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DigitalOcean vs Hetzner
DigitalOcean offers cloud droplets and managed databases, focusing on US/global data centres.
Short answer: Pick DigitalOcean if you want full-stack cloud with integrated AI inference; pick Hetzner if you want low-cost dedicated and cloud servers in Europe. DigitalOcean has a free plan; Hetzner is paid.
DigitalOceanCloud for developers: droplets, databases and app hosting
HetznerLow-cost dedicated servers and cloud VPS from GermanyWhich to pick
Pick DigitalOcean if you want…
- Full-stack cloud with integrated AI inference
- General cloud compute
- A free plan to start with (App Platform)
Pick Hetzner if you want…
- Low-cost dedicated and cloud servers in Europe
Side by side
- What it is
- DigitalOcean:DigitalOcean provides a unified cloud platform with compute, storage, managed databases, and AI/ML services for building and scaling applications.
- Hetzner:Hetzner offers low-cost dedicated servers, cloud VPS, web hosting and storage from data centres in Germany and Finland.
- Best for
- DigitalOcean:Full-stack cloud with integrated AI inference
- Hetzner:Low-cost dedicated and cloud servers in Europe
- Who it’s for
- DigitalOcean:Developers and teams building AI agents, web apps, and data-intensive workloads.
- Hetzner:Developers and businesses that need affordable European-based server infrastructure.
- Pricing
- DigitalOcean:Freemium
- Hetzner:Paid
- Free plan or trial
- DigitalOcean:Free plan (App Platform)
- Hetzner:—
- Plans
- DigitalOcean:DigitalOcean Harness Runtime $0.0535/hr per hour · Action Gateway $0.10/1,000 calls · Inference $0.05/M tokens · GPU Droplets $1.91/GPU/hour per hour · App Platform $0/month
- Hetzner:—
- Works with
- DigitalOcean:Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Valkey, OpenSearch, Prometheus, Grafana
- Hetzner:—
DigitalOcean features
- Managed Agents. Run production AI agents on the same stack as data, inference and infrastructure without cross-vendor hops.
- Inference Engine. Serverless, dedicated or batch inference on 70+ models with an intelligent router that selects the best model per call.
- Core Cloud Compute. Droplets, GPU Droplets, Managed Kubernetes and App Platform for any workload, with per-second billing.
- Managed Databases & Vector Stores. Fully managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Valkey, OpenSearch and vector databases with automated backups.
- Functions & Serverless. Event-driven serverless functions that scale automatically and charge only for usage.
- Networking & Security. Load balancers, VPC, firewall, CSPM and global CDN with flat pricing and free data transfer within regions.
Hetzner features
- Dedicated Servers. Root servers with high performance and excellent network connectivity.
- GPU Servers. Multi-GPU servers (e.g., GEX430) with up to four NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 GPUs for AI workloads.
- Cloud VPS. Flexible cloud servers with high-end hardware starting at €5.99 per month.
- Managed Servers. Fully managed servers where Hetzner handles technical maintenance.
- Web Hosting. Simple, cheap hosting for personal or business websites starting at €1.60 per month.
- Storage Solutions. Storage Share and Storage Boxes for file sharing and remote access.
- Server Auction. Bid on hardware specifications and snap up discounted dedicated servers.
- Custom Solutions. Tailored hardware setups on demand for specific business needs.
DigitalOcean vs Hetzner FAQ
What is the difference between DigitalOcean and Hetzner?+
DigitalOcean offers cloud droplets and managed databases, focusing on US/global data centres.
Should I use DigitalOcean or Hetzner?+
Pick DigitalOcean if you want full-stack cloud with integrated AI inference, general cloud compute or a free plan to start with (App Platform). Pick Hetzner if you want low-cost dedicated and cloud servers in Europe.
Is DigitalOcean or Hetzner free?+
DigitalOcean has a free plan (App Platform) and paid plans. Hetzner is paid.
On DevHunt
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.