How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- DigitalOcean and Linode are the closest developer-friendly replacements, with simple pricing and managed databases and Kubernetes.
- Vultr offers the widest global reach with 33 data center regions and strong GPU options for AI workloads.
- Contabo and UpCloud are the budget picks, with Contabo VPS from 5.50 euros per month and UpCloud from 3 euros per month.
- OVHcloud and Scaleway are the European sovereignty options, with large data center networks and transparent pricing.
- Kamatera suits teams that want hourly billing and fully customizable servers with a 30-day free trial.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 DigitalOcean | Developer-friendly cloud with AI services | See website | No |
 Linode | Distributed cloud on Akamai | See website | No |
 Vultr | Global reach and GPU compute | See website | No |
 OVHcloud | European bare metal and public cloud | See website | No |
 Contabo | Budget VPS and dedicated servers | 5.50 euros per month | No |
 UpCloud | European cloud with strong SLA | 3 euros per month | No |
 Kamatera | Customizable hourly cloud servers | See website | No |
 Scaleway | European cloud and AI platform | See website | No |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best Hetzner alternatives
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
DigitalOcean is now an AI-native cloud with one integrated platform from silicon to agent, but its core for Hetzner switchers remains the same: simple droplets, managed Kubernetes, managed databases and storage with predictable billing. Its newer layers add managed agents, serverless inference with intelligent routing across 80 plus models, and GPU infrastructure including NVIDIA H100, H200 and B300 plus AMD Instinct accelerators.
For developers who liked Hetzner's simplicity but want a US-based cloud with strong documentation and a large community, DigitalOcean is the most natural move. Confirm droplet pricing on its pricing page, since the homepage now leads with AI products.
What we like- One CLI, one API and one bill across droplets, Kubernetes, databases and storage
- AI-native platform with managed agents and serverless inference across 80 plus models
- 20 data centers across 12 regions with NVIDIA H100, H200 and B300 GPUs
Watch out for- Pricing not shown on the homepage
- AI focus may matter less for plain VPS buyers
- Fewer bare-metal options than Hetzner or OVHcloud
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Linode, now part of Akamai Cloud, lets teams build and deliver low-latency, edge-native applications on a distributed platform. Its product range covers CPU plans matched to budget, an app platform for Kubernetes deployments, GPU compute for machine learning and video, the Linode Kubernetes Engine and managed databases for MySQL and PostgreSQL.
For Hetzner users who want a similar independent-cloud feel with a larger global edge network, Linode is a strong fit. Pricing requires a visit to its pricing page, and new accounts can be created free before choosing a plan.
What we like- Shared, dedicated and high-memory compute plans plus Kubernetes, GPUs and managed databases
- Positioned as the world's most distributed cloud platform
- Up to $5,000 in cloud credits for qualifying enterprise customers
Watch out for- Now branded as Akamai Cloud, which may confuse long-time Linode users
- Pricing not shown on the homepage
- Enterprise credit offer has conditions
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Vultr delivers SSD VPS servers, cloud servers and cloud hosting across 33 global data center regions, with a strong push into AI compute through NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs in liquid-cooled, rack-scale architecture. Its Vultr Agent adds AI-powered assistance that chats with documentation and composes infrastructure with instant pricing.
For Hetzner users with a global audience or AI workloads, Vultr's region count and GPU range stand out. Plain VPS buyers should check its standard compute pricing separately, since the homepage emphasizes GPU products.
What we like- 33 global data center regions
- NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs and Grace CPUs for AI reasoning
- Broad compliance including SOC 2, PCI, ISO 27001 and HIPAA
- Marketplace with plug-and-play applications
Watch out for- Homepage leads with GPU pricing rather than VPS rates
- GPU hourly rates from $0.471 to $3.50 per GPU hour add up fast
- VPS pricing needs the pricing page
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
OVHcloud is a European cloud provider with VPS, dedicated servers, public cloud and hosted private cloud, serving 1.6 million customers with a focus on reversibility, open interoperability and data sovereignty. Its global infrastructure spans 46 data centers and 44 redundant points of presence, and its Advance dedicated servers offer up to 15 percent higher performance with AMD EPYC 4005 CPUs and 3 Gbps public bandwidth included.
For Hetzner users who value European hosting, bare metal choice and predictable pricing with no lock-out on outgoing traffic, OVHcloud is the closest European equivalent. Be aware that third-party reviews rate its support and site navigation lower than its infrastructure value.
What we like- 46 data centers across 4 continents with 100 Tbps global network capacity
- Hybrid mix of private, public, bare metal and web cloud
- No bandwidth cost for data recovery
- Advance dedicated servers from $189 per month with AMD EPYC 4005 CPUs
Watch out for- Reviews note complex navigation and slower support
- No refunds or money-back guarantees per third-party reviews
- Pricing varies by region and needs checking per location
Starting price5.50 euros per month
Free planNo
Contabo offers cloud VPS and dedicated servers for a price you will love, with honest hosting all year round and 99.996 percent uptime. Its smart pricing starts at 5.50 euros per month including VAT for a VPS with 4 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM and 100 GB SSD, while AI-ready plans from 13.50 euros add AMD EPYC processors with NVMe storage and dedicated VDS plans from 49 euros remove noisy neighbors.
With 300,000 plus customers and 575,000 plus servers running, Contabo is the budget champion among Hetzner alternatives, and its API, CLI and cloud-init support suit automation-minded teams. Check renewal pricing after the first 24 months before committing long term.
What we like- VPS from 5.50 euros per month for the first 24 months with 4 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM and 100 GB SSD
- 99.996 percent uptime claim
- Free DDoS protection on every server
- Data centers in nine regions across the EU, US, UK, Asia and Australia
Watch out for- Introductory price applies for the first 24 months
- Port speed and traffic terms need reading carefully
- Support hours for phone are 8 am to 11 pm German time
Starting price3 euros per month
Free planNo
UpCloud is a high-performance European platform for developers and businesses, offering sovereign cloud with lightning speed across 15 global data centers. Its range covers cloud servers, GPU servers, private cloud, managed Kubernetes, managed databases, file storage and software-defined networking, with servers deployable in seconds and flat-rate pricing.
The headline numbers are strong: pricing from 3 euros per month, a 99.999 percent uptime SLA and 24/7 support from human experts in under 40 seconds. For Hetzner users who want European hosting with a stronger SLA and transparent pricing, UpCloud is the best-value European pick.
What we like- Transparent pricing starting at 3 euros per month
- 99.999 percent uptime SLA
- 15 global data centers with GDPR-compliant European sovereignty
- 500 euros in cloud credits for the first 30 days
Watch out for- Smaller region count than Vultr or OVHcloud
- Credit offer limited to 30 days
- Startup credits up to 3,000 euros have conditions
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Kamatera offers fast, flexible cloud solutions with VMs, VPS and infrastructure as a service, built around unlimited scaling: start small and add load balancers, firewalls, private networks and more as you grow. Its flexible monthly and hourly pricing means teams pay only for the services they need, and its use cases cover web hosting, app, development, database, remote desktop, WordPress, email, ERP, CRM, backup, VoIP and IoT servers.
For Hetzner users who want fine-grained control over CPU, RAM and storage with hourly billing, Kamatera is the most configurable option here. A 30-day free trial lets teams test before committing.
What we like- Fully customizable servers with hourly and monthly billing
- Unlimited scaling with load balancers, firewalls and private networks
- 24/7 technical support
- 30-day free trial
Watch out for- Pricing not shown on the homepage and needs the configurator
- Fewer managed services than DigitalOcean or Linode
- Managed cloud is a separate offering
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Scaleway is a European cloud and AI platform with a secure, transparent and fast-moving portfolio, trusted by teams including Mistral AI and Hugging Face. Its products span bare metal including Dedibox and Elastic Metal, compute instances, networking, storage and databases, containers with managed Kubernetes and serverless options, and AI services with GPU infrastructure for LLM training.
For Hetzner users who want a European alternative with strong AI capabilities and data sovereignty, Scaleway is the most complete option, though its four European regions mean US-based audiences should test latency first. Pricing is published per product on its site.
What we like- 100 plus cloud and AI products across 4 multi-AZ European regions
- 5,000 plus GPUs for researchers and companies
- Data sovereignty with three availability zones per region
- Transparent product-level pricing
Watch out for- European regions only, which may add latency for US or Asia audiences
- Pricing not shown on the homepage
- AI portfolio may be more than plain VPS buyers need
How we chose
We compared vendor homepages against public comparisons and user reviews, focusing on providers that offer VPS or cloud compute comparable to Hetzner's core products. Every tool here had its official homepage opened and confirmed. Where a vendor does not publish a starting price on its homepage, we recorded "See website" instead of repeating third-party estimates. Note that OVHcloud's homepage URL is ovhcloud.com/en, not the en-us path, which returned a 404 during checking.
What to weigh before you buy
Start with your region needs. Hetzner's strength is European data centers at low prices, so European audiences fit Contabo, UpCloud, OVHcloud and Scaleway, while global audiences fit Vultr's 33 regions or DigitalOcean's 12 regions. Test latency from your actual user locations before migrating.
Then compare the full bill, not the headline VPS price. Hetzner is known for generous included traffic, so check each alternative's bandwidth, snapshot, backup and support costs: Contabo's traffic terms, OVHcloud's no-cost data recovery and UpCloud's flat-rate pricing all differ in ways that change the monthly total. Run a real workload on a trial or credit offer first.
Frequently asked questions
Why switch from Hetzner?
Common reasons include wanting data centers outside Europe, managed services like Kubernetes or databases, hourly billing, or a different support model. Hetzner remains strong on price, so switch only when a specific need justifies the move.
Which Hetzner alternative is cheapest?
Contabo starts at 5.50 euros per month and UpCloud at 3 euros per month, though exact specs differ, so compare vCPU, RAM and storage at each price point rather than the headline rate alone.
Which alternative is best for developers?
DigitalOcean and Linode offer the most developer-friendly experience with simple APIs, one-click apps and managed Kubernetes and databases, while Kamatera suits developers who want fully customizable servers.
Do these providers offer dedicated servers?
Yes. OVHcloud, Contabo and Scaleway all offer bare metal and dedicated servers, with OVHcloud's Advance range from $189 per month and Scaleway's Dedibox and Elastic Metal ranges.
Is there a free trial?
Kamatera offers a 30-day free trial, UpCloud offers 500 euros in credits for 30 days, and Linode offers a free account before choosing a plan. Most others require a paid plan from the start.
Sources we checked (8)
- https://www.digitalocean.com
- https://www.linode.com
- https://www.vultr.com
- https://www.ovhcloud.com/en/
- https://contabo.com
- https://upcloud.com
- https://www.kamatera.com
- https://www.scaleway.com
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.