Linode — now part of Akamai — is one of the longest-running independent
cloud hosting providers, and it built its following the same way DigitalOcean did: by
making a Linux server simple to get, simple to price and simple to keep running. If you
want to buy Linode account access, this page lists two configurations, at
$25 and $100.
Overview: Linode and Akamai Connected Cloud
Linode’s core product is a virtual machine, historically called a Linode and now
presented as part of Akamai Connected Cloud. The naming changed after Akamai’s
acquisition; the model did not. You choose a plan, a region and a distribution image,
and you get a server with root access at a predictable monthly rate.
What the Akamai association adds is edge reach. Akamai operates one of the largest
content delivery networks in the world, and Linode compute now sits alongside it. For
workloads where latency to end users matters, that adjacency is a genuine architectural
advantage rather than a marketing line. The
Akamai cloud computing documentation
is the current authoritative reference.
Available Linode account configurations
The table below is the complete list. Read it as the menu you choose from when you buy Linode account configurations on this page — each row is priced and specified independently, so nothing is bundled or assumed.
| Configuration | Price |
|---|---|
| Free Trial $100 Credit | $25 |
| Open 25 Port | $100 |
Free Trial $100 Credit — $25
An account carrying a $100 credit balance. This is the evaluation option: enough to
run a small instance for a meaningful period, test the API and tooling, and decide
whether the platform fits before committing anything larger. For most people assessing
Linode for the first time, this is the correct starting point.
Open 25 Port — $100
This configuration references port 25 availability. Port 25 is the standard TCP port
used for SMTP delivery between mail servers. Providers block outbound port 25 by default
on new accounts as an anti-abuse measure, because it is the port through which mail is
delivered directly to recipient servers rather than through a relay.
An account with port 25 open can run a mail transfer agent that delivers directly.
That is a legitimate and sometimes necessary architecture — self-hosted mail,
a mailing system that cannot use a third-party relay, or an appliance that expects to
speak SMTP outward. It also carries obligations: Akamai’s acceptable use policy applies,
as does anti-spam legislation in most jurisdictions, and operating outbound mail properly
means maintaining correct SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, sending only to recipients who
asked, and honouring unsubscribes promptly.
If the actual requirement is transactional email from an application rather than
running your own mail server, a managed sending service is almost always the better
architecture. See Buy Amazon SES Account
for that route.
Key features
The points below summarise what distinguishes these options for anyone about to buy Linode account configurations for the first time.
- Two clearly separated configurations — an evaluation credit and a port 25 option.
- Predictable plan-based pricing rather than composite per-service billing.
- Akamai edge adjacency for latency-sensitive delivery.
- Full root access on standard Linux distributions.
- Mature API, CLI and Terraform provider for automation.
Linode services and capabilities
Compute instances
Plans are grouped into shared-CPU, dedicated-CPU, high-memory and GPU families.
Shared plans suit workloads that idle between requests; dedicated plans suit sustained
processing where consistent latency matters. High-memory plans exist for in-memory
databases and caches where RAM, not CPU, is the binding constraint.
Block and object storage
Block Storage volumes attach to an instance and can be moved between instances within
a region. Object Storage is S3-compatible, which matters practically: existing tooling
written against the S3 API generally works unchanged, so migrating a storage layer is far
less work than it sounds.
Managed databases
MySQL and PostgreSQL as managed services with automated backups and failover. Running
a database yourself on an instance is cheaper; running it managed is less operational
risk. Which is correct depends on whether you have someone who genuinely wants to own
database operations.
Kubernetes
Linode Kubernetes Engine provides a managed control plane at no charge for the control
plane itself, with instances as worker nodes. For teams already containerised, this is a
considerably lower-ceremony path into orchestration than the hyperscaler equivalents.
Networking
VPC and private networking keep inter-instance traffic off the public internet.
NodeBalancers provide managed load balancing. Cloud Firewalls filter at the network edge
rather than relying solely on host firewalls.
Who should buy Linode account configurations
- Developers evaluating the platform — Free Trial $100 Credit ($25).
- Anyone comparing Linode against DigitalOcean or Hetzner before committing — the same $25 option.
- Teams operating their own outbound mail infrastructure — Open 25 Port ($100).
Common use cases
Web application and API hosting
An instance running the application, a managed or self-hosted database behind private
networking, and a NodeBalancer if traffic warrants it. Predictable monthly cost and full
root access make this straightforward to operate and to reason about.
Content delivery and latency-sensitive workloads
Compute placed near Akamai edge capacity, serving users with lower round-trip times.
This is the case where Linode’s ownership genuinely changes the calculation compared with
an unaffiliated VPS provider.
Development and staging environments
Short-lived environments that mirror production and are destroyed afterwards. Hourly
billing up to a monthly cap makes ephemeral infrastructure inexpensive.
Self-hosted tooling
Git servers, CI runners, monitoring stacks, internal dashboards. Predictable pricing
suits infrastructure that must simply exist rather than scale dynamically.
Mail infrastructure
Where an organisation genuinely needs to operate its own mail transfer agent, the
port 25 configuration is the one that makes that architecture possible.
Choosing between the two configurations
The decision here is unusually clear, because the two options solve different
problems rather than sitting at different points on one scale.
If you are assessing Linode, or need a general-purpose server, take the $25 credit
configuration. It funds real evaluation and nothing about it limits what you can build.
Take the $100 port 25 configuration only if you have a specific, identified need to
run outbound SMTP directly. It costs four times as much and the difference buys exactly
one capability. If you cannot articulate why a managed relay will not work for your case,
you almost certainly want the cheaper option.
Technical considerations
Regions and data locality
Linode operates data centres across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and beyond.
Instances cannot be moved between regions directly — migration means imaging and
recreating — so choose deliberately based on where users are and where data is
permitted to reside.
Backups
The Backup Service is an opt-in paid add-on running automated snapshots on a rotation.
It is not enabled by default. Manual snapshots exist for point-in-time captures before
risky changes. As always, a backup that has never been restored is an assumption rather
than a plan.
Security baseline
Use SSH keys and disable password authentication; a public IP attracts automated
login attempts within minutes of coming online. Create a non-root user with sudo. Enable
automatic security updates. Put databases on private networking rather than public
addresses. None of this is Linode-specific, and all of it prevents the majority of
avoidable incidents.
Automation
The Linode API covers the full resource surface, with an official CLI and a maintained
Terraform provider. Beyond a couple of instances, defining infrastructure as code is what
prevents servers drifting into subtly different states.
Getting started
- Add an SSH key and disable password login before doing anything else.
- Place instances in a VPC so internal traffic stays private.
- Configure a Cloud Firewall permitting only the ports you actually serve.
- Enable the Backup Service, or establish a snapshot routine, before there is data worth losing.
- Set up monitoring and alerting, particularly on disk utilisation.
- Create a non-root user and stop using root for routine work.
Sizing a Linode instance
The configurations describe an account, not an instance shape, so sizing is a separate
decision worth thinking through properly.
Shared versus dedicated CPU
Shared-CPU plans place several tenants on the same physical cores. For workloads that
spend most of their time waiting — a low-traffic web application, a staging
environment, an internal tool — this is entirely appropriate and materially
cheaper. The trade-off appears under sustained load, where contention shows up as
inconsistent response times rather than as a hard limit. Dedicated-CPU plans exist for
work that holds the processor busy continuously: video processing, sustained builds, busy
databases.
Memory is usually the real constraint
Most teams exhaust memory before they exhaust CPU. Databases cache working sets in
RAM, and application runtimes hold objects there. Once an instance begins swapping to
disk, performance degrades sharply rather than gradually, so it is generally wiser to
size memory with headroom than to run close to the limit and hope.
Scaling approaches
Vertical scaling — resizing to a larger plan — is simple and requires a
reboot. Horizontal scaling places several instances behind a NodeBalancer, which requires
the application to be stateless: sessions in a shared store rather than local memory,
uploads in object storage rather than on local disk. Designing for that early costs
almost nothing; retrofitting it while under load is expensive.
Operating cost on a Linode account
Plan pricing covers the instance itself. Several things sit outside it and are worth
knowing before they appear on a bill.
- Transfer beyond the included allowance. Each plan includes a monthly outbound transfer quota, pooled across the account. Media-heavy workloads can exceed it.
- Block Storage volumes, billed per gigabyte independently of the instance.
- The Backup Service, priced as a percentage of the plan cost.
- NodeBalancers and managed databases, each carrying their own monthly rate.
- Object Storage, billed on capacity and transfer.
Deleting an instance stops its billing. Powering it off does not, because the
allocated resources remain reserved for you. That distinction catches people out with
some regularity.
Migrating onto Linode
Most Linode accounts start with something being moved rather than something being
built from nothing. Three practical notes.
Object storage migrations are usually the easiest part, because the
S3-compatible API means existing tooling — rclone, the AWS CLI, application SDKs
— generally works after a configuration change rather than a rewrite.
Databases need a planned cutover. Dump-and-restore is simple but
implies downtime proportional to data size. Replication from the old host to the new one,
followed by a brief switch, is more work but far less disruptive.
DNS is what determines the actual switchover. Lower time-to-live
values well before the migration so records propagate quickly when you change them,
otherwise you are waiting on caches you do not control.
Important considerations
The configurations describe what they name. A credit balance and port
25 availability. They do not state instance sizes, regions, or any quota. Confirm
anything your project depends on before ordering, via the contact
page.
Port 25 is a network condition, not a deliverability guarantee.
Whether mail reaches inboxes depends on sending reputation, authentication records and
list quality. No configuration changes that.
Provider terms apply. Akamai publishes the
Acceptable Use Policy
governing what any account may be used for, including outbound mail. It is worth reading
before building anything that sends.
Prices are per configuration, exactly as listed.
Running outbound mail responsibly
Because one of the two configurations exists specifically to enable outbound SMTP, it
is worth setting out what actually makes self-hosted mail work. Port availability is the
easy part; everything below is what determines whether messages arrive.
Authentication records
Three DNS records do the heavy lifting. SPF lists which hosts are
permitted to send for your domain. DKIM attaches a cryptographic
signature so recipients can verify a message was not altered and genuinely came from
you. DMARC ties the two together and tells receiving servers what to do
when a check fails, while giving you reports on what is being sent in your name. Without
all three configured correctly, large mailbox providers will treat your mail with
suspicion regardless of how the server is configured.
Reverse DNS and hostname consistency
The sending IP address should resolve backwards to a hostname, and that hostname
should resolve forwards to the same address. Mismatched or missing reverse DNS is one of
the most common reasons self-hosted mail is rejected outright, and it is entirely within
your control to fix.
Reputation is earned slowly
A new IP address has no sending history, and receiving systems treat unknown senders
cautiously. Volume ramped gradually over weeks establishes a pattern; a large burst on
day one looks exactly like abuse. This is the single most common reason a technically
correct mail server still fails to deliver.
When not to self-host
If the requirement is application notifications — password resets, receipts,
alerts — a managed sending service handles authentication, reputation and bounce
processing for you, and will almost certainly deliver better than a self-hosted server
will. Self-hosting makes sense when you need control of the mail system itself, not
merely the ability to send. See Buy Amazon SES
Account for the managed alternative.
Frequently asked questions
Which configuration should I choose?
Match the configuration to the workload rather than to the price. Most people who buy Linode account configurations start from the smallest option that covers their current need and move up once real usage is measured, which avoids paying for headroom that never gets used. The comparison sections above set out the trade-offs; the FAQ page covers ordering questions.
Is it safe to buy Linode account configurations listed here?
Every configuration on this page states its specification and price exactly as supplied, and nothing is implied beyond what is written. Anything your project depends on that is not named should be confirmed on the contact page before you buy Linode account configurations.
Is Linode the same as Akamai now?
Linode was acquired by Akamai and its cloud computing products are presented as part
of Akamai Connected Cloud. The compute model and tooling continued largely unchanged.
What can I do with $100 in credit?
Comfortably run a small instance for an extended evaluation, test the API and
Terraform provider, and trial managed services. It is sized for assessment rather than
for running production indefinitely.
Why does the port 25 configuration cost more?
Outbound SMTP is restricted by default across essentially all cloud providers because
of abuse potential. An account where it is available is a different and less common
proposition, which is reflected in the price.
Do I need port 25 to send email from my application?
Usually not. Most applications send through an API or an authenticated relay on a
submission port, which does not require outbound port 25 at all. Port 25 matters when you
are operating the mail server itself.
How does Linode compare with DigitalOcean and Hetzner?
All three occupy similar developer-focused territory with predictable pricing.
Compare the configurations available here on
DigitalOcean and
Hetzner, or see the whole
Cloud Infrastructure category.
Can I run Kubernetes?
Yes. Linode Kubernetes Engine provides a managed control plane with instances as
worker nodes.
How do I order?
Choose the configuration in the selector above, add it to the cart and complete
checkout. Payment runs through the cryptocurrency gateway configured on this site.
Where to buy Linode account configurations
Everything needed to buy Linode account configurations is on this page — the full list of 2 options, the price of each, and the specification each one carries.
Every configuration described above can be ordered directly from this page. Select the one you need in the selector at the top, add it to the cart and complete checkout — there are 2 configurations listed, $25.00 – $100.00. Checkout collects only a name and an email address, and payment runs through the cryptocurrency gateway configured on this site.
If you are unsure which option fits, describe the workload on the contact page before ordering rather than after — it is usually possible to narrow the list quickly. Common questions are collected on the FAQ page.
What you get when you buy Linode account
Every listing on this page is a specific, named configuration rather than an open-ended arrangement. When you buy Linode account here you are choosing one of the 2 configurations described above, at the stated price $25.00 – $100.00, with the specification exactly as written.
- The exact configuration named in the selector, with no substitutions.
- The price shown, with no added fees at checkout.
- A checkout that asks only for a name and an email address.
- Direct contact before ordering if you are unsure which option fits.
If you are comparing providers rather than configurations, the Cloud Accounts and Cloud Infrastructure categories list the alternatives side by side. If you already know what you need, you can buy Linode account configurations directly from the selector at the top of this page.
Related products
Compare with DigitalOcean,
Hetzner,
OVHcloud,
UpCloud and
Atlantic. For larger platform workloads see
Buy AWS Account. Ordering questions are covered on
the FAQ page.
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