What is Hetzner Cloud?
Hetzner is a German web hosting company founded in 1997, known for offering some of the most competitively priced dedicated servers in Europe. Their cloud division, Hetzner Cloud, brings this same value proposition to VPS hosting — delivering NVMe-based virtual servers at prices that make competitors look expensive.
While Vultr and DigitalOcean dominate the US market, Hetzner has built a loyal following among European users and international projects that value German engineering quality at budget prices. Their €3.71/month CX21 plan (2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB NVMe) regularly tops "best value VPS" lists.
Hetzner Cloud Pricing & Plans 2026
Hetzner offers three main cloud server lines: CX (standard), CAX (arm64), and CPX (amd epyc). All include NVMe storage:
| Plan | vCPU | RAM | Storage (NVMe) | Bandwidth | Price (€/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CX21 | 2 | 4GB | 40GB | 20TB | €5.78 |
| CX31 | 2 | 8GB | 80GB | 20TB | €10.78 |
| CX41 | 4 | 16GB | 160GB | 20TB | €20.78 |
| CAX21 (ARM) | 2 | 4GB | 40GB | 20TB | €5.78 |
| CPX21 (EPYC) | 2 | 4GB | 40GB | 20TB | €6.28 |
| CPX31 (EPYC) | 3 | 8GB | 80GB | 20TB | €11.28 |
All Hetzner Cloud plans include NVMe storage — no premium required. Compare this to DigitalOcean where NVMe starts at $36/month.
Our Performance Benchmarks
We tested a CX21 plan (2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB NVMe) from Hetzner's Nuremberg data center:
🔬 Benchmark Results — CX21 (2 vCPU, 4GB, NVMe)
Key finding: Hetzner's NVMe performance is excellent — faster than DigitalOcean's basic SSDs and competitive with Vultr's High Frequency plans. For disk-intensive workloads in Europe, Hetzner delivers exceptional value.
Key Features of Hetzner Cloud
🇩🇪 German Quality, German Reliability
Hetzner owns and operates its own data centers in Germany and Finland — no third-party hosting. This means tighter control over hardware quality, cooling, and network infrastructure. Their data centers run on 100% renewable energy, a major plus for environmentally conscious projects.
💾 All NVMe, All the Time
Every Hetzner Cloud plan includes NVMe storage — no premium tier needed. This is unique in the VPS market. Whether you're paying €5.78 or €100+, you get NVMe performance.
🔒 European Data Privacy
GDPR compliance is built-in. Your data stays in Germany or Finland — ideal for European businesses, agencies, or anyone concerned about US surveillance programs. No GDPR headaches.
📊 Generous Bandwidth
All plans include 20TB of outgoing bandwidth — more than enough for most projects. After 20TB, excess is billed at €1/TB. Inbound is always free.
🔧 Simple, No-Nonsense Features
Hetzner doesn't try to be everything to everyone. You get: snapshots, floating IPs, firewall, load balancers, and block storage. That's it. No managed databases, no fancy app platform, no marketplace. For power users who want control, this simplicity is a feature.
What We Like & Don't Like
👍 What We Like
✅ Best NVMe value in Europe — €5.78 for 4GB RAM + NVMe
✅ All plans include NVMe — no premium tier required
✅ 20TB bandwidth on all plans
✅ German engineering quality and reliability
✅ GDPR compliant, European data centers
✅ 100% renewable energy
✅ Simple, transparent pricing
✅ Excellent for European latency-sensitive projects
👎 Room for Improvement
❌ Only 3 data center locations (Germany, Finland, USA via ash/falkenstein)
❌ No Windows VPS options
❌ Limited global coverage (not ideal for Asian users)
❌ High ping from Asia and South America (~200ms+)
❌ No managed services (databases, containers, etc.)
❌ Documentation primarily in German
❌ Support can be slower outside business hours (CET)
Hetzner vs the Competition
| Feature | Hetzner Cloud | Vultr | DigitalOcean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry Price | €3.71/mo (CX21: €5.78) | $2.50/mo | $4/mo |
| Entry Plan Specs | 2 vCPU, 4GB, NVMe | 1 vCPU, 512MB, NVMe (HF) | 1 vCPU, 512MB, SSD |
| NVMe Included | ✅ All plans | ✅ HF plans only | ❌ Extra cost ($36+) |
| Data Centers | 3 (EU focus) | 25+ (global) | 12 (global) |
| Bandwidth | 20TB | 1-4TB | 1-6TB |
| Windows VPS | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Managed DB | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| GDPR Compliant | ✅ Native | ✅ | ✅ |
Who Should Choose Hetzner Cloud?
🎯 Best Use Cases for Hetzner Cloud
✅ Perfect for:
- European businesses needing GDPR compliance
- Budget-conscious developers wanting NVMe performance
- Disk-intensive workloads (databases, caching, storage)
- Projects hosted in Europe targeting European users
- Environmentally conscious projects (100% renewable energy)
- Anyone prioritizing value over bells and whistles
❌ Consider alternatives if:
- You need US or Asian data centers (choose Vultr)
- You need managed services like databases (choose DigitalOcean)
- You prefer English documentation (Hetzner's docs can be sparse)
- You need Windows VPS (choose Interserver)
- You need 24/7 live chat support
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hetzner Cloud good for beginners?
Hetzner Cloud is slightly less beginner-friendly than DigitalOcean. The documentation is primarily in German, and there's no one-click marketplace. However, if you're comfortable with basic Linux administration, Hetzner offers exceptional value. DigitalOcean may be easier if you're just starting out.
Hetzner vs Vultr — which is better?
For European users: Hetzner wins on price-performance with NVMe at €5.78. For global coverage: Vultr wins with 25+ data centers worldwide. For US-based projects: Vultr's High Frequency plans offer better latency. Choose based on your primary audience location.
Can I get a refund if I'm not satisfied?
Yes — Hetzner offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for new customers. This gives you a full month to test their infrastructure risk-free.
Does Hetzner offer Windows VPS?
No, Hetzner Cloud only offers Linux-based virtual servers. If you need Windows, consider Interserver which includes Windows VPS on all plans.
How does Hetzner's pricing work with USD?
Hetzner's prices are in Euros (€). At current exchange rates (~$1.08/€), the CX21 costs approximately $6.24/month. Still excellent value for the specs, but DigitalOcean's $4 Basic Droplet is technically cheaper for absolute beginners — though you get less RAM and slower storage.
Is Hetzner really 100% renewable energy?
Yes — Hetzner operates its own data centers powered entirely by renewable energy. They use a combination of hydroelectric, solar, and wind power. This is one of Hetzner's unique selling points for environmentally conscious projects.
Our Verdict
Hetzner Cloud is the best-kept secret in European VPS hosting. At €5.78/month for 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, and NVMe storage — all with 20TB bandwidth — no other major provider comes close on value. The catch? You're limited to European data centers and must be comfortable with a more hands-on approach (no managed services, primarily German documentation).
If your project targets European users, requires GDPR compliance, or you simply want maximum performance per Euro, Hetzner Cloud is the clear winner. Pair it with Cloudflare for global content delivery, and you get enterprise-tier performance at startup costs.
🇩🇪 Try Hetzner Cloud — Europe's Best Value VPS
2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB NVMe from €5.78/month.▶ Get Hetzner Cloud →