Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) vs Alibaba Cloud comparison

Akamai and Alibaba are both solutions in the Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) category. Akamai is ranked #3 with an average rating of 9.1, while Alibaba is ranked #7 with an average rating of 7.4. Akamai holds a 7.1% mindshare in ISI, compared to Alibaba’s 12.0% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Akamai users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 75% of Alibaba users who would recommend it.

Akamai Connected Cloud (Lin...

Read 31 Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) reviews

6,942 Views
5,901 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Alibaba Cloud

Read 19 Alibaba Cloud reviews

5,769 Views
5,769 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

Akamai Connected Cloud (Lin...

Alibaba Cloud

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 16, 2024

Alibaba Cloud and Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) compete in the cloud service category. Alibaba Cloud may have the edge for businesses focused on diverse infrastructure needs and cost-effectiveness in Asia, while Linode appeals with simplicity and speed.

Features: Alibaba Cloud offers secure hosting, a variety of infrastructure services, and user-friendly compute solutions, making it ideal for businesses with local data requirements. It is generally considered more cost-effective than AWS and Google Cloud. Linode, part of Akamai Connected Cloud, emphasizes simplicity and cost-effectiveness, with notable speed and flexibility in scaling resources. Users appreciate Linode’s straightforward Linux-based offerings and its global data center network.

Room for Improvement: Alibaba Cloud users suggest improvements in user-friendliness, API support, and SDK functions, with existing concerns about latency and customer support efficiency. Linode can enhance offerings by expanding data center locations, providing managed databases, and developing sophisticated DevOps workflows along with stricter security features on par with larger providers.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both Alibaba Cloud and Linode offer public, private, and hybrid cloud deployment options. Alibaba Cloud's technical support is recognized for its responsiveness but would benefit from enhanced documentation and knowledge. Linode is praised for simplicity and ease of use; however, there's a call for improvements in technical support availability and depth.

Pricing and ROI: Alibaba Cloud is acknowledged for competitive pricing and is often cheaper than AWS and Azure, with a pay-as-you-go model aiding effective cost management. Linode offers predictable, transparent pricing, valued for budget-friendly options, especially for smaller applications, and is compared favorably against the complex pricing of larger providers like AWS and Azure.

To learn more, read our detailed Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) vs. Alibaba Cloud Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) vs. Alibaba Cloud

September 2025

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Helped 872,098 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Akamai Connected Cloud (Lin...

Ranking in Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)

3rd

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms (9th)

Alibaba Cloud

Ranking in Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)

7th

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) category, the mindshare of Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) is 7.1%, down from 12.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Alibaba Cloud is 12.0%, up from 8.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode)	7.1%
Alibaba Cloud	12.0%
Other	80.9%

Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)

Featured Reviews

Julio Graham

Managing Director at a consultancy with 1-10 employees

Support resolves issues quickly and helps in expanding storage efficiently

Their support is really good. I can ask anything at any time, and they are able to resolve issues like reinstating deleted Linodes. They include features like retaining deleted Linodes for 30 days. They offer volumes and object storage, which I can add quickly, and they are high speed. I can easily expand space for database work. Although I used to create images, I found them outdated and prefer installing new images.

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Min HtetOo

Chief Marketing Officer at Soft Intelligence

The solution is useful for application development, but the user interface and user experience must be improved

The product must be made easier to use. The design is a bit tricky. When we log in to the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace and browse products, they look very small. The user experience must be improved. Alibaba Cloud must increase its partner network and brand awareness in our country. It will give our customers more opportunities to scale and save in the long run.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The management of different DNS domains is beneficial due to the user-friendly interface that provides all necessary options."

"I rate Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) a 10."

"The fact that you can do any Linux distribution is great. You can try out any Linux distribution, even some of the more obscure ones, and they are always keeping them up-to-date. As soon as a new distribution comes out, it is on the platform pretty much the same day, which I find really helpful."

"Service availability is the most valuable feature. It gives every user 100 percent uptime."

"The fact that you can get a person on the phone has just been fantastic."

"The virtual machine configuration tool is very helpful for setting up a new server or for modifying an existing server."

"The solution integrates easily."

"The most valuable feature is the domain settings page."

More Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) pros

"Feature-wise, it provides many features. ECS, VM, SP, bucket object storage, and databases are the most valuable."

"We use the solution to run VMs."

"What's good about Alibaba Cloud is its database service. It's also good in the virtual machine area."

"Alibaba support is responsive. When we create tickets in the Alibaba portal, they usually respond online or call me in five minutes."

"The product's initial setup phase was easy for me since I had a background in cloud products."

"Flexibility and costs were probably the most important thing for us. The cost was one of the big factors for choosing Alibaba Cloud relative to other cloud solutions, especially in Asia"

"It is easy to set up."

"It is a scalable product. So, scaling up or scaling down is possible."

More Alibaba Cloud pros

Cons

"They are already working on the firewalls and VLANs, which need improvement, and are now in beta. I am on the beta program for the firewalls, but I can't use it yet because they are only in Mumbai and Australia, and I am not in those data centres. This is the one thing that I have been waiting for almost since the day that I joined them, so it is nice that they are doing that. The VLANs will be an improvement as well, and I am keen and waiting for that."

"Everything is up-to-date for a small business. But for big business, they need to improve certain things. For example, there should be better security."

"Right now, they don't have multiple data centers. They have limited data centers. I am currently using the Singapore and Mumbai data centers, but I am looking for data centers in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. They need to improve the availability of their data centers and partnership engagements with cloud Panda solution providers, like us."

"I would like Linode (without cluttering things) to provide some type of DevOps workflow where people are configuring their pipelines from running their tests and deploying to their test server. Once approved by clicking a button, it just gets deployed to production. I would like something like Azure DevOps, which we use for large applications, and would be something nice to have in Linode."

"The main area for improvement is the lack of a backup feature to the local hard disk or storage."

"I don't know how all of their services work, but my understanding is that they're not offering the entry-level machine for someone who just wants to own their own web page."

"The Cloud Manager interface sometimes feels slow, particularly when accessed from Asia."

"The only improvement in this aspect of the service which I can think of is perhaps a pool of developers who could be hired for those cases where the need goes beyond the support offered."

More Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) cons

"The solution’s user interface could be improved."

"The solution name is not favorable in some markets and could cause us some problems gaining customers."

"The majority of the tools and processes, in general, have a lot of room for improvement."

"The flexibility of the solution could be improved."

"It is not robust."

"Alibaba Cloud has some problems related to latency and connection issues. If you go for a cloud solution provider, you will need to access the Internet, which may result in latency and bandwidth issues, leading to slowness in operations."

"The solution needs to improve its graphical user interface."

"Users use websites as a tutorial. However, the Alibaba Cloud website has the content, and the scripts are copied from Amazon Web Services. We had received customer feedback where the customer asked us to get formulate original content instead of copying from Amazon Web Services. It’s very odd and awkward."

More Alibaba Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Overall, it is cost-effective. They offer flat, no lock-in pricing. We also get discounts. As compared to its competitors, it is costly, but at the same time, it has many features."

"Compared to other providers, I find Linode's pricing a bit higher. Storage could be more affordable."

"Being that they are small, their prices are slightly higher than the large providers like Amazon if you compare raw computing power."

"The value for the price is really good."

"I pay just over £20 per month and have done so ever since I started eight years ago, which to me is good value."

"Pricing-wise, I find it simple in that they give you a monthly fee, but they also charge it hourly. So, if you are using the service for a small part of the month, then you are only paying for that small amount instead of a whole month, like with other providers. It is a flat monthly fee if you use the service for the entire month. It just makes things so simple. Because they are focusing on Linux, you don't have to worry about licensing costs of Windows and things like that. So, the price that they give you is the price that you need to pay each month. I just find it so simple compared to the likes of AWS and Azure. It is nice, easy, and predictable. I know exactly what I am going to be paying each month and what resources I get for that price."

"I pay $5 per month for each of three servers, for a total of $15 per month, and I normally prepay a few months in advance."

"The solution is neither cheap nor expensive."

More Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) pricing and cost advice

"I'm not sure about the exact pricing, but let's just say if it cost a dollar for Amazon AWS, it was closer to 70 to 80 cents for Alibaba Cloud."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten."

"I don't know the exact cost. It is cheaper than AWS."

"Pricing for Alibaba Cloud is a little bit cheaper. It has reasonable pricing."

"I noticed on the pricing that it's quite expensive. It is the price you pay for making a practical choice for enterprise-level companies since it has so many features and it fits an enterprise-level company just like our company right now."

"The solution's pricing is the same as AWS'."

"Alibaba Cloud is cheaper."

"The product is not that expensive."

More Alibaba Cloud pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Comms Service Provider

11%

University

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	28
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	1

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Linode?

When I started using Linode, I found its functionality easy to navigate, user-friendly and responsive to my needs. It provides clear reminders about services I'm not using, like DNS zones, which I ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Linode?

I find Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode)'s pricing very competitive. They never charge extra without improvements. I always receive more features for the same price.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Linode?

I am not satisfied with the customization options from Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) because I still haven't tried any new capabilities provided by them yet. I am still keeping it as a virtual se...

See all answers

What do you like most about Alibaba Cloud?

ECS is the most valuable feature of the solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alibaba Cloud?

On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Alibaba Cloud?

Alibaba Cloud needs to improve emails. Its pricing can also be lower. Regarding security issues, Alibaba Cloud is more complex and better suited for developers and R&D teams. On the other hand,...

See all answers

Comparisons

Amazon AWS vs Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode)

Compared 75% of the time

Google Cloud vs Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode)

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Azure vs Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode)

Compared 4% of the time

Cloudflare vs Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode)

Compared 3% of the time

SAP S4HANA on AWS vs Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode)

Compared 1% of the time

More Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) Competitors

Microsoft Azure vs Alibaba Cloud

Compared 27% of the time

Google Cloud vs Alibaba Cloud

Compared 21% of the time

Amazon AWS vs Alibaba Cloud

Compared 21% of the time

Tencent Cloud vs Alibaba Cloud

Compared 14% of the time

More Alibaba Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode)

October 2025

Download Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) product report

Buyer's Guide

Alibaba Cloud

October 2025

Download Alibaba Cloud product report

Overview

Simplify your cloud infrastructure with our Linux virtual machines and robust set of tools to develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and easier.

Linode believes that in order to accelerate innovation in the cloud, virtual computing must be more accessible, affordable, and simple. Our infrastructure-as-a-service platform is deployed across 11 global markets from our data centers around the world and is supported by our Next Generation Network, advanced APIs, comprehensive services, and vast library of educational resources. Linode products, services, and people enable developers and businesses to build, deploy, and scale applications more easily and cost-effectively in the cloud.

Increase storage capacity with additional Block Storage or S3-compatible Object Storage. Add instant Backups with complete independency to your stack. Ensure your applications and services are highly-available with Linode NodeBalancers. Deploy Kubernetes clusters with our fully-managed container orchestration engine.

Linode Pricing Page

CPU, transfer, storage, and RAM bundled into one simple price.

Akamai

Alibaba Cloud offers a comprehensive suite of cloud computing services to support growing enterprises worldwide, including data storage, relational databases, big-data processing, and content delivery networks.

Alibaba

Sample Customers

Best Buy, Panasonic, Giphy, Marco Polo, World Health Organization, Font Squirrel

Schneider Electric, BorderX Lab, Royal Philips, Catchpoint, Conversant, Blogmint

Buyer's Guide

Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) vs. Alibaba Cloud

September 2025

Free Report: Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) vs. Alibaba Cloud

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