Linode Linode (2 GB) vs. Linode Linode (4 GB)

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My friend, I'm so glad you're here! Today I've spun up brand new instance from Linode to run some benchmarks on. Each instance was spun up with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS x64 and were created in or around the New York / New Jersey area. Without further ado, here's the results.

Overview

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Last Benchmarked Mon, 01 Jun 2026 15:00:52 GMT Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:52 GMT
Linux Distro Ubuntu 24.04 LTS x64 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS x64
Kernel Version 6.8.0-111-generic 6.8.0-111-generic
MySQL Version 8.0.45-0ubuntu0.24.04.1 8.0.45-0ubuntu0.24.04.1
Redis Version 7.0.15 7.0.15
Location Newark, NJ Newark, NJ
Monthly Price $12.00 $24.00
RAM (GB) 2 4
CPU Cores 1 2
Storage (TB) 50 80
Storage Type SSD SSD
Transfer (TB) 2 4

CPU

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Vendor AuthenticAMD AuthenticAMD
Model Name AMD EPYC 7713 64-Core Processor AMD EPYC 7713 64-Core Processor
Clock Speed (MHz) 2,000.00 2,000.00
CPU Cache Size (KB) 512.00 512.00
BogoMips 4,000.00 3,999.99
Events per Second 1,678.52 3,444.02
Minimum Latency (ms) 0.28 0.28
Average Latency (ms) 0.59 0.29
Maximum Latency (ms) 9.24 4.83
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 2.81 0.3

Memory

Memory Read

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Operations per second 2,645,654.09 5,349,213.60
Mebibytes per second 2,583.65 5,223.84
Minimum Latency (ms) 0 0
Average Latency (ms) 0 0
Maximum Latency (ms) 6.1 3.16
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 0 0

Memory Write

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Operations per second 2,626,766.86 5,332,401.09
Mebibytes per second 2,565.20 5,207.42
Minimum Latency (ms) 0 0
Average Latency (ms) 0 0
Maximum Latency (ms) 6.15 3.25
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 0 0

File I/O

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Reads per Second 2,287.26 3,325.24
Writes per Second 1,524.77 2,216.89
Fsyncs per Second 4,881.82 7,095.98
Read Mebibytes per Second 35.74 51.96
Written Mebibytes per Second 23.82 34.64
Minimum Latency (ms) 0 0
Average Latency (ms) 0.11 0.08
Maximum Latency (ms) 5.87 13.12
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 0.34 0.22

Mutex

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Minimum Latency (ms) 1,654.99 864.93
Average Latency (ms) 1,663.47 931.61
Maximum Latency (ms) 1,670.46 968.34
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 1,678.14 960.30

MySQL

MySQL Read-only

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Transactions per second 7,825.00 5,919.00
Queries per second 78,250.00 59,190.00
Minimum Latency (ms) 1.14 1.29
Average Latency (ms) 1.28 1.69
Maximum Latency (ms) 5.27 8
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 1.5 2.03

MySQL Write-only

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Transactions per second 5,536.00 5,152.00
Queries per second 55,360.00 51,520.00
Minimum Latency (ms) 1.14 1.22
Average Latency (ms) 1.8 1.94
Maximum Latency (ms) 6.57 24.88
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 2.39 2.52

MySQL Read/Write

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Transactions per second 2,901.00 2,609.00
Queries per second 29,010.00 26,090.00
Minimum Latency (ms) 2.49 2.83
Average Latency (ms) 3.44 3.83
Maximum Latency (ms) 8.33 8.83
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 4.25 4.74

MySQL INSERT

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Transactions per second 8,340.00 7,493.00
Queries per second 83,400.00 74,930.00
Minimum Latency (ms) 0.67 0.73
Average Latency (ms) 1.2 1.33
Maximum Latency (ms) 5.42 15.06
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 1.55 1.86

MySQL Bulk INSERT

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Transactions per second 1,434,092.00 1,754,467.00
Queries per second 14,340,920.00 17,544,670.00
Minimum Latency (ms) 0 0
Average Latency (ms) 0.01 0.01
Maximum Latency (ms) 351.06 418.75
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 0 0

MySQL SELECT

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Transactions per second 174,599.00 130,180.00
Queries per second 1,745,990.00 1,301,800.00
Minimum Latency (ms) 0.05 0.05
Average Latency (ms) 0.06 0.08
Maximum Latency (ms) 3.6 4.63
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 0.07 0.1

MySQL SELECT (Random Points)

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Transactions per second 9,155.00 8,212.00
Queries per second 91,550.00 82,120.00
Minimum Latency (ms) 0.36 0.33
Average Latency (ms) 1.09 1.22
Maximum Latency (ms) 4.69 11.27
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 1.44 2.3

MySQL SELECT (Random Ranges)

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Transactions per second 8,799.00 8,956.00
Queries per second 87,990.00 89,560.00
Minimum Latency (ms) 0.3 0.42
Average Latency (ms) 1.13 1.12
Maximum Latency (ms) 4.2 4.66
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 2.26 1.44

MySQL UPDATE (Indexed)

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Transactions per second 6,915.00 7,381.00
Queries per second 69,150.00 73,810.00
Minimum Latency (ms) 0.69 0.81
Average Latency (ms) 1.44 1.35
Maximum Latency (ms) 38.35 8.43
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 2.14 1.76

MySQL UPDATE (Non-Indexed)

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Transactions per second 8,030.00 7,379.00
Queries per second 80,300.00 73,790.00
Minimum Latency (ms) 0.68 0.82
Average Latency (ms) 1.24 1.35
Maximum Latency (ms) 5.88 7.2
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 1.64 1.73

MySQL DELETE

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
Transactions per second 75,134.00 58,502.00
Queries per second 751,340.00 585,020.00
Minimum Latency (ms) 0.04 0.04
Average Latency (ms) 0.13 0.17
Maximum Latency (ms) 5.6 8.26
95th Percentile Latency (ms) 0.77 1.14

Redis

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
PING_INLINE per Second 37,369.21 44,444.45
PING_MBULK per Second 37,921.88 42,158.52
SET per Second 37,936.27 43,725.41
GET per Second 37,693.18 43,084.88
INCR per Second 37,523.45 43,917.44
LPUSH per Second 37,921.88 44,169.61
RPUSH per Second 36,075.04 42,918.46
LPOP per Second 37,285.61 43,630.02
RPOP per Second 37,993.92 42,900.04
SADD per Second 37,664.79 43,066.32
HSET per Second 37,565.74 42,826.55
SPOP per Second 38,182.51 43,821.21
ZADD per Second 37,750.09 43,706.29
ZPOPMIN per Second 37,299.52 46,554.93
LRANGE_100 (first 100 elements) per Second 26,048.45 30,084.24
LRANGE_300 (first 300 elements) per Second 15,156.11 21,141.65
LRANGE_500 (first 500 elements) per Second 10,071.51 17,825.31
LRANGE_600 (first 600 elements) per Second 9,412.65 15,969.34
MSET (10 keys) per Second 34,317.09 45,578.85

Redis Average Latency (ms)

Linode – (2 GB) Linode – (4 GB)
PING_INLINE0.870.58
PING_MBULK0.860.61
SET0.870.59
GET0.870.60
INCR0.880.59
LPUSH0.880.58
RPUSH0.940.60
LPOP0.900.59
RPOP0.890.60
SADD0.890.60
HSET0.900.60
SPOP0.880.59
ZADD0.890.59
ZPOPMIN0.900.55
LRANGE_100 (first 100 elements)1.300.89
LRANGE_300 (first 300 elements)2.191.25
LRANGE_500 (first 500 elements)3.301.50
LRANGE_600 (first 600 elements)3.571.59
MSET (10 keys)0.980.57

Conclusion

From the friendly robots:

Analyzing the benchmarks of the two Linode instances, the Linode (4 GB) outperforms the Linode (2 GB) across the board in most metrics. The 4 GB instance shows significantly higher performance in Redis operations, including higher requests per second and lower average latencies, indicating better throughput and lower response times. Similarly, the CPU, file I/O, and memory benchmarks reveal superior performance in the 4 GB instance, with greater event processing rates, lower file operation latencies, and higher throughput for read and write operations. While the 2 GB instance is more cost-effective, the 4 GB instance's substantial gains in performance make it ideal for applications requiring high computational power, large memory usage, or intensive I/O operations. Therefore, the Linode (4 GB) is recommended for CPU-intensive, memory-heavy, or I/O-demanding workloads, whereas the Linode (2 GB) might suffice for lighter tasks or where budget constraints are critical.

From the friendly human:

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