Cheapest Cloud VPS September 2026: Alibaba Cloud vs Tencent Cloud Price Battle

Prices verified September 2026 — check official pages for latest deals.

If you're shopping for a cheap cloud VPS this month, you're in luck.

Both Alibaba Cloud and Tencent Cloud are running heavy

September promotions with some of the lowest prices we've seen all

year. But which one is actually the best deal?

In this head-to-head battle, we compare the two providers side-by-side

at every popular configuration tier, break down who each deal is best

for, and help you pick the right one for your use case.

⚠️ Note: Both Alibaba Cloud China and Tencent Cloud China require a China mobile number for real-name verification; ideal for overseas Chinese developers and China-focused businesses.

⚔️ Price Comparison Table — Side by Side

All prices are in CNY per year for new users, unless noted otherwise.

💡 Bottom line: Alibaba Cloud wins on pure price for entry-level and new-user flash deals. Tencent Cloud wins on mid-range (2C4G) value and same-price renewal plans. For existing users, it depends on your Tencent LightFriend level — high-level members get the better deal; everyone else should go Alibaba Economy e.

🥊 Round 1: New User Flash Sale — Who's Cheaper?

Alibaba Cloud: 38 CNY/year Lighthouse

Alibaba's flash sale is the absolute cheapest way to get a cloud

server — 38 CNY per year with 200Mbps peak bandwidth and

unmetered traffic.

• Pros: Unbeatable price; high bandwidth; unmetered traffic
• Cons: Stock is extremely limited; lower specs than Tencent's

starter plan; first-purchase only

• Best for: Hobbyists, students, anyone who just needs a cheap

server to play with

Tencent Cloud: 109 CNY/year 4C4G 3Mbps

Tencent's headline deal isn't the cheapest, but it gives you far more

resources — 4 cores and 4GB of RAM for just 109 CNY/year.

• Pros: Way more CPU/RAM; enough power for real workloads
• Cons: Higher price tag; lower bandwidth (3Mbps)
• Best for: Developers who actually need CPU and RAM for coding,

Docker, AI inference, etc.

Winner: Alibaba Cloud on price, Tencent Cloud on value.

If 38 CNY is all you want to spend, go Alibaba. If you can stretch

to 109 CNY, Tencent's 4C4G is the better value.

🥊 Round 2: 2vCPU / 2GB — The Sweet Spot

Alibaba Cloud: 61 CNY/year (Lighthouse new user)

The 2C2G Lighthouse at 61 CNY/year is one of the most popular

configs — perfect for blogs, small websites, and personal projects.

• Pros: Very cheap; enough for most small sites
• Cons: New-user only; renewal price unknown (likely much higher)

Tencent Cloud: 99 CNY/year (2C2G 4Mbps, same-price renewal)

Tencent's 2C2G plan at 99 CNY/year costs more upfront, but here's

the kicker: the renewal price is the same.

• Pros: Same-price renewal (no bait-and-switch); 4Mbps bandwidth
• Cons: Higher first-year cost than Alibaba

Winner: Depends on how long you'll keep it.

• If it's a short-term project (under 1 year) → Alibaba (61 CNY)
• If you'll keep it for 2+ years → Tencent (99 CNY/yr same price

vs Alibaba's likely 200+ CNY renewal)

🥊 Round 3: 2vCPU / 4GB — The Power User Tier

Alibaba Cloud: No direct equivalent

Alibaba doesn't have a 2C4G lightweight plan in the same price range.

Their general-purpose ECS instances are significantly more expensive.

Tencent Cloud: 188 CNY/yr (5Mbps) / 199 CNY/yr (6Mbps)

Tencent's 2C4G plans are the best mid-range deal on the market,

especially with same-price renewal.

• 188 CNY/yr (5Mbps) — great for web apps, Docker hosts, small

team dev environments

• 199 CNY/yr (6Mbps) — better for higher-traffic sites and

data-heavy workloads

• Both have same-price renewal — lock in the rate permanently

Winner: Tencent Cloud (by default — no Alibaba competitor at this tier).

If you need 2C4G, Tencent is the clear choice right now.

🥊 Round 4: 4vCPU / 4GB — Maximum Cores

Alibaba Cloud: No cheap 4C4G lightweight option

Alibaba's 4-core plans are in the general-purpose ECS lineup and cost

significantly more.

Tencent Cloud: 109 CNY/year (3Mbps, new user only)

At just 109 CNY/year for 4C4G, this is the most cores-and-RAM

you'll get for under 150 CNY anywhere.

• Pros: Insane value for 4 cores + 4GB; perfect for compilation,

Docker, multi-container workloads

• Cons: Only 3Mbps bandwidth; new-user only; renewal price will

be much higher

• Best for: Dev environments, build servers, anything that needs

CPU more than bandwidth

Winner: Tencent Cloud (by default).

🥊 Round 5: Existing Users — No New-User Discount?

Alibaba Cloud: Economy e-series 2C2G — 99 CNY/year

Alibaba's Economy e-series at 99 CNY/yr 2C2G is available to

both new and existing users with the same price for purchase and

renewal.

• Pros: All users eligible; same price buy & renew; 99 CNY/yr
• Cons: Only 2C2G; limited to e-series (not general-purpose)

Tencent Cloud: LightFriend up to 90% off renewal

Tencent's LightFriend loyalty program gives renewal discounts

based on your account level, up to 90% off (10% of list price).

• Pros: Can be extremely cheap for high-level accounts
• Cons: Only for renewal; depends on your level (which you might

not know until you check)

Winner: Depends on your LightFriend level.

• High-level Tencent user → Tencent (could be way cheaper than 99 CNY)
• Low-level or new to Tencent → Alibaba Economy e at 99 CNY/yr

🥊 Round 6: AI & GPU Deals

Alibaba Cloud: Agent-dedicated Lighthouse — 50% / 55% off

Alibaba's AI-agent-optimized Lighthouse instances come with built-in

LLM token quotas and are 50% off for 1 month, 55% off for 3 months.

• Best for: Prototyping AI agents without managing separate model APIs
• Pre-loaded with LLM tokens

Tencent Cloud: HAI — 1 CNY/month

Tencent's HAI (High-Performance AI Service) starts at just

1 CNY per month for GPU instances.

• Best for: Testing GPU workloads at near-zero cost
• Try before you commit to a full GPU instance

Winner: Tencent for pure cost, Alibaba for agent-specific tooling.

🎯 Which One Should You Choose?

Go with Alibaba Cloud if:

• ✅ You want the absolute cheapest possible server (38 CNY/yr flash sale)
• ✅ You're a new user and want 2C2G at 61 CNY/yr
• ✅ You're an existing user and need 2C2G at 99 CNY/yr (Economy e-series)
• ✅ You need the ¥12,500 new-user coupon stack
• ✅ You want AI agent tooling built into your server

Go with Tencent Cloud if:

• ✅ You want the best 2C4G deal (188–199 CNY/yr, same-price renewal)
• ✅ You want 4C4G at 109 CNY/yr (most cores/RAM per CNY)
• ✅ You plan to keep the server long-term (same-price renewal = no surprise hikes)
• ✅ You're a high-level LightFriend member (up to 90% off renewal)
• ✅ You want to try GPU/AI at 1 CNY/month
• ✅ You need a cheap managed MySQL instance (59 CNY/yr)

🛒 Pro Tips for Maximum Savings

1. Use separate accounts for new-user deals. The deepest discounts

are always first-purchase only.

2. Buy annual, not monthly. Both clouds give the steepest

discounts on yearly plans.

3. Check renewal terms before buying. Tencent's same-price-renewal

plans often end up cheaper over 2–3 years even if the first-year

price is higher.

4. Stack coupons (Alibaba). Alibaba's new-user coupon system can

add up to 12,500 CNY in extra savings.

5. Join group buys (Tencent). Buy 1 year, get 3 months free —

that's 25% extra value.

6. For the full breakdown with live prices, see the

detailed comparison page.

⚠️ Disclaimer

All prices verified September 2026. Prices, promotions, and availability

are subject to change at any time. Stock on flash-sale SKUs is limited.

Always check the official activity pages for the latest terms, pricing,

regional availability, and promotion end dates before purchasing.

👉 Claim Both Deals

For more cloud deal comparisons and buying guides, visit

lieke-ai.com.

Full comparison: Alibaba Cloud vs Tencent Cloud September 2026 Deals