Contabo pays a fixed commission of roughly €5 to €80 per sale depending on the product, and it pays on the first order only. If a customer buys three servers, you are paid for one.
What Contabo sells
Contabo is a German hosting provider known for offering more RAM, CPU and storage per euro than almost anyone else. VPS, dedicated servers, object storage and shared hosting, with data centres across Europe, the US and Asia.
The trade-off is support and polish. Contabo competes purely on specification per euro, and its buyers know exactly what they're accepting in return.
Understanding the commission
Payouts are flat and scale with the product ordered, from a few euros on entry hosting up to around €80 on a large dedicated server. There's no revenue share and no renewal income.
The first-order restriction is the detail that matters most and is missing from nearly every write-up. Commission accrues on a new customer's first order only. Contabo's whole appeal is cheap capacity, so its customers frequently buy multiple servers, and you see none of that.
Write accordingly: push readers toward ordering the larger machine first rather than starting small and scaling up, because only that first order pays you.
Who converts
Self-hosters, developers running side projects, and anyone comparing raw specifications on a budget. Content that works: VPS price-per-gigabyte comparisons, self-hosting guides for Nextcloud, Plex or game servers, and honest posts about what you give up for the price.
Managed hosting audiences and non-technical readers will not convert. Contabo gives you a server and very little else, and readers expecting cPanel hand-holding will bounce or churn.
Contabo vs DigitalOcean for affiliates
Contabo
DigitalOcean
Commission
Around €5 to €80, first order only
$25 per new paying customer
Repeat orders
Not commissionable
Not applicable
Cookie
Standard network window
90 days
Audience
Spec-per-euro buyers
Developers and DevOps
A large Contabo dedicated server pays several times what DigitalOcean pays, but only once and only on the first order. DigitalOcean has the better documentation ecosystem to write alongside. For budget self-hosting content Contabo wins; for tutorials, DigitalOcean.
Getting approved
Apply through the Contabo affiliate partner program. Approval is routine. Read the terms on multi-product orders carefully before planning content around it.
Verdict
Decent flat payouts on large orders, undermined by the first-order-only rule in a market where customers habitually buy several machines. Target readers making one significant purchase rather than those building out gradually, and lead on specification comparisons where Contabo genuinely wins.
How much does Contabo pay?
A fixed amount per sale, roughly EUR 5 to EUR 80 depending on the product ordered. There is no revenue share and no renewal income.
Does Contabo pay on every order?
No, and this is the detail most write-ups miss. Commission accrues on a new customer first order only. If they order multiple products you are paid for one.
How should that change my content?
Push readers toward ordering the larger machine first rather than starting small and scaling up, because only that first order pays you.
Who converts on Contabo?
Self-hosters and developers comparing raw specification per euro. Managed hosting audiences expecting cPanel hand-holding will bounce or churn.
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