Hetzner vs OVHcloud (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Hetzner grades higher than OVHcloud: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hetzner grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hetzner
German hosting: web hosting, cloud servers and dedicated servers
Which one is for you
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
Pick OVHcloud if
- Fits if you want inexpensive VPS and unlimited traffic
- Works for people who want cloud storage and Kubernetes from a European provider
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want to administer a server
- Watch out: VPSs in Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney have a monthly traffic quota (1 TB on VPS-1), then 10 Mbps
- Watch out: Plesk, cPanel and advanced backup cost extra
- Watch out: the dollar prices are 'starting at' figures from the US site and other regions differ
- Not for you if you want a free plan
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAHetznerFair | 2.0GPAOVHcloudFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | BVPS-1 is $4.54 a month and up, inside the cheaper quarter ($5.28), but the page states no billing term. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial on record; every plan is paid from the first day. | FNothing free on record. The site mentions a Public Cloud trial, with no terms on the listing. |
| Features | 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. | BFour VPS sizes, anti-DDoS, daily backup, Kubernetes, object storage, databases and AI services. No core gap is named. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Web hosting uses a panel, but cloud and dedicated servers are unmanaged. | DNo store rating on record. A VPS is a server you set up and look after yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, Docker and an API and CLI. | BWeb only, managed from the control panel and an API, with no integrations listed. |
| Best for | low-priced German hosting and servers | cheap VPS with unlimited traffic |
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: Hetzner and OVHcloud. How we grade
Price against what you get
Hetzner starts at about $1.79 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. OVHcloud starts at $4.54 a month and scores 2.3.
Hetzner scores higher and starts $2.75 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, none scores higher than Hetzner for less, and 1 scores higher than OVHcloud 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
- Hetzner also covers file sharing.
- OVHcloud also covers databases.
At a glance
| Hetzner | OVHcloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | €1.60 per month excl. VAT (Webhosting S) | $4.54 per month and up (VPS-1) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Hetzner Online GmbH | OVH SAS |
| Price read from | hetzner.com | us.ovhcloud.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
OVHcloud
- The $ prices are 'starting at' figures from the US site, and the page does not state a billing term, so confirm at checkout.
- VPSs in Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney have a monthly traffic quota (1 TB on VPS-1) and are capped at 10 Mbps beyond it.
- Advanced backup, Plesk and cPanel are optional paid extras.
- The roster URL is the Asia site; this record reads the US VPS page, and other regions may show different currencies and prices.
Key features
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.
OVHcloud
- VPS range
- Four VPS models, VPS-1 to VPS-4, with NVMe storage in standard regions and one-click scaling with a reboot.
- Anti-DDoS and backups
- Anti-DDoS protection and a daily automatic backup are included; seven daily restore points are an optional upgrade.
- Public cloud services
- The site lists Managed Kubernetes, Object Storage, Databases, a private registry and a Public Cloud free trial.
- AI services
- AI Notebooks, AI Training and AI Deploy are listed under AI and Machine Learning.
- Control panels
- Plesk and cPanel can be added to a VPS as optional extras, and the VPS is managed from the OVHcloud Control Panel and an API.
- Local Zone VPS
- VPS-2 Local Zone is offered in more than 15 cities for lower latency, using different storage than standard regions.
Plans
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.
OVHcloud
VPS-1$4.54
per month and up
2 vCores, 4GB RAM, 40GB SSD NVMe, daily backup of the previous 24 hours, unlimited traffic and 500 Mbps public bandwidth.
VPS-2$8.50
per month and up
4 vCores, 8GB RAM, 75GB SSD NVMe, unlimited traffic and 1 Gbps public bandwidth.
VPS-3$12.32
per month and up
6 vCores, 12GB RAM, 100GB SSD NVMe, unlimited traffic and 2 Gbps public bandwidth.
VPS-4$23.37
per month and up
8 vCores, 24GB RAM, 200GB SSD NVMe, unlimited traffic and 3 Gbps public bandwidth.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hetzner or OVHcloud?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Hetzner is cheaper to start with: about $1.79 a month, against $4.54 a month for OVHcloud. Hetzner starts at €1.60 per month excl. VAT (Webhosting S), and OVHcloud starts at $4.54 per month and up (VPS-1).
Which has a free plan, Hetzner or OVHcloud?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Hetzner nor OVHcloud 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.