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The Hetzner Insider’s Guide

Everything we know about Hetzner in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.

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ToolGPANovember 2026

Hetzner

The Insider’s Guide

German hosting: web hosting, cloud servers and dedicated servers

Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among web hosts, read from Hetzner’s own pages.

Made by Hetzner Online GmbH · checked Nov 12, 2026 · toolgpa.com

2.4GPA

Contents

  1. 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
  2. 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
  3. 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
  4. 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
  5. 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
  6. 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
  7. 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from Hetzner’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Hetzner’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 12, 2026.

Part 01 · Overview

Welcome

What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first

2.4

GPA, above 99 of the 122 other web hosts we grade

Hetzner is a German hosting company, founded in 1997, that sells shared web hosting, cloud servers, dedicated servers, object storage and domains. Webhosting packages start at 1.60 euros a month and cloud servers at about 5 euros a month, both excluding VAT and priced in euros.

To get you started, here are 8 things to know about Hetzner, taken from its own pages and our grades.

Web hosting uses a panel, but cloud and dedicated servers are unmanaged.
From our grade for ease of use
  1. 1

    Best for low-priced German hosting and servers

    Prices are in euros excluding VAT, domains cost extra, and the cloud and dedicated servers are unmanaged.

  2. 2

    Paid plans start at about $1.79 a month

    As its pricing page puts it: €1.60 per month excl. VAT (Webhosting S).

  3. 3

    It runs on Web

    Web.

  4. 4

    Shared web hosting

    Four Webhosting packages with mailboxes, databases, cronjobs and PHP processes, and no minimum contract period.

  5. 5

    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.

  6. 6

    Dedicated servers

    AX, EX, GPU, SX and DX lines, plus a Server Auction of refurbished machines starting at €78.70 a month.

  7. 7

    A 2.4 GPA, above 99 of 122

    That is against the other web hosts we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.

  8. 8

    Your call

    Hetzner sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either.

Hetzner at a glance

Pricing
Paid, from €1.60 per month excl. VAT (Webhosting S)
Free plan
No
Free trial
None stated
Runs on
Web
Made by
Hetzner Online GmbH, since 1997
Category
Web Hosting
Our grade
2.4 GPA, fair

The report card

Best for low-priced German hosting and servers

Hetzner sells shared web hosting from €1.60 a month with no minimum term, plus cloud and dedicated servers. Prices are in euros excluding VAT, domains cost extra, and the cloud and dedicated servers are unmanaged.

ToolGPA report cardHetznerGraded Nov 12, 2026
SubjectGradeComment
Value for moneyAWebhosting 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 trialFNo free plan and no trial on record; every plan is paid from the first day.
FeaturesBWeb 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 useCNo store rating on record. Web hosting uses a panel, but cloud and dedicated servers are unmanaged.
Platforms and integrationsBWeb only, with Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, Docker and an API and CLI.
Grade point averageFair, out of 4.02.4

An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.

Who Hetzner is for

  • Fits if you're in Europe and want euro billing and German data centres
  • Works for small PHP sites on cheap shared hosting

Who it is not for

  • 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

Good to know

Good for

  • Buyers in Europe who want German data centers and euro billing
  • Small PHP websites on low-cost shared hosting
  • Developers who want cheap cloud or dedicated servers

Worth knowing

  • 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.

Part 02 · Pricing

What it costs

Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved

~$1.79

A month to start

Hetzner is a paid product, starting at €1.60 per month excl. VAT (Webhosting S).

No free plan and no trial on record; every plan is paid from the first day.
From our grade for free plan and trial

  • 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.

Read from hetzner.com on Nov 12, 2026.

Part 03 · Features

What it does

Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it

1

Place it runs: Web

German hosting: web hosting, cloud servers and dedicated servers. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, file sharing.

Web hosting, cloud, dedicated and auction servers, object storage, DNS and SSL, a REST API and Terraform.
From our grade for features
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.

Where it runs

  • Web

What it works with

  • Terraform
  • Ansible
  • Kubernetes
  • Docker
  • GitLab
  • Nextcloud

Hetzner is made by Hetzner Online GmbH, and has been around since 1997.

Part 04 · Standing

Where it stands

Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own

99/122

Other web hosts it is graded above

Hetzner's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 99 of the 122 other web hosts we grade, and level with 14.

It stands best on value for money (A, above 105 of 122) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).

Its paid plans start at about $1.79 a month, against a middle price of $9.69 for the category: 2 of the 107 others that charge start lower.

On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more.

Each grade against the category

Every bar is all 123 web hosts we grade, cut by the letter each got. Hetzner’s own letter is outlined.

  • AValue for moneyAbove 105 of 122
  • FFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 122
  • BFeaturesAbove 86 of 122
  • CEase of useAbove 40 of 122
  • BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 57 of 122

Price against what you get

Each dot is one of 111 web hosts. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Hetzner is the marked dot.

D1.0C2.0B3.0A4.0Free$0.5$1$2$5$10$20$50$100$200$500More for lessCosts more, scores moreCosts less, scores lessCosts more, scores lessHetznerHestiaCPDreamHostCloudflare PagesKinsta

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

Keep it, or make your own?

Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.

Your call

Hetzner sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either.

What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call. At $21.45 a year it costs less than the weekend it would take to replace, which is the argument for keeping it.

What you could make

  • It runs in a browser, which is where something home-made would run too.

What you could not

  • Storing and serving files for other people.
  • It plugs into other products, Terraform, Ansible and Kubernetes among them, and has an API.
  • The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.

What this rests on. Hetzner’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.

Part 05 · Alternatives

The alternatives

The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side

Contabo, OVHcloud, DigitalOcean, Vultr and Akamai Linode

The 5 tools Hetzner is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.

Part 06 · Questions

Quick answers

The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two

13

Questions, each answered in a line or two

The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.

Is Hetzner free?

No. Hetzner is a paid product, starting at €1.60 per month excl.

How much does Hetzner cost?

Hetzner lists 5 plans. Webhosting S: €1.60 per month, excl.

What platforms does Hetzner work on?

Hetzner is available on Web.

Does Hetzner have an Android app?

No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Hetzner is listed for Web.

Does Hetzner have an iPhone app?

No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Hetzner is listed for Web.

Is Hetzner open source?

Hetzner is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.

Does Hetzner have an API?

Yes. Hetzner offers a public API, according to its own site.

What does Hetzner integrate with?

Hetzner's listing names Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, Docker, GitLab and Nextcloud.

Who makes Hetzner?

Hetzner is made by Hetzner Online GmbH. It dates from 1997.

What are the alternatives to Hetzner?

The closest alternatives to Hetzner in our directory are Contabo, OVHcloud, DigitalOcean, Vultr and Akamai Linode.

How does Hetzner compare with other web hosts?

Hetzner's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 99 of the 122 other web hosts we grade, and level with 14.

Is Hetzner good value for money?

ToolGPA grades Hetzner A for value for money. Its paid plans start at about $1.79 a month, against a middle price of $9.69 for the category: 2 of the 107 others that charge start lower.

Could I make my own version of Hetzner?

Hetzner sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either.

Where this guide comes from

The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Hetzner’s own pages on Nov 12, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 12, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Hetzner's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Hetzner Online GmbH. Prices change, so check hetzner.com before you buy.

Part 07 · About

About ToolGPA

Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

7,721

Tools graded, in 95 categories

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

  • 7,721

    tools graded

  • 95

    categories

  • 739

    price changes on record

  • 579

    apps priced in 12 countries

What else is on toolgpa.com

Scan for the live page

Prices and grades as they are today

Quoting this guide?

Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:

ToolGPA, "Hetzner: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 12, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/hetzner

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See our other guides

The best-graded web hosts after Hetzner, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.

ToolGPA

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Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›

Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Hetzner’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Hetzner is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Hetzner Online GmbH. Prices and plans change: check hetzner.com before you buy.