DigitalOcean vs Hetzner
DigitalOcean: Virtual machines, Kubernetes, and app platform. Hetzner: Low-cost cloud servers and dedicated machines.
Pricing, free tier, and features on this page come from each tool's own site. Google autocomplete (suggestqueries.google.com, client=firefox, hl=en) for "<tool> vs", fetched 2026-10-14; a pair is kept when the suggestion appears from both sides (2+ hits). Sorted by how much you can use for free (free or open source first, then free plan with paid tiers, then paid only), then by the number of documented features, then alphabetically. No ratings or reviews are used. Read the comparison methodology. How benchmark evidence is labeled.
| DigitalOcean | Hetzner | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Virtual machines, Kubernetes, and app platform. | Low-cost cloud servers and dedicated machines. |
| Category | Hosting | Hosting |
| Pricing | Freemium (free plan + paid tiers) | Paid |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Starting price | Paid plans from $4/month | — |
| Who it's for | Developers and teams building and running AI products and cloud apps, including startups and SMBs. | Beginners and businesses that need servers, cloud, hosting, or storage. |
| Key features | Serverless, dedicated, or batch inference on 75+ models | Dedicated servers in AMD, Intel, GPU, and Dell lines |
| Router sends each request to a selected model | Cloud servers and S3-compatible object storage | |
| GPU machines for model training and inference | Web hosting, domain registration, and managed servers | |
| Managed agents with insights, signals, and evaluations | DNS management, SSL certificates, and load balancers | |
| Virtual machines, Kubernetes, managed databases, and storage | GPU servers with NVIDIA cards and 96 GB VRAM | |
| Website | www.digitalocean.com | www.hetzner.com |
Who should pick which
Pick DigitalOcean if…
- Its stated audience fits you (developers and teams building and running AI products and cloud apps, including startups and SMBs).
- You want a free option; Hetzner is paid only.
- You need: Serverless, dedicated, or batch inference on 75+ models.
Pick Hetzner if…
- Its stated audience fits you (beginners and businesses that need servers, cloud, hosting, or storage).
- You need: Dedicated servers in AMD, Intel, GPU, and Dell lines.
FAQ
Is DigitalOcean or Hetzner free?
DigitalOcean: Freemium (free plan + paid tiers). Hetzner: Paid.
What is the difference between DigitalOcean and Hetzner?
DigitalOcean: Virtual machines, Kubernetes, and app platform. Hetzner: Low-cost cloud servers and dedicated machines.
Data comes from each tool's homepage and pricing page. Pair chosen from search suggestions (digitalocean vs hetzner; hetzner vs digitalocean).