Compare / Hetzner Cloud vs Netcup VPS / Root Server
Hetzner Cloud vs Netcup VPS / Root Server
Pre-calculated from hand-checked data — Hetzner Cloud checked 2026-10-01, Netcup checked 2026-10-01.
The short version
Hetzner Cloud wins more of our comparison points, but Netcup VPS / Root Server still fits if european projects that want strong specs per euro and can live with German contract formalities describes you.
Price Tie
Hetzner Cloud costs less while you're starting out, but Netcup VPS / Root Server works out cheaper once traffic grows.
Ease Tie
Both take similar effort to get a first deploy live.
Features Hetzner Cloud
Hetzner Cloud comes out ahead on 1 of the 15 features we track, versus 0.
What developers say about this matchup
We couldn't find a substantive first-person discussion comparing this exact pair. We leave the section empty instead of filling it with vendor marketing or generic SEO comparisons.
At a glance
| Hetzner Cloud | Netcup VPS / Root Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | European projects that need serious compute or move a lot of traffic. | European projects that want strong specs per euro and can live with German contract formalities. |
| How deploys work | You get root on a bare server: bring your own setup, or use one-click apps like Docker and WordPress. | You get root on a bare server: bring your own setup; the Server Control Panel handles images, snapshots, and a remote console. |
| The tradeoff | Self-managed like any VPS, and the bandwidth advantage mostly applies to EU locations. | Strong specs per euro, but fixed terms, strict signup checks, and an unforgiving abuse process. |
| Free tier | None | None |
What you'd realistically pay
Hetzner Cloud Netcup VPS / Root Server
| Project stage | Hetzner Cloud | Netcup VPS / Root Server | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just starting | ≈€5.99/mo CX23 (EU) — €5.49 + €0.50 IPv4. 2 shared vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB SSD, 20 TB traffic. Germany and Finland only. | ≈€8.26/mo VPS 500 G12.5 — Incl. 19% VAT. 2 shared vCores, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB SSD, traffic included. 12-month term (1-month is €9.50). | Hetzner Cloud |
| Steady traffic | ≈€8.99/mo CX33 (EU) — €8.49 + €0.50 IPv4. 4 shared vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 80 GB SSD, 20 TB traffic. | ≈€12.93/mo RS 500 G12.5 — Incl. 19% VAT. 2 dedicated AMD EPYC cores, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB NVMe, 99.9% availability guarantee, 30-day money-back. | Hetzner Cloud |
| Growing | ≈€43.49/mo CCX13 (EU) — €42.99 + €0.50 IPv4. 2 dedicated vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 80 GB NVMe — move to dedicated CPUs when shared bursting stops being enough. | ≈€26.92/mo VPS 2000 G12.5 — Incl. 19% VAT. 8 shared vCores, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, traffic included. | Netcup VPS / Root Server |
Hetzner Cloud pricing notes
- Traffic overage costs €1/TB in the EU — most providers charge 10–100x that per GB.
- Billed hourly up to a monthly cap.
- Singapore pricing is higher: CCX13 costs €53.99 and CCX23 costs €108.49 before IPv4.
- The Arm-based CAX plans match CX specs at similar prices if the Intel CX line is out of stock.
Netcup VPS / Root Server pricing notes
- Terms are 1, 12, or 24 months — longer terms cost less. Existing G12 contracts keep old prices; new orders are G12.5.
- IPv6-only saves €0.60/month, but you cannot add a public IPv4 later.
- Named locations carry a surcharge that scales with the plan (on VPS 500: EU/US named +€1.04, Singapore +€7.66).
Our ratings
Ease of use
Pricing clarity Hetzner Cloud
Free tier
Scaling
Control
Feature by feature
Hetzner Cloud wins 1, Netcup VPS / Root Server wins 0, with 14 even.
Deploy workflow
| Hetzner Cloud | Netcup VPS / Root Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy from Git push | No No deploy pipeline — bring your own CI or scripts. | No No deploy pipeline — bring your own CI or scripts. |
| Preview deploys | No Nothing built in. | No Nothing built in. |
| Official CLI | Yes hcloud CLI manages servers, networks, and snapshots. | Partial The Server Control Panel exposes a webservice API; there is no first-class official CLI. |
| Instant rollbacks | Partial Snapshots and paid backups restore machines; no deploy-level rollback. | Partial Manual copy-on-write snapshots restore machines; no automatic backups, no deploy-level rollback. |
Platform
| Hetzner Cloud | Netcup VPS / Root Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Custom domains + HTTPS | Yes Point DNS at the server; TLS is yours via certbot or a proxy. | Yes Point DNS at the server; TLS is yours via certbot or a proxy. |
| Built-in CDN / edge network | No No CDN product — put Cloudflare in front if needed. | No No CDN product — put Cloudflare in front if needed. |
| Serverless functions | No Not a VPS feature. | No Not a VPS feature. |
| Docker containers | Yes Docker CE one-click app or install it yourself. | Yes Install Docker yourself on any image. |
| SSH / shell access | Yes Full root SSH. | Yes Full root SSH. |
| EU hosting region | Yes Germany and Finland are the home turf — this is where the value is. | Yes Vienna, Nuremberg, and Amsterdam are the core locations. |
Runtime & operations
| Hetzner Cloud | Netcup VPS / Root Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic scaling | No Manual resizing or manual fleet management. | No Manual plan upgrades only. |
| Scale to zero | No Servers bill until deleted, even powered off. | No The contract bills until cancelled, powered off or not. |
| Scheduled jobs | Yes Classic cron on the box. | Yes Classic cron on the box. |
| Managed database | No No managed database product — self-host or go external. | No No managed database product — the closest thing is a fully managed vServer. |
| Logs & metrics built in | Partial Basic server graphs in the console; app-level monitoring is yours. | Partial Basic graphs in the Server Control Panel; app-level monitoring is yours. |
Watch out for
Hetzner Cloud
- Hetzner raised prices on 15 June 2026: dedicated CCX and shared CPX plans roughly tripled, while the budget CX line rose about 35%.
- The cheap CX plans are sold in Germany and Finland only, in limited capacity — Hetzner sometimes pauses sales when stock runs out.
- US locations include only 1–2 TB of traffic versus 20 TB in the EU — the famous value is a European value.
- Singapore has separate, higher prices. A CCX13 costs €53.99 there versus €42.99 in the EU.
- A public IPv4 address costs €0.50/month extra; only IPv6 is free.
- Servers bill until deleted, even while powered off.
Netcup
- Minimum terms are 1, 12, or 24 months; longer terms cost less. Cancellation must arrive at least 31 days before term end or the contract renews.
- G12 is gone for new orders — new plans are G12.5. Existing G12 contracts keep their old prices until they end.
- The abuse team can suspend servers instantly (including Friday night) and works Mon–Fri office hours; out-of-hours phone support costs €40 per 15 minutes.
- Sign-up identity checks are strict and some orders get rejected.
- Prices are displayed including 19% German VAT — your actual VAT depends on your country.
Read the full reviews: Hetzner Cloud and Netcup. Or answer four questions to see what fits your project.