GitHub
Hetzner
| Feature | GitHub | Hetzner |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $4/mo | From $3.79/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.8 / 5 | 4.6 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, open-source-teams, engineering-teams, startups | startups, indie-hackers, european-companies, cost-conscious-teams |
| Founded | 2008 | 1997 |
| Repositories | ✓ | ✗ |
| Pull Requests | ✓ | ✗ |
| Actions Ci Cd | ✓ | ✗ |
| Copilot | ✓ | ✗ |
| Issues | ✓ | ✗ |
| Projects | ✓ | ✗ |
| Codespaces | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cloud Servers | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dedicated Servers | ✗ | ✓ |
| Load Balancers | ✗ | ✓ |
| Block Storage | ✗ | ✓ |
| Object Storage | ✗ | ✓ |
| Firewalls | ✗ | ✓ |
| Private Networks | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ GitHub Pros
- Industry standard for open-source
- GitHub Actions CI/CD included free
- Copilot AI integration
- Massive developer community
✗ GitHub Cons
- Free private repos limited on some features
- Actions minutes limited on free tier
- Can be complex for non-developers
✓ Hetzner Pros
- Dramatically cheaper than AWS, GCP, and Azure
- Excellent price-to-performance ratio
- European data centers with strong GDPR compliance
- Simple and transparent pricing
✗ Hetzner Cons
- Fewer managed services than hyperscalers
- Limited regions (Europe and US East only)
- Less ecosystem of integrated services
The Verdict
GitHub is built for developers and open source teams, with a focus on repositories and pull-requests. Hetzner targets startups and indie hackers and leads with cloud-servers and dedicated-servers.
Both tools come in at similar price points ($4/mo for GitHub, $3.79/mo for Hetzner), so pricing won't make the decision for you.
GitHub has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. Hetzner requires a paid subscription from day one.
Both tools are a solid fit for startups — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.
