Hetzner vs RackNerd (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hetzner grades higher than RackNerd: 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.
Hetzner
German hosting: web hosting, cloud servers and dedicated servers
RackNerd
Low-cost KVM VPS, shared hosting 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 RackNerd if
- Fits if you are comfortable running a Linux server yourself
- Works for small side projects that need a cheap VPS
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a managed server, as VPS plans are unmanaged
- Watch out: yearly specials and monthly plans are on different pages and do not follow one price scale
- Tight if you need IPv6, which is provided on request by support ticket
- Skip it if you want a trial, as nothing is free
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAHetznerFair | 1.8GPARackNerdWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | AA 1 GB KVM VPS special at $21.99 a year, about $1.83 a month, under 60% of the $5 cheaper-quarter start. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial on record; every plan is paid from the first day. | FNothing free and no trial on the pages read, so you pay from day one. |
| 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. | CKVM VPS with root access, a control panel, cPanel shared hosting and dedicated servers. The VPS is unmanaged, so the basics come with a lot of work for you. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Web hosting uses a panel, but cloud and dedicated servers are unmanaged. | DUnmanaged root and SSH servers: you install, configure and secure the system yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, Docker and an API and CLI. | CWeb control panel with no integrations or apps listed. |
| Best for | low-priced German hosting and servers | cheap unmanaged VPS 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: Hetzner and RackNerd. 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. RackNerd starts at $1.83 a month when paid by the year and scores 1.7.
Hetzner scores higher and starts $0.04 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, none scores higher than Hetzner for less, and 5 score higher than RackNerd 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.
- RackNerd also covers databases.
At a glance
| Hetzner | RackNerd | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | €1.60 per month excl. VAT (Webhosting S) | $21.99 per year (1 GB KVM VPS special) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Hetzner Online GmbH | RackNerd LLC |
| Price read from | hetzner.com | racknerd.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 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.
RackNerd
- VPS plans are unmanaged: the vendor describes root access and SSH, and the buyer runs the server.
- The yearly VPS specials and the monthly VPS plans are priced on different pages, and the figures do not follow one scale.
- IPv6 addresses are provided on request by support ticket, and the VPS page names only some locations for it.
- The homepage advertises promo codes for dedicated servers; those are not counted here.
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.
RackNerd
- KVM VPS with full root access
- Instantly provisioned KVM virtual servers in locations including Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Amsterdam and Toronto, with a 1Gbps network port.
- ctrl control panel
- RackNerd's own VPS panel handles reboot, reinstall, console, a network firewall and one-click installs of apps such as n8n, Ollama, LibreChat and Portainer.
- cPanel shared hosting
- Shared plans run cPanel with LiteSpeed, Softaculous, free SSL and JetBackup daily backups, and can be deployed in the US, Europe or Singapore.
- Free migration for shared hosting
- The vendor says it will migrate a site from a previous host after a support ticket with the login details.
- Dedicated servers and colocation
- Dedicated servers start at $139 a month, with Ryzen, unmetered 10, 20 and 40Gbps and hybrid options, plus colocation.
- Reseller hosting
- cPanel and WHM reseller plans let a customer sell shared hosting accounts.
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.
RackNerd
1 GB KVM VPS special$21.99
per year
1 vCPU, 20 GB SSD, 3 TB monthly transfer, a 1Gbps port and full root access. The specials page also lists 2 GB at $35.99 and 4 GB at $59.99 a year.
512 MB KVM VPS$26.99
per year
1 vCore, 30 GB RAID-10 SSD, 500 GB transfer at 1Gbps and one IPv4 address.
Shared 30 GB$5.59
per month
cPanel shared hosting with 30 GB SSD, 2 TB transfer, unlimited domains and databases, free SSL, LiteSpeed and daily JetBackup backups.
Shared 100 GB$9.59
per month
100 GB SSD and 3 TB monthly transfer with the same cPanel, LiteSpeed and backup features. A 200 GB plan is $15.59 a month.
2 GB KVM VPS$20.59
per month
3 vCore, 75 GB RAID-10 SSD and 2 TB transfer. The 1 GB monthly plan is $17.99 and the 4 GB plan $24.59 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hetzner or RackNerd?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hetzner is cheaper to start with: about $1.79 a month, against $1.83 a month when paid by the year for RackNerd. Hetzner starts at €1.60 per month excl. VAT (Webhosting S), and RackNerd starts at $21.99 per year (1 GB KVM VPS special).
Which has a free plan, Hetzner or RackNerd?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Hetzner nor RackNerd 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.