Tools / VPS prices / Hetzner vs DigitalOcean
Hetzner vs DigitalOcean
What each actually costs per month once bandwidth is counted, at six common sizes. List prices checked 7 October 2026; backups are compared separately below.
Verdict
DigitalOcean is cheaper in 4 of 6 scenarios; Hetzner wins 2.
| Scenario | Hetzner | DigitalOcean | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
Small site 2 GB · 1 TB/mo | $21.09 CPX11 · 1 TB incl. | $12.00 Basic 1 vCPU / 2 GB · 2 TB incl. | DigitalOcean |
Busy site 4 GB · 2 TB/mo | $38.09 CPX21 · 2 TB incl. | $24.00 Basic 2 vCPU / 4 GB · 4 TB incl. | DigitalOcean |
Traffic-heavy 4 GB · 10 TB/mo | $47.69 CPX21 · 2 TB incl. · $9.60 overage | $84.00 Basic 2 vCPU / 4 GB · 4 TB incl. · $60.00 overage | Hetzner |
App server 8 GB · 5 TB/mo | $76.49 CPX31 · 3 TB incl. · $2.40 overage | $48.00 Basic 4 vCPU / 8 GB · 5 TB incl. | DigitalOcean |
Large workload 16 GB · 10 TB/mo | $149.29 CPX41 · 4 TB incl. · $7.20 overage | $136.00 Basic 8 vCPU / 16 GB · 6 TB incl. · $40.00 overage | DigitalOcean |
Bandwidth-heavy 16 GB · 30 TB/mo | $173.29 CPX41 · 4 TB incl. · $31.20 overage | $336.00 Basic 8 vCPU / 16 GB · 6 TB incl. · $240.00 overage | Hetzner |
"Unclear" means a provider does not publish its overage rate and that unknown charge could decide the result.
Side by side
Hetzner
TrafficMonthly allowance per plan
Overage$0.0012 per GB ($1.20 per TB)
Backups+20% of the plan price
Plans from$21.09 a month
Hetzner US prices after its 15 June 2026 increase, including the $0.60 IPv4 address.
DigitalOcean
TrafficMonthly allowance per plan
Overage$0.01 per GB ($10.00 per TB)
Backups+20% of the plan price
Plans from$6.00 a month
Try your own numbers in the calculator, with all 10 providers and backups included.
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