Compare OpenMetal and Vultr’s Cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service Solutions
Making the right Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) decision is important and can be complicated for technology leaders. The choice of a cloud platform impacts scalability, performance, cost, and even the overall success of a company.
This comparison examines two distinct providers: OpenMetal, known for its on-demand hosted private clouds, and Vultr, a global cloud provider offering a wide array of compute solutions.
In this guide, we’ll look at key features, pricing, and technical details to help you make an informed decision between the two providers. Our aim is to provide a neutral, factual comparison to help you determine which platform aligns best with your unique business requirements and technical needs.
OpenMetal and Vultr are both capable and trusted cloud infrastructure service providers, with differing approaches and use cases for their offerings.
OpenMetal offers a different approach to cloud infrastructure by providing fully private, OpenStack-based cloud environments, deployed on-demand. Their core offering revolves around “Cloud Cores,” which consist of three or more hyper-converged servers dedicated to a single client. This model grants users root access and significant control over their hardware and the OpenStack platform, without the licensing fees typically associated with private cloud software. They also provide dedicated bare metal servers and GPU clusters for specialized, high-performance needs.
OpenMetal emphasizes predictable costs, data privacy, and the flexibility to customize the cloud environment for specific workloads, making it an option for businesses seeking the benefits of a private cloud without the traditional complexities of managing physical hardware.
Vultr is an independent cloud infrastructure provider with a significant global footprint, offering a broad spectrum of compute services. These include virtual private servers (Cloud Compute and High Frequency Compute), Bare Metal servers, Kubernetes Engine, and storage solutions like Block Storage and Object Storage.
Vultr is recognized for its straightforward, developer-friendly platform, competitive pricing with hourly and monthly billing, and extensive network of data centers worldwide. Their offerings cater to a wide range of users, from individual developers and small businesses to larger enterprises looking for scalable, high-performance cloud resources that can be deployed quickly across numerous geographic locations. Vultr also provides dedicated GPU-accelerated instances for AI, machine learning, and other demanding computational tasks.
| OpenMetal | Vultr | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Model and Solutions | Hosted private cloud (OpenStack), dedicated bare metal, dedicated storage, dedicated GPU servers and clusters | Public cloud (VPS, bare metal, Kubernetes), scalable storage services, GPU instances and servers |
| Data Center Locations | 4 locations – Ashburn, Virginia; Los Angeles, California; Amsterdam, Netherlands; International Business Park, Singapore | 32 locations across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa |
| Control and Isolation | Root access to private clouds and bare metal; dedicated clusters | OS control on instances; bare metal for full dedication; private networking options |
| Hardware Customization | High on dedicated solutions; pre-defined server specs for Cloud Cores | Various pre-defined instances; some customization on bare metal |
| Pricing Philosophy | Predictable, often agreement-based for private/dedicated; fair egress | Granular, on-demand (hourly/monthly); pay-as-you-go for storage and bandwidth |
| GPU Offerings | Dedicated NVIDIA GPU servers and clusters (A100, H100) | Wide range of NVIDIA and AMD GPU instances/servers (A100, H100, L40S, A16, MI300X, etc.) |
| Pricing | Hardware-based; fixed costs; hourly, monthly, and up to 5-year agreement term options | Pay-as-you-go (hourly/monthly); transparent per-service; contracts for some bare metal |
| Storage Specialization | Dedicated Ceph storage clusters (object, block, file) | Scalable block storage (NVMe), tiered object storage (S3-compatible) |
| Trials | Free self-serve trial and Proof of Concept (PoC) options | $250 in credits available to get started |
| Support Options | Documentation, email, chat, help desk/ticket, dedicated Slack channel (all tiers) | Online tickets, extensive documentation, server status page, community resources |
| Support Levels | Hardware management, as-needed support only (included) Assisted management (available with 1-5 year agreement, $800 base fee + per box fee) | Standard support included with SLA; no distinct public premium support tiers |
^All information may be subject to change because of pricing or service adjustments and/or unique customer resources. Information obtained May 2025.
OpenMetal
OpenMetal is geared towards organizations that require the isolation, control, and performance of a private environment without the traditional complexities and upfront investment of building one from scratch. Their target users include:
- SaaS companies, hosting providers, and other technology-heavy businesses seeking cost-effective, high-performance infrastructure.
- Organizations with demanding workloads like big data (ClickHouse, Hadoop), AI/ML, blockchain, and confidential computing.
- Those needing to migrate from traditional public clouds for better cost predictability or control.
- Users who value open-source solutions and require root-level access and customization.
Vultr
Vultr appeals to a wide range of users, from individual developers and startups to larger enterprises, who need quickly deployable and scalable cloud resources globally. Their target users include:
- Developers needing flexible virtual machines, bare metal, or Kubernetes for application development and hosting.
- Businesses requiring specialized compute like GPUs for AI/ML or specific optimized VM types.
- Companies looking for a broad suite of IaaS products (compute, storage, networking, managed services) from a single provider.
- Users who prioritize ease of use, a simple control panel, and a pay-as-you-go pricing model across many global locations.
Deployment Models and Control
OpenMetal
Provides a “Cloud Core” starting with a three-server hyperconverged cluster, offering full administrative control over the underlying hardware and the OpenStack/Ceph deployment. This means root access and the ability to modify the cloud at a fundamental level. Private clouds can be provisioned quickly – under a minute when the resources are available and prewarmed.
Bare metal resources are available on-demand and can be integrated with private clouds or kept separate.
Vultr
Offers a more traditional public cloud deployment model for its VMs and services, where users interact through a control panel or API to provision and manage resources. While bare metal provides direct hardware access, the overall ecosystem is geared towards abstracted services. Control is at the OS level for VMs and bare metal, and at the service configuration level for PaaS offerings like VKE and Managed Databases.
Performance and Scalability
OpenMetal
Emphasizes high performance through dedicated bare metal and the ability to tune the private cloud environment for specific workloads.
Scalability involves adding more hardware resources to the private cloud cluster or deploying additional clusters. Their architecture is designed for demanding applications. Network performance offers up to 20Gbps per server.
Vultr
Provides a range of performance tiers for its Cloud Compute instances, including high-frequency and optimized options with NVMe SSDs. Bare metal servers offer maximum performance by eliminating the virtualization layer.
Scalability is generally straightforward, allowing users to deploy additional instances or upgrade existing ones quickly. Global data center presence aids in low-latency access for end-users.
Pricing Models
OpenMetal
Focuses on predictable costs. Their hosted private cloud starts with a base price for a 3-server “Cloud Core” (e.g., around $385-$583/month depending on agreement length for an XS configuration). Longer-term agreements (1-5 years) offer significant discounts compared to month-to-month.
Bandwidth egress is notable, with a substantial monthly allowance up to hundreds of TB and overages billed using the 95th percentile method, which can be more predictable and cost-effective for bursty traffic than per-GB charges. They emphasize no surprise billing and fair egress costs.
Vultr
Uses a more granular, pay-as-you-go pricing model for most of its services. Cloud Compute instances are billed hourly up to a monthly cap. Bare Metal, Storage, Load Balancers, Kubernetes worker nodes, and other services each have their own pricing structures, typically based on resource consumption (e.g., per month for a specific server configuration, per GB for storage). This offers flexibility but requires careful monitoring to manage costs for larger deployments. The Vultr Kubernetes Engine (VKE) itself has a free control plane, with costs incurred for worker nodes, load balancers, and block storage.
Support and Services
OpenMetal
Positions its support as a partnership. They offer complimentary consultations, assisted builds and deployments, and direct access to cloud engineers via shared Slack channels for quicker communication. Their support aims to be more personalized, working closely with customer teams. They provide documentation and a support portal for ticket-based assistance. An “Assisted Management” option is available for longer-term agreements for an additional fee.
Vultr
Provides support through an extensive documentation library, FAQs, and a ticketing system. They also offer general inquiry channels. Their support is geared towards a self-service model for a broad customer base, with comprehensive guides for their various products.
OpenMetal and Vultr are both viable and trusted cloud infrastructure options, but they cater to different needs and preferences.
OpenMetal is a good choice when:
- You need the control, performance, and security of a dedicated private cloud without the operational burden of building it yourself.
- Your workloads are demanding (e.g., big data, high-traffic applications, AI/ML on dedicated hardware) and benefit from a highly customizable, single-tenant environment.
- Predictable costs and generous, fairly-billed bandwidth are high priorities.
- You value open-source platforms like OpenStack and Ceph and want deep access and control.
- You prefer a more collaborative and hands-on support relationship.
Vultr is a good choice when:
- You require a broad range of IaaS and PaaS solutions deployable across many global locations.
- You need the flexibility to quickly spin up and tear down various types of cloud resources in a more public cloud-like model.
- Your use cases include things like web/application hosting, disaster recovery, or leveraging specialized hardware like GPUs on a flexible basis.
- You are comfortable with a majority self-service model and prefer a wide selection of pre-configured instances and services.
- You need a managed Kubernetes service or managed databases to reduce operational overhead.
Both are trusted and capable providers in the cloud IaaS industry. Choosing between OpenMetal and Vultr comes down to your core infrastructure philosophy and specific operational needs.
OpenMetal specializes in providing on-demand private clouds built on dedicated bare metal with OpenStack and Ceph, offering deep control and predictable costs, particularly appealing for organizations with demanding workloads or those who value open-source customization and a collaborative support approach. They excel where direct hardware control and a tailored private environment are valued.
Vultr offers a broad and versatile suite of cloud services from virtual machines and bare metal to managed Kubernetes and GPUs across an extensive global network. With its flexible, granular pricing and emphasis on rapid deployment, Vultr caters to a wide audience, from developers needing quick resources to businesses requiring a diverse, scalable infrastructure with a wide array of readily available tools and worldwide points of presence.
Interested in OpenMetal Cloud as a Vultr Alternative?
Schedule a Consultation
Get a deeper assessment and discuss your unique requirements.
Create Your Account
Take a peek under the hood of our cloud platform or launch a trial.