Meta Description: Comprehensive benchmark comparison between Vultr and Kamatera VPS hosting - Geekbench, iperf, sysbench tests reveal which provider offers better performance for your money.

Testing Background & Setup

After months of testing various cloud providers, I decided to pit two mid-tier contenders against each other: Vultr and Kamatera. Both promise solid performance at competitive prices, but which one actually delivers?

I deployed identical $20/month configurations on both platforms - nothing fancy, just your typical 4GB RAM, 2 vCPU setup that most folks would grab for their projects. The goal? Real-world performance testing that actually matters.

<h1>Raw Benchmark Results</h1>

Vultr Chicago Instance (198.211.99.23)

=== GEEKBENCH 5 RESULTS ===
System Information
  Operating System: Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS
  Kernel: Linux 5.15.0-88-generic x86_64
  Model: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009)
  Motherboard: N/A
  BIOS: SeaBIOS 1.13.0-1ubuntu1.1

Processor Information
  Name: Intel Xeon E5-2697A v4
  Topology: 1 Processor, 2 Cores
  Base Frequency: 2.60 GHz
  L1 Instruction Cache: 32.0 KB x 2
  L1 Data Cache: 32.0 KB x 2
  L2 Cache: 256 KB x 2
  L3 Cache: 40.0 MB

Single-Core Performance: 1247
Multi-Core Performance: 2389

=== IPERF3 NETWORK TEST ===
Testing against multiple targets:
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-10.00  sec  1.09 GBytes   936 Mbits/sec    sender
[  5]   0.00-10.10  sec  1.09 GBytes   928 Mbits/sec    receiver

Los Angeles: 847 Mbits/sec
New York: 923 Mbits/sec  
London: 456 Mbits/sec
Singapore: 234 Mbits/sec

=== SYSBENCH RESULTS ===
CPU Test (10000 events):
  Total time: 8.9234s
  Events per second: 1120.63

Memory Test (1GB):
  Total operations: 104857600
  Operations per second: 2847362.18
  Transfer rate: 2777.70 MiB/sec

Disk I/O Test (Random Read/Write):
  Read throughput: 185.42 MiB/s
  Write throughput: 123.89 MiB/s
  IOPS: 4736 read, 3167 write

Kamatera Dallas Instance (104.236.147.88)

=== GEEKBENCH 5 RESULTS ===
System Information
  Operating System: Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS  
  Kernel: Linux 5.15.0-91-generic x86_64
  Model: KVM Virtual Machine
  Motherboard: N/A
  BIOS: SeaBIOS 1.14.0-2

Processor Information
  Name: Intel Xeon Gold 6248R
  Topology: 1 Processor, 2 Cores
  Base Frequency: 3.00 GHz
  L1 Instruction Cache: 32.0 KB x 2
  L1 Data Cache: 32.0 KB x 2  
  L2 Cache: 1.0 MB x 2
  L3 Cache: 35.75 MB

Single-Core Performance: 1389
Multi-Core Performance: 2674

=== IPERF3 NETWORK TEST ===
Testing against multiple targets:
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-10.00  sec  1.15 GBytes   988 Mbits/sec    sender
[  5]   0.00-10.10  sec  1.14 GBytes   977 Mbits/sec    receiver

Los Angeles: 723 Mbits/sec
New York: 891 Mbits/sec
London: 312 Mbits/sec  
Singapore: 187 Mbits/sec

=== SYSBENCH RESULTS ===
CPU Test (10000 events):
  Total time: 7.6891s
  Events per second: 1300.55

Memory Test (1GB):
  Total operations: 104857600
  Operations per second: 3156789.44
  Transfer rate: 3083.78 MiB/sec

Disk I/O Test (Random Read/Write):
  Read throughput: 201.67 MiB/s
  Write throughput: 134.23 MiB/s
  IOPS: 5142 read, 3427 write

<h2>Provider Background: Who Are These Guys?</h2>

Vultr has been around since 2014, positioning themselves as the "developer-friendly" cloud. They've got 25+ locations worldwide and focus heavily on simplicity. Their control panel is clean, deployment is fast, and they've built a solid reputation in the developer community.

Kamatera, on the other hand, started in 1995 (yeah, they're old-school) and transitioned into cloud hosting. They offer more customization options but can feel overwhelming for beginners. They've got fewer locations but promise enterprise-grade infrastructure.

Performance Analysis Deep Dive 📊

CPU Performance: Kamatera Takes the Lead

The numbers don't lie - Kamatera's single-core score of 1389 vs Vultr's 1247 shows a meaningful 11.4% advantage. This translates to noticeably snappier response times for single-threaded applications like WordPress, Node.js apps, or anything that doesn't scale across multiple cores.

Multi-core performance follows the same pattern: Kamatera (2674) vs Vultr (2389) - that's a solid 12% improvement. For compilation tasks, video encoding, or parallel processing workloads, Kamatera's newer Xeon Gold processors clearly outperform Vultr's aging E5-2697A chips.

Network: Vultr's Global Reach Shines

Here's where things get interesting. Vultr consistently delivered better international connectivity:

Vultr's network optimization really shows - especially for international traffic. If you're serving a global audience, this could be the deciding factor.

Storage I/O: Kamatera's Enterprise Edge

Storage performance revealed another clear winner:

• Read Performance: Kamatera (201.67 MiB/s) vs Vultr (185.42 MiB/s)
• Write Performance: Kamatera (134.23 MiB/s) vs Vultr (123.89 MiB/s)
• Random IOPS: Kamatera wins both read (5142 vs 4736) and write (3427 vs 3167)

For database-heavy applications, file servers, or anything I/O intensive, Kamatera's storage subsystem delivers consistently better performance.

Use Case Scenarios 💼

Vultr Excels At:

• Global web applications (better international routing)
• Developer experimentation (simple deployment, good docs)
• Gaming servers (low latency to major population centers)
• CDN origin servers (excellent network peering)

Kamatera Dominates:

• Database servers (superior I/O performance)
• Compute-intensive tasks (better CPU performance)
• Enterprise applications (more configuration options)
• Long-term production workloads (consistent performance)

Pricing Comparison & Value Analysis 💰

Kamatera edges out on raw value - you get more bandwidth and better performance for the same price. However, Vultr's superior network and ease-of-use might justify the slight performance trade-off for many users.

Real User Experience Notes 📝

After running both instances for 3 weeks, here's what stood out:

Vultr Observations:

• Control panel loads ~~instantly~~ almost instantly
• One-click app deployments actually work (unlike some providers...)
• Support responses within 2-4 hours typically
• ~~Minor~~ Occasional network hiccups during peak hours

Kamatera Quirks:

• Interface feels dated but functional
• More granular resource allocation options
• Support can be hit-or-miss (sometimes brilliant, sometimes... not)
• Rock-solid uptime in my testing period

<h2>FAQ Section 🤔</h2>

Q: Which provider offers better uptime?

A: Both maintained >99.9% uptime during my 3-week test. Kamatera had zero unplanned downtime, while Vultr experienced one brief 4-minute network issue.

Q: How's the customer support comparison?

A: Vultr wins on response time and knowledge base quality. Kamatera's support is more technical but slower to respond initially.

Q: Can I easily migrate between these providers?

A: Yes, both support standard disk images. I'd recommend using a migration tool like rsync or specialized services for complex setups.

Q: Which is better for WordPress hosting?

A: Vultr edges out due to better global CDN integration and one-click WordPress deployment. The network performance advantage matters for international visitors.

Q: What about DDoS protection?

A: Vultr includes basic DDoS protection standard. Kamatera offers it as an add-on (~$10/month extra).

Q: How do backup solutions compare?

A: Vultr: $1/month for automated backups. Kamatera: $5/month but includes more snapshot options.

Q: Which scales better for growing applications?

A: Kamatera offers more granular scaling options - you can adjust CPU/RAM independently rather than fixed packages.

Q: Any hidden fees or gotchas?

A: Vultr charges for bandwidth overages ($0.01/GB). Kamatera includes more bandwidth but charges for premium support.

Cancellation & Refunds (Sort Of) 💸

Here's the reality check neither provider advertises prominently:

Vultr: No refunds, but they'll provide account credit for genuine issues. Billing is hourly, so you can destroy instances anytime to stop charges.

Kamatera: 30-day "satisfaction guarantee" but getting actual money back requires jumping through hoops. They prefer offering service credits.

Pro tip: Both platforms charge for storage even after destroying instances if you keep snapshots. Clean up your backups!

Final Verdict & Recommendations 🏆

After crunching the numbers and real-world testing, here's my take:

Choose Vultr if you:

• Need global audience reach ✈️
• Value simplicity and developer experience 🧑‍💻
• Plan to deploy multiple small projects 🚀
• Want reliable network performance worldwide 🌍

Overall Score: 8.2/10

Choose Kamatera if you:

• Need raw computing performance 💪
• Run I/O intensive applications 💾
• Want granular customization options ⚙️
• Value enterprise-grade infrastructure 🏢

Overall Score: 8.4/10

Winner: Kamatera takes it by a nose, primarily due to superior CPU performance and storage I/O. However, the choice really depends on your specific use case - Vultr's network advantages can't be ignored for globally distributed applications.

Both providers offer solid value at the $20/month price point. You honestly can't go wrong with either choice, but understanding your primary workload requirements will guide you to the right pick.

Testing conducted by: VPSJudge offers real-world VPS hosting reviews, benchmark tests, and expert comparisons to help you choose the right provider.

About the Author

Marcus Chen | Senior VPS Reviewer | Linux Architect | Network Infrastructure Consultant

Expertise

Global VPS Reviews: 10+ yrs, 500+ providers, performance/network/I/O/cost analysis
Linux Optimization: High-concurrency architectures, kernel tuning, KVM & containers (Docker/K8s)
Network Solutions: CDN acceleration, TCP/IP stack, DDoS mitigation, edge nodes

Certifications

LPIC-3 · CCNP · AWS SAP · CKA

Key Projects

Global VPS Performance Map: Auto-monitoring 30+ country nodes, quarterly industry reports
Million-concurrency Hybrid CDN: Reduced latency 47%, saved $220K+/yr bandwidth
Tech Columnist: 60+ in-depth articles on Phoronix/LowEndTalk

What's your experience with these providers? Drop a comment below and let's discuss! 👇