential throughput — Raff measured 1,730 MiB/s sequential read versus UpCloud at 401.38 MiB/s.
• Focused VPS path — Raff is simpler when you need VMs, storage, snapshots, backups, object storage, and private networking without a larger platform decision.
• Production VM scale — Raff runs 10,000+ production VMs and has a 4.5/5 Trustpilot rating across 14 reviews.

Migrating from UpCloud to Raff

1. Inventory UpCloud resources — list each Cloud Server, region, public IP, private network, attached storage, firewall rules, backup schedule, and DNS record. Gotcha: Cloud Native storage is billed separately, so confirm both compute size and storage size before matching the Raff VM.

2. Provision matching Raff VMs — start with equal or greater vCPU, RAM, and storage. For this comparison, the closest current Raff plan is CPU-Optimized Tier 3 at 2 dedicated vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB.

3. Transfer application data — use rsync over SSH for files, database-native dump/restore for databases, and object storage for large archives or static assets.

4. Rebuild networking and firewall rules — recreate private-network assumptions, public ingress rules, outbound rules, and service ports. Gotcha: do not assume UpCloud private-network or gateway behavior maps directly to Raff; verify routing and firewall behavior before DNS cutover.

5. Lower DNS TTL and cut over — reduce TTL to 300 seconds before migration, sync final data changes, then point DNS to the new Raff IP.

6. Verify and decommission — run smoke tests, confirm backups, test monitoring, validate TLS, and only then delete or stop the UpCloud server.

For stateful workloads, plan a short maintenance window during the final database sync and DNS swap. Stateless services behind a load balancer can drain UpCloud instances gradually while Raff nodes take over traffic.

About UpCloud

UpCloud is operated by UpCloud Ltd and is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. The company was formed in 2011 and offers a cloud platform spanning four continents and 15 data centers. Read more on the official UpCloud website.

Conclusion: UpCloud or Raff?

The comparison resolves across six decision areas:

• Price — Raff is $19.99/mo at 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB, while UpCloud Cloud Native is about $25.51/mo when storage-matched to 80 GB.
• Bandwidth — Raff includes unmetered 3 Gbps bandwidth; UpCloud uses zero-cost egress under a Fair Transfer Policy.
• Features — UpCloud wins on managed Kubernetes, managed databases, file storage, GPU options, and private cloud options.
• Geography — UpCloud wins on region count with 15 data centers across four continents.
• Performance — Raff leads CPU, memory, sequential disk, fio 64K, and peak IPv4 network; UpCloud leads 4K random file I/O in sysbench.
• Operational simplicity — Raff is easier to price for VPS workloads because compute, storage, backups, and unmetered bandwidth are part of the VM-focused buying path.

Choose UpCloud if your priority is global region choice, EU-first infrastructure, managed Kubernetes, managed databases, file storage, or small-block random file I/O. Choose Raff if your priority is lower storage-matched VPS pricing, unmetered bandwidth, stronger tested CPU and memory, and a simpler VM-focused platform.

For most US-East VPS, web application, API, internal tool, and compute-heavy small-server workloads, Raff is the clearer UpCloud alternative.

Verified rating: Raff Technologies is rated 4.5/5 across 14 reviews on Trustpilot, with 10,000+ production VMs running on the platform.