Contabo VPS CPU Benchmark: Why Performance VPS Is Worth the Upgrade

In this post, we are taking a closer look at two Contabo VPS product lines: Core and Performance. The idea behind these VPS product lines is simple: different workloads need different machines. Each line is shaped around real use cases, so you can pick the one that fits your project best. 

To show the differences in practice, we ran Geekbench on the CPUs for both lines and put the results next to the price. This post walks through the numbers, shows which workloads each line fits best, and helps you choose the right one for your projects. 

• Performance VPS gets more done for your money: 2.4x the multi-core score of Core VPS in Geekbench 6 (2.7x in Geekbench 7) and 2.0x the single-core score. Its CPU throughput alone keeps pace with or exceeds the price difference.
• On top of the CPU, Performance includes PCIe Gen 4 NVMe storage on every plan, more storage and snapshots, and up to 1 Gbit/s port speed.
• Core VPS gives you dependable everyday performance at the lowest price per vCPU in the portfolio.
• Existing customers keep their current plans. Nothing forces a switch.

Every workload has its own sweet spot. The numbers below show where each line shines, so you can match your project to the right one. The benchmark measures processor performance. The price comparison further down adds what each line includes beyond the CPU, from storage to network. 

Geekbench 6 measures processor performance in two numbers. The single-core score shows how fast one core works through a task. The multi-core score shows how much work the whole server gets done in parallel. Higher is better. 

Geekbench 6	Core VPS	Performance VPS
Single-core	814	1634
Multi-core	3381	8213

Ratio (Geekbench 6)	Single-core	Multi-core
Performance vs. Core	2.0x	2.4x

• Performance leads on throughput. On the latest generations of AMD EPYC, it delivers 2.4x the multi-core score of Core, so the whole server handles well over twice the parallel work. Each individual task also runs about twice as fast, thanks to the doubled single-core score. 
• Core delivers dependable everyday performance. It is built on proven hardware and comes with the lowest price per vCPU in the portfolio. 

We also ran Geekbench 7. Its scores cannot be compared with Geekbench 6, but the picture is the same: Performance leads and Core follows. 

Geekbench 7	Core VPS	Performance VPS
Single-core	782	1518
Multi-core	3510	9389

In Geekbench 7, the multi-core lead grows to about 2.7x, with about 1.9x on single-core.

A WordPress blog, a nightly backup job, or a development environment that runs a few hours a day gets everything it needs from Core. You get reliable performance, plus the RAM and storage your project uses, at the best price per vCPU we offer. Pay for what your workload needs, and keep the rest of your budget. 

Good fit: 

• Web hosting, blogs, and CMS platforms like WordPress 
• Private mail servers and low-demand databases 
• Development environments 
• Backup and storage tasks 

The headline result of this benchmark is throughput. At 2.4x Core’s multi-core score, a Performance server handles well over twice the parallel work, such as CI/CD pipelines, concurrent API requests or background workers. If your application depends on the speed of one core, whether that is a database query, an API request, or a build step, Performance puts the latest AMD EPYC generations and NVMe storage to work for you. PCIe Gen 4 NVMe storage is standard on every plan, so I/O-heavy work such as database writes, package installs and container builds is less likely to wait on the disk. 

Good fit: 

• Databases under steady or growing load 
• CI/CD pipelines 
• API-based apps with real traffic 
• AI agent frameworks and modern application stacks

We compare two sizes that match exactly on vCPU and RAM in both lines: 12 vCPU / 48 GB and 16 vCPU / 64 GB. They give the fairest side-by-side. Prices are net (excluding VAT) per month for the first 24 months, and all plans include unlimited traffic. 

	Core VPS	Performance VPS
Plan	Cloud VPS 12	Cloud VPS Plus 12
Storage	400 GB SSD / 200 GB NVMe	600 GB NVMe
Port speed	800 Mbit/s	1 Gbit/s
Snapshots	3	5
Price per month (net)	€20.00	€47.20

	Core VPS	Performance VPS
Plan	Cloud VPS 16	Cloud VPS Plus 16
Storage	500 GB SSD / 250 GB NVMe	750 GB NVMe
Port speed	1 Gbit/s	1 Gbit/s
Snapshots	3	5
Price per month (net)	€29.60	€63.20

• Performance costs about 2.4x Core at 12 vCPU and about 2.1x at 16 vCPU. The larger the plan, the smaller the premium for the latest-generation hardware. In other words, the CPU throughput alone matches or beats the price difference. On top of that, you get NVMe storage on every plan with 50% more capacity than Core’s SSD option, five instead of three snapshots, and a 1 Gbit/s port on both sizes. 

• Steady, modest traffic, and cost matters most? Look at Core. 
• Growing traffic, parallel jobs, or databases where CPU or disk is the bottleneck? Look at Performance: 2.4x the multi-core score, twice the single-core speed and NVMe storage as standard. 
• Planning AI training or large-model inference? Contabo GPU VPS builds on the Performance platform and adds a dedicated NVIDIA GPU. 

For workloads that need physical hardware, such as maximum disk I/O, full hardware control, or single-tenant compliance requirements, Contabo Dedicated Servers sit alongside the VPS portfolio. 

Your current plan keeps running. Moving to Performance is a voluntary choice, made when your workload tells you it is time. Signals to watch for: 

• Slow response times or high CPU usage on Core: look at Performance. 
• Build queues, batch jobs or disk wait times piling up: Performance’s multi-core lead and NVMe storage address both. 

Because Core and Performance run on different hardware generations, a move may involve a migration step rather than an in-place resize. Check the upgrade options in your control panel or with Contabo support before planning a move, especially for production workloads where downtime needs to be scheduled.