Stack
Hetzner Cloud
A provider of plain virtual servers billed hourly, run from German, Finnish, and US data centers.
What it actually does
Hetzner sells raw virtual servers at low prices: about EUR 4.49/mo (~$5) buys a CX22 with 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, and 40 GB NVMe; on Railway, 4 GB of RAM alone runs $40/mo before CPU. EU servers include 20 TB of traffic.
Billing is hourly with no contract, so experiments cost cents, and one box can run a whole stack via free tools like Coolify or Dokploy for a Vercel-like git-push workflow at a fraction of the cost.
The catch is that you are the ops team: security patches, backups, SSL, and outages are all yours, with no managed database or git-push deploys out of the box. Hetzner raised cloud prices through 2026 (the CX line rose roughly 30-37% around April 2026); a June 15, 2026 change grandfathers existing servers while applying the higher rates to any new order or rescale, and prices exclude VAT.
Hetzner Cloud vs its main rivals
The tools people actually weigh against Hetzner Cloud: DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode. Same criteria for every column, including where Hetzner Cloud loses.
| Hetzner Cloud |  DigitalOcean |  Vultr | LLinode | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pricing & access | ||||
| Free tier | NoNone | NoSignup credit | NoSignup credit | NoSignup credit |
| Starting price | ~$5/mo (CX22) | $4/mo | $5/mo | $5/mo |
| Hourly billing | YesYes | YesYes | YesYes | YesYes |
Platform & runtime | ||||
| Built-in git-push deploy | NoDIY | YesApp Platform | NoDIY | NoDIY |
| Managed database | NoNone | YesPostgres/MySQL | YesManaged DB | YesManaged DB |
| Regions | DE/FI/US | 15 regions | 32 locations | 11 regions |
Scaling & limits | ||||
| Specs per dollar | 4 GB/2 vCPU ~$5 | 512 MB/$4 | 1 GB/$5 | 1 GB/$5 |
| Included traffic | 20 TB (EU) | 500 GB | 1-2 TB | 1-2 TB |
| Traffic overage | ~$1/TB | $0.01/GB | $0.01/GB | $0.005/GB |
Developer & API | ||||
| REST API | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| CLI | Free | Free | Free | Free |
Team & support | ||||
| Docs & tutorials | Community | Extensive | Docs | Docs + support |
- Strong raw value: ~EUR 4.49/mo (~$5) buys 4 GB RAM and 2 vCPU, where 4 GB of RAM alone is $40/mo on Railway
- 20 TB of traffic included on EU servers, far more than platform allowances
- Per-hour billing and no contract; one CX22 can run your whole stack via Coolify or Dokploy
- You are the ops team: patches, backups, SSL, and outages are all yours, with no managed DB or git-push deploys
- A 2026 price adjustment raised CX cloud prices roughly 30-37%; since June 15, 2026 the increase hits new orders and rescales while existing servers keep their rate
- No US CX line (cheapest plans are DE/FI only); US uses pricier CPX plans, and IPv4 bills even when the server is off
Pay less for it
4 ways foundSince June 15, 2026, existing servers retain their pre-adjustment rate until you rescale them.
No contract, so spinning servers up and down for experiments costs cents.
Run app, database, and deploys on a single CX22 via free Coolify or Dokploy.
The cheapest CX line with 20 TB traffic is Germany/Finland only; US CPX costs more.
StackTracker tracks what you actually pay for Hetzner Cloud and every other tool, flags overpayment, and shows the dollars you would save by switching.
Is it the right tool for you
- You know Linux basics and want maximum compute per euro
- You want to run your whole stack on one cheap box
- Your audience is in Europe and you want 20 TB of included traffic
- You want git-push deploys and a managed database out of the box → use Render
- You need US regions, polished tooling, and great docs → use DigitalOcean
Track what Hetzner Cloud and the rest of your stack cost
StackTracker adds up every subscription, plus your hours, so you see the real number.
Prices and limits last verified 2026-07-20.