Hetzner vs OVHcloud for a Cheap European VPS
Hetzner and OVHcloud are the two names most developers find when they look for a cheap European server. Both offer 4 GB of RAM for a few euros a month and neither has a free tier. The difference is in how you pay and what the price includes.
At a glance
Choose OVHcloud VPS-1 for the lowest monthly price on a server you will keep for a year, with unlimited traffic. Choose Hetzner Cloud when you want hourly billing, no commitment, Arm options and a cloud API for servers you create and delete often.
Choose Hetzner Cloud if
- You want hourly billing and no commitment
- You create and delete servers often, or automate them with the API or Terraform
- You want Arm (Ampere) servers or data centers in Germany and Finland
Choose OVHcloud VPS if
- You want the lowest entry price and plan to keep the server for a year
- You prefer unlimited traffic over a monthly allowance
- You want a French provider and room to grow into the wider OVHcloud catalogue
Key differences
| Hetzner Cloud | OVHcloud VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | €5.99/month excl. VAT (CX23) | From €3.81/month excl. VAT (VPS-1) |
| Entry resources | 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe | 2 vCores, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe |
| Traffic | 20 TB included in the EU, then €1 per TB | Unlimited at 500 Mbps |
| Billing | Hourly with a monthly cap | Lowest price appears to require 12 months upfront |
| Headquarters | Germany | France |
| Free tier | None | None (Public Cloud trial credit is a separate product) |
VPS & Cloud Servers
No free tier. Cost-Optimized CX23 starts at €5.99/month excl. VAT with 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe and 20 TB traffic
Paid from €5.99/month excl. VAT
- No free tier or trial credit is advertised
- CX23: 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe for €5.99/month excl. VAT
- Arm CAX11 with the same RAM and disk for €6.49/month excl. VAT
- Very low price per GB of RAM for a European provider
- 20 TB of traffic included on EU servers
- No free tier; you pay from the first hour
Best for
- Developers who outgrew free tiers and want an always-on server for a few euros
- Docker Compose stacks, self-managed databases and background workers
VPS & Cloud Servers
No free VPS. VPS-1 starts at €3.81/month excl. VAT with 2 vCores, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe and unlimited traffic
Paid from €3.81/month excl. VAT
- No free VPS tier
- VPS-1: 2 vCores, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe from €3.81/month excl. VAT
- Unlimited traffic at 500 Mbps public bandwidth
- One of the lowest entry prices for 4 GB of RAM
- Unlimited traffic with included anti-DDoS
- No free tier
Best for
- Cheap always-on servers for side projects and small businesses
- French and EU teams that want a French provider
The catch?
Hetzner Cloud
- No free tier (paid only)
- Overage auto-bills
- Some constraints remain unconfirmed
OVHcloud VPS
- No free tier (paid only)
- Some constraints remain unconfirmed
Detailed comparison
| Hetzner Cloud | OVHcloud VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier & pricing | ||
| Free tier ↑ better | No free tier ★ | No free tier ★ |
| Paid from ↓ better | €5.99/mo | €3.81/mo ★ |
| Regions ↑ better | 6 locations | — |
| VPS & Cloud Servers | ||
| Entry plan RAM ↑ better | 4 GB ★ | 4 GB ★ |
FAQ
OVHcloud VPS-1 has the lower advertised price, from €3.81 per month excluding VAT, but that price appears to assume a 12-month upfront payment. Hetzner CX23 costs €5.99 per month excluding VAT with hourly billing and no commitment.
Neither offers a free VPS. OVHcloud advertises a separate Public Cloud trial credit with its own conditions.
Both run Docker and self-hosted PaaS tools such as Coolify on their 4 GB entry plans. Hetzner is easier for throwaway or automated servers thanks to hourly billing; OVHcloud is cheaper for a server you keep long term.