Hetzner vs Vultr (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Hetzner grades higher than Vultr: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hetzner grades higher on value for money, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan 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 Vultr if
- Fits if you want inexpensive servers across many locations
- Works for projects that need bare metal or GPUs from the same provider
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want to set up and patch a server
- Not for you if you need IPv4 on the $2.50 plan, since it's IPv6 only
- Watch out: backups, block storage, load balancers and extra bandwidth cost more
- Watch out: Vultr's own pricing pages weren't readable, so prices are from its public plans API
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAHetznerFair | 1.8GPAVultrWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | B$2.50 a month for the IPv6-only 512MB plan, $3.50 with IPv4, $5 for 1GB. Inside the cheaper quarter ($5.28). The IPv6-only plan has no IPv4 at all. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial on record; every plan is paid from the first day. | FNo free plan and no trial on record; every plan is paid from the first day. |
| 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. | CCloud Compute, high-frequency and optimized plans, bare metal, GPUs and Kubernetes docs. The listing shows servers, not databases or an app platform, and extras cost more. |
| 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. Unmanaged servers: you set up and patch the OS. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, Docker and an API and CLI. | BWeb only, with a v2 API, a CLI, a Terraform provider and SDKs. |
| Best for | low-priced German hosting and servers | inexpensive cloud servers in many locations |
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 Vultr. 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. Vultr starts at $2.50 a month and scores 2.0.
Hetzner scores higher and starts $0.71 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, none scores higher than Hetzner for less, and 6 score higher than Vultr 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.
At a glance
| Hetzner | Vultr | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | €1.60 per month excl. VAT (Webhosting S) | $2.50 per month (IPv6-only 512MB Cloud Compute) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Hetzner Online GmbH | Vultr |
| Price read from | hetzner.com | api.vultr.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.
Vultr
- Vultr's pricing and product pages sit behind a bot check, so these prices are read from its public plans API.
- The cheapest $2.50 plan has an IPv6 address only and no IPv4.
- Servers are unmanaged: the buyer sets up and patches the operating system.
- Backups, block storage, load balancers and bandwidth beyond a plan's allowance cost extra.
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.
Vultr
- Cloud Compute
- Virtual machines in standard and high-frequency classes, with plan sizes starting at 512MB RAM.
- High-performance and optimized compute
- The plans API also lists high-performance and optimized compute types, for example a 1 vCPU, 2GB optimized plan at $28 a month.
- Bare metal and GPUs
- Bare metal servers and GPU instances are sold, with an NVIDIA L40S server listed at $1,122.91 a month.
- Kubernetes and AI workloads
- Vultr's docs cover Kubernetes setup, GPU workloads, AI model docs and a beta documentation agent.
- Public API and CLI
- A v2 API, a CLI, a Terraform provider and SDKs are referenced in the reference documentation.
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.
Vultr
Cloud Compute 512MB$3.50
per month, with IPv4
1 vCPU, 512MB RAM, 10GB storage and 512GB of bandwidth. An IPv6-only version is $2.50 a month.
Cloud Compute 1GB$5
per month ($0.007 per hour)
1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 25GB storage and 1TB of bandwidth.
Cloud Compute 2GB$10
per month
1 vCPU, 2GB RAM, 55GB storage and 2TB of bandwidth. The 2 vCPU, 2GB size is $15 a month.
High Frequency 1GB$6
per month
1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 32GB storage and 1TB of bandwidth. The 2GB size is $12 and the 2 vCPU, 2GB size is $18.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hetzner or Vultr?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Hetzner is cheaper to start with: about $1.79 a month, against $2.50 a month for Vultr. Hetzner starts at €1.60 per month excl. VAT (Webhosting S), and Vultr starts at $2.50 per month (IPv6-only 512MB Cloud Compute).
Which has a free plan, Hetzner or Vultr?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Hetzner nor Vultr 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.