I've used Linode for the past three years, and before that, another two years (with 3 years of AWS in between). There has been a (reasonable) increase in prices, and not much else since the acquisition by Akamai.
Before Linode I used Servint which had more tools but also was much higher in prices, for about three years before my initial experience with Linode, which was my first complete soup-to-nuts VPS platform that required I perform all the software services, from installing and securing Linux, to all the other software servers, services, tools, and management, and continuing for the last 8-9 years.
Linode is like other competitors in general, though they were an early mover in the space, and I found them to be generally effective, with some lapses along the way. I was fine with AWS (especially with Lightsail, though it has drawbacks), but at some point they required all folks seeking support to have a not-inexpensive support contract. Even for cases where there is obviously an AWS problem, which requires AWS notification and intervention, they shut off the ability to communicate with them, even as a paying customer.
Linode has not done this yet, and so I stay with them. Eventually or ultimately I'd like to move to a less commercial space that is based not on inflated corporate earnings but solid services by professionals, such as how SourceHut is a credible response to GitHub and related, and various Mastodon instances such as Fosstodon, even though they rely on larger infrastructure companies (such as Fastly).