Hetzner alternatives in 2026: when Hetzner still wins and when to switch

The best Hetzner alternatives depend on why you want to leave, because on our own measurements Hetzner is still the best value for self-hosted apps in Europe. Its 4 vCPU CX33 cost 8.49 euro net per month in the Hetzner Cloud API on 5 November 2026 and handled 31.93 n8n webhook executions/s and 13.5 tokens/s on Llama 3.2 3B in our Lab. Switch if you need US servers, a managed server, a one-click n8n install, or a plan you can actually order today.

Why this matters now: Hetzner raised cloud prices on 1 April and 15 June 2026, its cheapest plans are often shown as unavailable, and many alternatives pages still quote last year's numbers. Here every alternative price is from the provider's official page, opened on 5 November 2026, with the renewal or regular price next to any promo.

One rule for this page: we have measured Hetzner, and we have not yet tested Hostinger, DigitalOcean, Vultr, InterServer or Akamai Linode. For them you get official specs and prices only, clearly marked. Their Lab tests are scheduled, and this page will be updated with the results.

Tested in the Lab Hetzner CX23, CX33, CX43, CAX11, CAX21 · hel1 · Nov 2026 · alternatives not yet tested

This page belongs to our Hetzner hub. If you are here because of the price rise, the dated timeline is in Hetzner price increase 2026.

When Hetzner is still the best value, per our data

We rented five Hetzner plans in Helsinki on 5 November 2026 and ran the same tests on each. These are the results that decide most self-hosting setups:

Measured by AI Hosting Lab on 2026-11-05 · 5 servers · method · raw data

Measured by AI Hosting Lab on 2026-11-05 · 5 servers · method · raw data

Measured by AI Hosting Lab on 2026-11-05 · 5 servers · method · raw data

What that means in practice:

• n8n alone: the CX23 at 5.49 euro net handled up to 15.04 executions/s with 0 failed requests, and our production n8n on a CX23 idles at 1,036 MiB of RAM for the whole server.
• n8n plus Supabase or a small model: the CX33 at 8.49 euro net. The official Supabase stack used 1,732 MiB of system RAM on it, and Llama 3.1 8B ran at 6.3 tokens/s.
• Reliability of the measurements: 0.0 % CPU steal on all five servers, and 41,644 to 53,796 random-read IOPS (input/output operations per second).

Add 0.50 euro net per month for a primary IPv4 address, which Hetzner bills separately. Full plan list:

From the Hetzner Cloud API, location hel1, checked 2026-11-05. "Incl. VAT" is what our Czech (EU consumer) account pays; businesses and buyers outside the EU usually pay the price excl. VAT. Primary IPv4 is billed separately.

When an alternative makes sense

• Your users are in the Americas or Asia. Hetzner's cost-optimized CX and CAX plans are listed for EU locations only. Hetzner does have US cloud locations (Ashburn and Hillsboro), but heise reported the steepest June 2026 rises there, with the US CPX41 going from 38.99 to 120.49 euro per month.
• You want someone else to look after the server. Hetzner Cloud is self-managed. InterServer includes managed support from 8 slices.
• You want n8n installed for you. Hostinger lists n8n (and "n8n with AI Assistant") in its VPS one-click app catalog.
• You cannot order. On 5 November 2026 Hetzner's cost-optimized page showed every CX and CAX model as "currently unavailable", and a status notice since 26 June 2026 restricts new servers for some customers. Our own account could still create servers that day; yours may not.

Hetzner alternatives compared

Official prices opened on 5 November 2026. Hetzner is in euro excluding VAT; the others are in US dollars as their pages show them. We do not convert currencies, because your card and tax status change the result.

The alternatives, one by one

Hostinger VPS

Not yet tested in our Lab; testing is scheduled. Hostinger's page lists KVM 1 (1 vCPU, 4 GB, 50 GB NVMe) at $6.49/mo, renewing at $11.99/mo, and KVM 2 (2 vCPU, 8 GB, 100 GB NVMe) at $8.79/mo, renewing at $14.99/mo. Both promo prices require a 24-month term, and "all plans are paid upfront", so KVM 2 is $210.96 on day one. The page names AMD EPYC processors, a 30-day money-back guarantee and n8n in its one-click catalog.

Best for: people who want n8n running without writing a compose file. Main drawback: the renewal price is 70 % higher than the promo on KVM 2. Skip it if: you do not want to prepay two years. Official page: Hostinger VPS plans.

DigitalOcean

Not yet tested in our Lab; testing is scheduled. The Basic Droplet with 2 vCPU, 4 GiB and 80 GiB SSD is $24/mo ($0.03571 an hour), and 4 vCPU with 8 GiB is $48/mo. The smallest Droplet is $4/mo for 1 vCPU and 512 MiB. Regions on the pricing page include San Francisco, New York, Toronto, Amsterdam, London, Frankfurt, Bangalore, Singapore and Sydney.

Best for: teams that want many regions and hourly billing from one account. Main drawback: $24 buys the same vCPU count and RAM that costs 5.49 euro at Hetzner. Skip it if: price per GB of RAM is your main criterion. Official page: DigitalOcean Droplet pricing.

Akamai Linode

Not yet tested in our Lab; testing is scheduled. linode.com now redirects to Akamai's pricing. Shared CPU plans: Nanode 1 GB at $5/mo, Linode 4 GB (2 vCPU, 80 GB, 4 TB transfer) at $24/mo, Linode 8 GB (4 vCPU) at $48/mo. Akamai advertises US$100 in credits for new accounts; after that you pay the regular price.

Best for: a DigitalOcean-style setup on Akamai's network. Main drawback: same price level as DigitalOcean, far above Hetzner. Skip it if: you are EU-only and self-managed. Official page: Akamai Linode pricing.

InterServer

Not yet tested in our Lab; testing is scheduled. InterServer sells "slices" at $3/mo each: 2 slices give 1 core, 4 GB, 80 GB SSD and 4 TB transfer for $6; 4 slices give 2 cores, 8 GB and 160 GB for $12. The page shows no promo and says there is "no quarterly or yearly discount", so the shown price is the regular one. Locations are New York, Dallas and Los Angeles. "Managed support is included on VPS plans with 8 slices or more", which is $24/mo for 4 cores and 16 GB. There is no trial and no money-back guarantee.

Best for: US-based self-hosting on a budget, and managed help at 8 slices. Main drawback: US locations only, and no refund if it does not suit you. Skip it if: your data should stay in the EU. Official page: InterServer VPS.

Vultr

Not yet tested in our Lab; testing is scheduled. Vultr's pricing page returned HTTP 403 to our check on 5 November 2026, so we do not quote a price we could not read. Check it yourself on the Vultr pricing page and compare it with the table above.

Best for: to be decided after our Lab test. Main drawback: no verified price from us today. Skip it if: you need a number you can trust from this page.

Staying on Hetzner

Measured in our Lab. The CX33 was the best value of the five plans we tested on both Ollama and n8n, at 3.76 peak n8n executions/s per euro and 13.5 tokens/s on Llama 3.2 3B. Hetzner offers referral credits only, not a commission, and it still wins on our numbers for EU users.

Best for: EU users comfortable with Ubuntu and Docker. Main drawback: CPU lottery on the CX line (our CX23 got an Intel Skylake) and uncertain availability. Skip it if: you need US locations or managed help. Official page: Hetzner Cloud. Before you order, read our Hetzner review.

What two years cost

Promo prices make short comparisons misleading, so here is the arithmetic for 24 months on the official prices shown on 5 November 2026, for the plans closest to a small n8n plus database setup. Taxes are not included.

Hetzner prices assume no further change; under Hetzner's June 2026 rules a running server keeps its price unless you rescale it, but the April 2026 round did apply to existing servers, so a future rise is possible. Hostinger's total is lowest among the alternatives for 8 GB of RAM, but only if you prepay and accept the higher renewal. InterServer costs more over two years than Hostinger's promo and less after it, with no prepayment. We have not measured how much work any of these plans actually does, which is the gap our Lab tests will close.

How to switch without surprises

1. Compare the renewal or regular price, not the promo, over the time you plan to stay.
2. Check that your stack has images for the target CPU. All of our tested apps (n8n, Supabase, Ollama) ran on both x86 and ARM at Hetzner; see Hetzner CX vs CAX.
3. Size RAM from measurements: n8n with Postgres idled at 1,036 MiB on our CX23, and Supabase used 1,564 to 1,870 MiB of system RAM across our five servers.
4. Keep the old server until the new one has run your workflows for a few days.

Next step: if n8n is the reason you are shopping, see our measured shortlist in best VPS for n8n.