BuyVM vs Hetzner (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hetzner grades higher than BuyVM: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hetzner grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BuyVM
Low-cost KVM VPS slices with unmetered bandwidth and block storage
Hetzner
German hosting: web hosting, cloud servers and dedicated servers
Which one is for you
Pick BuyVM if
- Fits if you want a cheap Linux VPS and can run it yourself
- Works for small projects that need block storage
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want help running the server, as slices are unmanaged
- Watch out: Slice 512 to 2048 share CPU, and only the 4096 slice lists dedicated CPU
- Pricey if you add DDoS protection, managed databases or nightly backups, all paid add-ons
- Skip it if you need many locations, as there are three
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
| 1.8GPABuyVMWeak | 2.4GPAHetznerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | ASlice 512 is $24 a year, or $2 a month, and Slice 1024 is $3.50 a month, both under the $5 cheaper-quarter start. | 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 | FNo free plan and no trial on the pages read, so you pay from day one. | FNo free plan and no trial on record; every plan is paid from the first day. |
| Features | CKVM slices, block storage, a free DirectAdmin license and a control panel. Only three locations, and backups and DDoS protection are add-ons. | 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 | DUnmanaged servers you set up and secure yourself. | 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 | low-cost unmanaged KVM slices | 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: BuyVM and Hetzner. How we grade
Price against what you get
BuyVM starts at $2 a month when paid by the year and scores 1.7 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 $0.21 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 8 score higher than BuyVM 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
- BuyVM also covers databases and file management.
- Hetzner also covers file sharing.
At a glance
| BuyVM | Hetzner | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $24.00 per year (Slice 512) | €1.60 per month excl. VAT (Webhosting S) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | BuyVM (a division of Cloudzy) | Hetzner Online GmbH |
| Price read from | buyvm.net | hetzner.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
BuyVM
- The cheapest slice is billed yearly, and the others are billed monthly.
- The Slice 512 to 2048 plans share CPU on a fair-share basis; only the 4096 slice lists dedicated CPU usage.
- DDoS protection, managed databases and nightly backups are paid add-ons.
- The shared hosting page linked from the product list returned a page-not-available message when read, so only VPS pricing is recorded.
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
BuyVM
- KVM slices
- Virtual servers described as dedicated slices, running Linux, BSD or Windows with SSD storage and unmetered bandwidth.
- Block storage slabs
- Add-on block storage is sold from $1.25 a month for 256 GB of HDD and can be attached for backups, media or a self-built object store.
- Free DirectAdmin license
- A DirectAdmin control panel license comes with every service, alongside the Softaculous installer and Blesta billing panel as free software.
- Stallion control panel
- BuyVM's own panel is used to manage servers, and the site lists a wiki and a community Discord for help.
- DDoS protection
- Protection of 3500Gbps and more is sold as a paid add-on, along with managed database servers and nightly backups.
- Three locations
- Servers are offered in Las Vegas, New York and Luxembourg.
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
BuyVM
Slice 512$24.00
per year
1 core at 3.50+ GHz on fair-share CPU, 512 MB memory, 10 GB SSD, unmetered bandwidth and 1 IPv4 address.
Slice 1024$3.50
per month
1 core on fair-share CPU, 1024 MB memory, 20 GB SSD, unmetered bandwidth and 1 IPv4 address.
Slice 2048$7.00
per month
1 core on fair-share CPU, 2048 MB memory, 40 GB SSD, unmetered bandwidth and 1 IPv4 address.
Slice 4096$15.00
per month
1 core with dedicated CPU usage, 4096 MB memory, 80 GB SSD, unmetered bandwidth and 1 IPv4 address.
High-volume VPS$30.00
per month and up
From 2 cores, 8 GB memory and 160 GB SSD at an unlimited 1000 Mbps; larger sizes are $45 and $60 a month.
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, BuyVM or Hetzner?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hetzner is cheaper to start with: about $1.79 a month, against $2 a month when paid by the year for BuyVM. BuyVM starts at $24.00 per year (Slice 512), and Hetzner starts at €1.60 per month excl. VAT (Webhosting S).
Which has a free plan, BuyVM or Hetzner?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither BuyVM nor Hetzner has a free plan.
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.