Hetzner
Netlify
| Feature | Hetzner | Netlify |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $3.79/mo | Free / from $19/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.6 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | startups, indie-hackers, european-companies, cost-conscious-teams | developers, agencies, small-teams, jamstack-developers |
| Founded | 1997 | 2014 |
| Cloud Servers | ✓ | ✗ |
| Dedicated Servers | ✓ | ✗ |
| Load Balancers | ✓ | ✗ |
| Block Storage | ✓ | ✗ |
| Object Storage | ✓ | ✗ |
| Firewalls | ✓ | ✗ |
| Private Networks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Git Deploy | ✗ | ✓ |
| Serverless Functions | ✗ | ✓ |
| Forms | ✗ | ✓ |
| Identity | ✗ | ✓ |
| Split Testing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Edge Functions | ✗ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Netlify Pros
- Extremely generous free tier (100GB bandwidth)
- Built-in forms without backend code
- Split testing (A/B) built-in
- Framework-agnostic — works with anything
✗ Netlify Cons
- Build times can be slow for large sites
- Serverless functions less powerful than Vercel's
- UI can be confusing for complex setups
The Verdict
Hetzner is built for startups and indie hackers, with a focus on cloud-servers and dedicated-servers. Netlify targets developers and agencies and leads with git-deploy and serverless-functions.
On pricing, Hetzner is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $3.79/mo compared to $19/mo for Netlify. That $15.21/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Netlify 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.
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.