How to Self-Host WireGuard VPN on Contabo (2026): Free 1-Click WireGuard + WGDashboard

WireGuard is an open-source VPN protocol that creates encrypted tunnels between devices. Running it on your own server gives you a private VPN endpoint that you control: useful on public Wi-Fi, for reaching services on your own servers, or for giving a small team a secure way in. Contabo offers it as a free 1-click add-on called “WireGuard Server”: you pick it when you order a Cloud VPS or VDS, and Contabo deploys WireGuard together with WGDashboard, a web interface for adding peers and onboarding phones by QR code. This guide covers what the add-on includes, which plan to pick, how to order it, how to connect your devices and what it really costs.

What Contabo’s 1-click WireGuard includes, according to its help center:

• A Docker-based setup on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
• WireGuard plus WGDashboard, a browser interface for peer management and QR code onboarding.
• Caddy with a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate for the dashboard.
• Login details (URL and username) in your order confirmation email; the initial application password is the one you set when ordering.

Know what you’re signing up for. Contabo provides technical support for the VPS itself (network, hardware and the initial setup of the 1-click add-on). After installation, maintaining, updating and troubleshooting WireGuard and WGDashboard is your responsibility; Contabo points to the official WireGuard and WGDashboard documentation for that.

A self-hosted VPN is not a commercial VPN service

Contabo’s WireGuard page pitches self-hosting as an alternative to commercial VPNs (“no shared servers, no third-party logging”). That is true in the sense that nobody else shares your server, but it helps to be clear about what you get:

• One server, one exit address. Your traffic leaves the internet from your VPS’s IP address in the data center you chose. It is encrypted between your device and your server, but websites see the server’s IP, and that IP belongs to a server rented under your Contabo account.
• It is not an anonymity tool. A personal WireGuard server protects your traffic on untrusted networks and gives you a fixed, private way into your own infrastructure. It does not hide who you are the way a large shared VPN service or Tor might, and it does not come with a provider’s no-log promise; what is logged on the server is up to how you configure it.
• You are responsible for the traffic. Contabo’s help center describes its servers as unmanaged root servers with no controls on what you use them for, as long as nothing violates German law or Contabo’s Terms of Service. If an abuse complaint about your server arrives, you must resolve it and reply to Contabo’s Trust & Compliance team within 24 hours, or access to the server is suspended. Everything your peers do exits from your IP, so only give access to people you trust.

Which Contabo plan for WireGuard?

Contabo’s WireGuard page recommends four servers. Prices are EUR before VAT; the monthly-term price is what you pay on a 1-month contract, and the 24-month rate is the effective monthly price Contabo shows “for the first 24 months” of a 24-month subscription. Each plan’s Get Started button opens the order page with the WireGuard image preselected. The port speed is the one Contabo lists for each plan on its VPS and VDS pages.

On Contabo’s site, the Cloud VPS plans now sit under “Core VPS” in the menu; Cloud VDS is listed as “Max Performance VPS”. The plan names themselves are unchanged.

What the add-on actually needs

Contabo’s help center lists these system requirements for the WireGuard + WGDashboard add-on:

That is very little. The same table names “Cloud VPS 10” and “Cloud VDS S” as the minimum and recommended products; Cloud VPS 10 is not in Contabo’s current Cloud VPS lineup, where the smallest plan is Cloud VPS 4 (4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM), already far above the recommended figures. In practice the four picks differ less in what WireGuard needs and more in the port speed (200 to 750 Mbit/s) and in how much else you might want to run on the same server. We have not measured VPN throughput on these plans, so treat the port speed as the upper limit Contabo lists, not a VPN speed.

See current Contabo Cloud VPS prices

Step by step: order and install

1. Pick the server. Choose one of the plans on Contabo’s WireGuard page (Apps & Panels > WireGuard), or start from the Cloud VPS page and select WireGuard Server as the image. Contabo’s price data lists the WireGuard Server add-on at €0 (type “free”).
2. Choose the location and set the password. Contabo says the password is used both for accessing the VPS and for the application itself. Pick the region with your use in mind: Contabo’s FAQ suggests the location closest to you for low latency, or the region you want your traffic to appear from.
3. Place the order. New customers fill in the Personal Data tab and choose a payment method; existing customers log in. Continue to Confirmation and click “Order & Pay”. Processing can take a few minutes, after which Contabo emails your login credentials.
4. Wait for the app. Log in to the Customer Panel, click Servers & Hosting and select VPS. Contabo says it may take up to 30 minutes for the application to be installed and activated; once it is, you can open it directly from its logo under Quick Action.

Already have a Contabo VPS or VDS? Contabo says you can add WireGuard free of charge to an existing instance: in the VPS section choose the instance, click the three dots under More > Reinstall, choose Standard or Application Installation, pick the application from the Application list, set your password and click Install (with Advanced/Custom Image Installation you can use an SSH key and pick the application from the Cloud-Init list). The application button appears under Quick Action; allow up to 30 minutes. A reinstall replaces what is on that server, so back it up first.

First login and connecting your devices

1. Open WGDashboard

Use the URL and username from your order confirmation email (they are also in the Customer Panel, in the detailed view of your VPS) and the password you set during the order. From the dashboard you can add peers (one per device or user), see connection status and show a QR code for each peer. Contabo notes that you can add as many peers as you need; each has its own key pair and IP address. For the dashboard’s own features, see the WGDashboard documentation.

2. Install the WireGuard client

WireGuard’s official installation page lists apps for Windows (installer), macOS and iOS (App Store) and Android (Play Store or a direct APK). On Ubuntu, the official command is:

$ sudo apt install wireguard

On a phone, the simplest path is to add the tunnel in the WireGuard app by scanning the peer’s QR code from WGDashboard.

3. What a client configuration looks like

Each peer gets a small configuration file. This example from the official wg-quick(8) manual is a client that tunnels all of its traffic through a VPN gateway; your dashboard generates your own keys, addresses and endpoint, so never copy these values:

[Interface]
Address = 10.200.100.8/24
DNS = 10.200.100.1
PrivateKey = oK56DE9Ue9zK76rAc8pBl6opph+1v36lm7cXXsQKrQM=

[Peer]
PublicKey = GtL7fZc/bLnqZldpVofMCD6hDjrK28SsdLxevJ+qtKU=
PresharedKey = /UwcSPg38hW/D9Y3tcS1FOV0K1wuURMbS0sesJEP5ak=
AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0
Endpoint = demo.wireguard.com:51820

According to the manual, AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0 makes the tunnel the default gateway (all traffic goes through your server), and the DNS line sets the DNS server used while the tunnel is up. On Linux, a file saved as /etc/wireguard/wgnet0.conf is brought up with the command below (the # prompt means it runs as root):

# wg-quick up wgnet0

Running wg with no arguments calls wg show, which displays the current configuration of all WireGuard interfaces.

4. Behind NAT? Use a keepalive

WireGuard only sends packets when there is something to send. WireGuard’s quick start explains that a peer behind NAT or a firewall that needs to keep receiving incoming packets should send periodic keepalives with the PersistentKeepalive = setting on the peer; it calls 25 seconds a sensible interval that works with a wide variety of firewalls, and says to leave it off (the default) if you don’t need it.

After install: security and upkeep

• Link an email to the dashboard account. Contabo says it doesn’t manage or store customer passwords. If you change the initial password and haven’t linked an email for “I forgot my password”, the only way back in is a reinstall or new installation, which means data loss.
• Keep WireGuard, WGDashboard and Ubuntu updated. Updates are your job after the install, per Contabo; use the official WireGuard site and the WGDashboard documentation.
• Harden the server. Contabo’s blog has a guide to firewall rules, key management and other hardening steps for WireGuard (Hardening Your WireGuard Security). Remove peers you no longer use.
• DDoS protection. Contabo says all its VPS plans include always-on DDoS protection at no extra cost.

What it really costs

• The server: from €5.50 per month (Cloud VPS 4) on a monthly term, or €4.40 per month on a 24-month term. The fastest port among Contabo’s VPS picks, Cloud VPS 8 (600 Mbit/s), is €14.00 per month (€11.20 on 24 months).
• VAT: these prices exclude VAT; Contabo adds your country’s rate at checkout (its site lists, for example, 19% Germany, 20% United Kingdom and 21% Romania).
• Location: the prices above are for the EU location; other regions add a monthly surcharge that depends on the plan (on Cloud VPS 4, for example, Contabo’s price data on October 16, 2026 listed €1.05 for the UK or US Central up to €2.55 for Japan). Our full Contabo price guide has the regional details.
• The VPN software: the WireGuard Server add-on is listed at €0, and WireGuard and WGDashboard are open source. Contabo’s WireGuard page says you pay one flat monthly fee for the server.
• Traffic: Contabo lists incoming traffic as unlimited and unmetered, and outgoing traffic as unlimited under a fair usage policy; it reserves the right to throttle servers with exceptionally high or disruptive usage patterns. Worth knowing if you plan to stream a lot through the tunnel.
• Contract: the minimum initial term is 1 month; cancellation notice is none for pre-paid and 4 weeks for post-paid, per Contabo’s plan terms.
• Extras: Auto Backup and other add-ons are paid; check the order summary before you pay.

Which plan should you pick?

• A personal VPN for your own devices: Cloud VPS 4, which Contabo labels “Personal Use”. WireGuard itself needs only a fraction of its resources.
• A few users, or a VPN plus other apps on the same server: Cloud VPS 6 or Cloud VPS 8, mainly for the faster port and more room for other software.
• A business that wants dedicated resources: Cloud VDS L, the most expensive of the four picks, with a 750 Mbit/s port.

Order a Contabo Cloud VPS for WireGuard · Contabo home page

Running your own apps behind the VPN? Contabo also offers n8n, Nextcloud and GitLab CE as free 1-click apps; see our guides to self-hosting n8n on a Contabo VPS, self-hosting Nextcloud on Contabo and self-hosting GitLab CE on Contabo.

FAQ

Is the WireGuard add-on on Contabo free?
Yes. Contabo’s price data lists the WireGuard Server add-on at €0, and Contabo’s WireGuard page calls it “Free Pre-Installed WireGuard”. You pay for the server and any paid extras you choose.

What is the cheapest server Contabo recommends for WireGuard?
Cloud VPS 4 (4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 100 GB SSD, 200 Mbit/s port): €5.50 per month on a monthly term or €4.40 per month on a 24-month term, before VAT. Contabo labels it “WireGuard Personal Use”.

What are the requirements for Contabo’s WireGuard add-on?
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, with a minimum of 0.5 GB RAM, 1 GB storage and 1 CPU (recommended: 1 GB RAM, 5 GB storage, 2 CPUs), according to Contabo’s help center.

How long does the 1-click install take?
Contabo says the whole process can take up to 30 minutes: the server is usually provisioned within a few minutes, and the rest of that time is for installing and activating WireGuard.

Can I add WireGuard to a server I already have?
Yes. Contabo says you can install it free of charge on an existing VPS or VDS via Reinstall in the Customer Panel; a reinstall replaces the server’s contents, so back up first.

How many devices can connect?
Contabo says you can add as many peers (users or devices) as you need; each gets its own key pair and IP address.

Is a self-hosted WireGuard VPN anonymous?
No. It encrypts your traffic between your devices and your server, but everything exits from your server’s IP address, which is tied to your Contabo account. It is a private VPN you control, not an anonymity service.

Sources

All checked on October 18, 2026 (Europe/Bucharest).

• Contabo – WireGuard Server: https://contabo.com/en/wireguard-server/
• Contabo – Cloud VPS: https://contabo.com/en/vps/
• Contabo Help Center – What is WireGuard + WGDashboard and how do I use it on Contabo?: https://help.contabo.com/en/support/solutions/articles/103000368955-what-is-wireguard-wgdashboard-and-how-do-i-use-it-on-contabo-
• Contabo Help Center – Are there any restrictions on the content allowed on my server?: https://help.contabo.com/en/support/solutions/articles/103000271238-are-there-any-restrictions-on-the-content-allowed-on-my-server-
• WireGuard – Conceptual overview: https://www.wireguard.com/
• WireGuard – Installation: https://www.wireguard.com/install/
• WireGuard – Quick Start: https://www.wireguard.com/quickstart/
• WireGuard tools – wg-quick(8) manual: https://git.zx2c4.com/wireguard-tools/about/src/man/wg-quick.8
• WGDashboard – Documentation: https://docs.wgdashboard.dev/