alwaysdata vs Hetzner (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, alwaysdata grades higher than Hetzner: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
alwaysdata grades higher on the free plan. Hetzner grades higher on value for money and platforms. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
alwaysdata
French managed hosting with unlimited sites, mailboxes and databases
Hetzner
German hosting: web hosting, cloud servers and dedicated servers
Which one is for you
Pick alwaysdata if
- Fits if you want a personal site with email on your own domain
- Works for hobby projects in several languages
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 1 GB of disk, 256 MB of RAM and 3 days of backups, for personal use only
- Watch out: prices are in euros and exclude VAT
- Skip it if you need 24/7 support, as that is part of Max; other plans get office hours
- Pricey if you outgrow Plus Large at €50, because Max servers start at €369 a month
Pick Hetzner if
- Fits if you're in Europe and want euro billing and German data centres
- Works for small PHP sites on cheap shared hosting
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a free plan or trial
- Watch out: prices are in euros excl. VAT and were read from a non-US page, so confirm a dollar figure
- Watch out: a one-time setup fee applies, such as €4.12 on Webhosting M
- Skip it if you want managed cloud servers, as they're unmanaged unless you add Managed Server
- Watch out: no domain is included
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAalwaysdataGood | 2.4GPAHetznerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPlus Small is €5 a month ex. VAT, about the cheaper quarter of web hosting, and there is a free plan for personal use. | AWebhosting S is €1.60 a month excl. VAT, under the cheaper quarter's $5.28 and under 60% of it. Cloud servers start at €5.49. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe free plan gives 1 GB SSD, 256 MB RAM and email on your own domain, enough for a personal site. It is personal use only. | FNo free plan and no trial on record; every plan is paid from the first day. |
| Features | BSeveral languages per site, unlimited sites, mailboxes and databases, backups, SSL and scheduled tasks. Free backups last only 3 days. | BWeb hosting, cloud, dedicated and auction servers, object storage, DNS and SSL, a REST API and Terraform. No gap in the core job is named, though domains are sold separately. |
| Ease of use | CA hosting panel with setup for each site and language, and no store rating. | CNo store rating on record. Web hosting uses a panel, but cloud and dedicated servers are unmanaged. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb panel only, with no integrations listed. | BWeb only, with Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, Docker and an API and CLI. |
| Best for | a small personal site with email | low-priced German hosting and servers |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: alwaysdata and Hetzner. How we grade
Price against what you get
alwaysdata starts at about $5.59 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Hetzner starts at about $1.79 a month and scores 2.7.
Hetzner scores higher and starts $3.80 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 2 score higher than alwaysdata for less, and none scores higher than Hetzner for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- alwaysdata also covers databases.
- Hetzner also covers file sharing.
At a glance
| alwaysdata | Hetzner | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | €5 per month, excl. VAT (Plus Small) | €1.60 per month excl. VAT (Webhosting S) |
| Free plan | Free plan for personal use: 1 GB SSD, 256 MB RAM, a quarter of a CPU and 3 days of backups, with email on your own domain and an alwaysdata.net address for sites. | None |
| Free trial | 30 days free on the Plus plans | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | ALWAYSDATA | Hetzner Online GmbH |
| Price read from | alwaysdata.com | hetzner.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
alwaysdata
- Prices are in euros and exclude VAT.
- The free plan is limited to personal use and carries 1 GB of disk, 256 MB of RAM and 3 days of backups.
- 24/7 support is part of the Max offer; other plans are answered during office hours.
- Max servers start at 369 euros a month, so there is a large step up from the 50 euro Plus Large plan.
Hetzner
- Prices are in euros and exclude VAT, read from a page that was served for a non-US visitor, so a US buyer should confirm the dollar figures.
- Web hosting packages do not include a domain; one must be ordered separately.
- A one-time setup fee is listed on the Webhosting page, for example €4.12 on Webhosting M.
- Cloud and dedicated servers are unmanaged unless you add the separate Managed Server product.
Key features
alwaysdata
- Several languages per site
- PHP, Python, Java, Node.js and Ruby can be chosen for each site, along with the language version.
- Unlimited sites, mailboxes and databases
- Plus plans set no quota on the number of sites, email addresses or databases. MariaDB (MySQL) and PostgreSQL are offered.
- Email on your own domain
- Mailboxes and aliases include filtering rules, anti-spam, an autoresponder and webmail.
- Backups and SSL
- Backups of files, emails and databases can be restored from the control panel, and SSL certificates from Let's Encrypt or your own are handled automatically.
- Scheduled tasks and background services
- Programs can be run on demand, on a schedule or as a background daemon.
- Resizable plans
- Plus plans can change capacity instantly, and a Max offer moves a site to a dedicated private server.
Hetzner
- Shared web hosting
- Four Webhosting packages with mailboxes, databases, cronjobs and PHP processes, and no minimum contract period.
- Cloud servers
- Shared-resource and dedicated-vCPU cloud servers, with stateful firewalls included at no extra cost and one-click apps such as Docker, GitLab CE and Nextcloud.
- Dedicated servers
- AX, EX, GPU, SX and DX lines, plus a Server Auction of refurbished machines starting at €78.70 a month.
- REST API and CLI
- Cloud resources can be managed through a REST API and a command-line tool, with integrations for Terraform, Ansible and Kubernetes.
- Storage products
- S3-compatible Object Storage, Storage Box backup servers and Storage Share, which Hetzner describes as GDPR-compliant storage.
- Domains, DNS and SSL
- Domain registration from €4.90 a year, DNS management and SSL certificates are sold separately.
Plans
alwaysdata
Free€0
Personal use only, no credit card to register: 1 GB SSD, 256 MB RAM, 1/4 CPU and 3 days of backups. The vendor says it may suspend a free account whose legitimacy is contested.
Plus Small€5
per month, excl. VAT
50 GB SSD, 1 GB RAM, 1 CPU and 7 days of backups, with unlimited sites, databases and email addresses and SSH access.
Plus Medium€20
per month, excl. VAT
100 GB SSD, 2 GB RAM, 2 CPUs and 20 days of backups, with the same unlimited sites, databases and mailboxes.
Plus Large€50
per month, excl. VAT
200 GB SSD, 4 GB RAM, 4 CPUs and 20 days of backups. An X-Large size with 500 GB SSD, 8 GB RAM and 8 CPUs sits above it.
Max€369
per month and up, excl. VAT
A private server configured to order, from 1 TB of disk, 16 GB RAM and 8 CPUs, with 24/7 support and 30 days of backups.
Hetzner
Webhosting S€1.60
per month, excl. VAT
10GB storage, unlimited mailboxes, 1 database, 1 cronjob, 2 PHP processes and a 192MB memory limit. No contract minimum.
Webhosting M€4.12
per month, excl. VAT
50GB storage, unlimited mailboxes, 5 databases, 5 cronjobs, 5 PHP processes and a 256MB memory limit.
Webhosting L€8.32
per month, excl. VAT
100GB storage, 20 databases, 10 cronjobs, 10 PHP processes, a 384MB memory limit, and Redis, SSH and Node.js.
Webhosting XL€16.72
per month, excl. VAT
300GB storage, unlimited mailboxes, 50 databases, 20 cronjobs, 20 PHP processes and a 512MB memory limit.
Cloud servers€5.49
per month and up, excl. VAT
Regular Performance shared-resource cloud servers from €5.49; Cost-Optimized from €5.99; General Purpose with dedicated vCPUs from €36.99.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, alwaysdata or Hetzner?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hetzner is cheaper to start with: about $1.79 a month, against about $5.59 a month for alwaysdata. alwaysdata starts at €5 per month, excl. VAT (Plus Small), and Hetzner starts at €1.60 per month excl. VAT (Webhosting S).
Which has a free plan, alwaysdata or Hetzner?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only alwaysdata has a free plan. Hetzner does not.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.