Contabo and Hetzner are the two German providers people compare when they want a VPS for a few euros a month: a WordPress site, a WireGuard VPN, Nextcloud, a Docker host, a game server. Both are established, both sell root access on Linux servers in Europe, and both are far cheaper than AWS or Google Cloud. They do not sell the same thing, though: Contabo sells a lot of RAM and disk per euro on a long commitment, Hetzner sells a cloud platform billed by the hour.
How we compared
This comparison relies on what both providers publish themselves, read on 24 October 2026: the Contabo Cloud VPS page and the Hetzner cost-optimized and regular performance cloud pages (Hetzner prices come from the price service that feeds those pages). We did not run a benchmark: this is a documentary comparison, and we say so rather than invent performance numbers.
Contabo runs an affiliate programme and we earn a commission if you order through our Contabo links. Hetzner does not pay us. It does not change the price you pay, and Hetzner wins several rows of the table below.
The comparison table
| Criterion | Contabo (Cloud VPS 4) | Hetzner (CX33) |
|---|---|---|
| vCPU / RAM | 4 vCPU / 8 GB | 4 vCPU (Intel/AMD, shared) / 8 GB |
| Storage | 100 GB SSD | 80 GB NVMe |
| Price | EUR 4.40 excl. VAT/month for the first 24 months | EUR 8.99/month, IPv4 included |
| Billing | Monthly, best price on a 24-month term | Hourly, capped at the monthly price |
| Traffic | Unlimited (fair use), 200 Mbit/s port | 20 TB/month included in Europe |
| Snapshots | 1 included | Paid add-on |
| Locations | 9 regions, 11 locations (Europe, US, UK, Asia, Australia) | Germany, Finland, US, Singapore |
| Next size up | Cloud VPS 6: 6 vCPU, 12 GB, EUR 6.00 excl. VAT/month | CX43: 8 vCPU, 16 GB, EUR 16.49/month |
Contabo prices are shown excluding VAT; for a customer billed in France the page displayed EUR 5.28 per month with 20 % VAT for Cloud VPS 4. Hetzner prices are those returned for the cloud pages, IPv4 included; check at checkout whether VAT is added for your country.
Price: RAM per euro versus flexibility
This is the row that decides most choices. At equal configuration (4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM), Contabo costs EUR 4.40 and Hetzner EUR 8.99 a month. Over 24 months: EUR 105.60 at Contabo, EUR 215.76 at Hetzner. Going up one size widens the gap: 24 GB of RAM cost EUR 11.20 excl. VAT a month at Contabo (Cloud VPS 8), while 16 GB cost EUR 16.49 at Hetzner (CX43).
Hetzner's AMD "regular performance" line is far more expensive in late 2026: the CPX32 (4 vCPU, 8 GB, 160 GB NVMe) was listed at EUR 35.99 per month on 24 October. If you read an older comparison quoting Hetzner at three or four euros, it is out of date.
Two caveats on the Contabo side. The EUR 4.40 price is tied to the first 24 months: the page shows a higher price struck through, and does not print the price after those 24 months, so check it in your customer area before the term ends. And a 24-month term is a commitment: if you only need a server for a week, Hetzner's hourly billing will cost you a few euros where Contabo would bill the month.
Billing and availability
Hetzner states it plainly: a cloud server is billed by the hour and the bill never exceeds the monthly price cap; delete the server mid-month and you pay only the hours used. That makes it ideal for automation (Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, CI runners) and for trying a configuration before committing. One thing we noticed on 24 October 2026: Hetzner's cost-optimized page labelled the CX and CAX plans "not available". Check availability in the console before you plan a project around them.
Contabo is built for servers that stay up. The lowest prices come with the 24-month term, the plans are larger for the money, and every Cloud VPS includes at least one snapshot. Contabo also offers storage extensions (up to 1.2 TB on the largest Core plan) for backup and archive workloads.
Traffic and network
Contabo advertises unlimited inbound and outbound traffic on every Cloud VPS, under a fair usage policy, with a port speed that grows with the plan: 200 Mbit/s on Cloud VPS 4, 300 Mbit/s on Cloud VPS 6, 600 Mbit/s on Cloud VPS 8, 1 Gbit/s from Cloud VPS 16. Hetzner includes 20 TB per month in its European locations (less in Singapore and the US), which is more than most personal projects ever use.
For a personal VPN or a website, both are more than enough. For a server that streams or serves large files to many people, Contabo's port speed on the small plans is the limit to watch.
Locations and data protection
Hetzner runs its own data centre parks in Falkenstein, Nuremberg and Helsinki, and also offers cloud servers in Ashburn, Hillsboro and Singapore. It states that its German and Finnish parks are ISO/IEC 27001 certified and that it holds a BSI C5 attestation, which matters for business workloads under GDPR. Contabo, also a German company, advertises 9 regions and 11 locations, including the UK, Asia and Australia, which Hetzner's cloud does not cover.
Who should pick which, in 2026?
Our verdict
For most people who search "Contabo vs Hetzner", the project is a long-running server on a budget, and on that use Contabo gives roughly twice the RAM for the same money on 24 October 2026. Hetzner remains the reference when flexibility matters more than raw resources: hourly billing, automation, and short-lived servers. If you are still hesitating, start with the size you actually need in RAM: that number, more than the brand, decides the bill.
To understand how we pick the providers we present on this site, read our review criteria.
Frequently asked questions
Contabo or Hetzner: which one is cheaper?
At equal RAM, Contabo. On 24 October 2026, Contabo Cloud VPS 4 (4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM) cost EUR 4.40 excl. VAT per month for the first 24 months, while Hetzner listed its CX33 (4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM) at EUR 8.99 per month and its CPX32 (4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, AMD) at EUR 35.99 per month, IPv4 included. Over 24 months that is EUR 105.60 at Contabo against EUR 215.76 for a CX33.
Is Hetzner billed by the hour?
Yes. Hetzner states that a cloud server is billed by the hour and that the bill never exceeds the monthly price cap: if you delete the server before the end of the month, you only pay the hours used. Contabo's lowest prices require a 24-month term, which suits a server you keep, not one you test for a weekend.
Does Contabo really have unlimited traffic?
Contabo advertises unlimited inbound and outbound transfer on every Cloud VPS plan, with a fair usage policy. The limit that matters is the port speed: 200 Mbit/s on Cloud VPS 4, 300 Mbit/s on Cloud VPS 6, up to 1 Gbit/s on the larger plans. Hetzner includes 20 TB of traffic per month in its European locations.
Where are Contabo and Hetzner servers located?
Hetzner offers its cloud servers in Germany (Falkenstein, Nuremberg), Finland (Helsinki), the United States (Ashburn, Hillsboro) and Singapore, and states that its German and Finnish data centre parks are ISO/IEC 27001 certified. Contabo advertises 9 regions and 11 locations across Europe, the US, the UK, Asia and Australia.
Which one for a WordPress site or a VPN server?
For a WordPress site, a WireGuard server, Nextcloud or a mail server that runs all year, Contabo gives the most RAM and storage per euro. For short tests, CI jobs, Kubernetes nodes or anything you create and destroy through an API, Hetzner's hourly billing and console are the better tool.