Hetzner vs AWS EC2
Hetzner and AWS EC2 side by side: what each one is, verified plan pricing and install commands where we have them, and the full review of each.
Hetzner
European cloud and dedicated server provider. Famously cheap dedicated boxes, generous bandwidth, and Cloud VPS that undercut AWS by an order of magnitude.
AWS EC2
Amazon's core compute service. Hundreds of instance types, every region, deep integration with the rest of AWS. The default enterprise compute layer.
At a glance
| Field | H Hetzner | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Infrastructure | Infrastructure |
| Website | hetzner.com | aws.amazon.com |
| Pricing | Cloud Regular Performance (shared vCPU) - from €6.49/mo (CPX02: 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM) in EU locations, incl. IPv4, excl. VAT; billed hourly up to a monthly cap; Cloud General Purpose (dedicated vCPU) - from €43.49/mo (CCX13: 2 vCPU, 8 GB RAM); Cloud Cost-Optimized (shared) - listed as currently not available; EU cloud servers include 20 TB of traffic, then €1.00 per additional TB; Dedicated root servers - from €59.00/mo (AX41) | On-Demand - pay by the hour or second (60-second minimum), no upfront payment or long-term commitment; Savings Plans - up to 72% off On-Demand prices in exchange for a usage commitment; Spot Instances - spare EC2 capacity at up to 90% off On-Demand prices; Free Tier - new accounts get $100 in credits plus up to $100 more, usable for up to 6 months on the Free plan; EC2 is available on both Free and Paid plans; Dedicated Hosts, On-Demand Capacity Reservations, and EC2 Capacity Blocks for ML - priced separately |
| Install | brew install hcloud or go install github.com/hetznercloud/cli/cmd/hcloud@latest or winget install HetznerCloud.CLI | curl -fsSL https://awscli.amazonaws.com/v2/install.sh | bash |
| Models | Not an AI tool: cloud servers run Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and other Linux images in Falkenstein, Nuremberg, Helsinki, Ashburn, Hillsboro and Singapore, managed through the Hetzner Console, a REST API, the hcloud CLI, official Go and Python libraries, and Terraform, Ansible or Kubernetes integrations. One-click apps include Coolify and Docker CE. | Not an AI tool: you pick an instance type and an AMI for each launch through the console, AWS CLI, or SDKs. Per-second billing covers Amazon Linux, Windows, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu and Ubuntu Pro, and GPU instances for ML can be reserved in advance through EC2 Capacity Blocks. |
| Last verified | October 17, 2026 | October 17, 2026 |
In Depth
Hetzner
Hetzner is the budget power user's cloud. A dedicated AX-line server with 64 cores and 128GB of RAM costs less than a single mid-tier AWS EC2 instance, and bandwidth is effectively free at typical workloads. The trade-off is that you operate it yourself: no managed Kubernetes, no managed databases, no global edge. Many indie hackers and bootstrapped SaaS teams have moved core infrastructure to Hetzner and pair it with Coolify or Dokku for app deploys. Cloud servers run in Falkenstein, Nuremberg and Helsinki, plus Ashburn and Hillsboro in the US and Singapore since 2024.
AWS EC2
EC2 is the foundational compute primitive of AWS. You pick an instance type and an AMI, and you get a virtual machine you can do anything with. The breadth is unmatched: GPU instances, ARM Graviton, bare metal, spot pricing, reserved capacity, every region on Earth. The cost is complexity and price: EC2 is more expensive than Hetzner or DigitalOcean for raw compute, and the AWS console can overwhelm new users. Best fit when you need the full AWS ecosystem, regulatory coverage, or specific hardware (GPUs at scale).
FAQ
Answers taken from each tool's verified fact sheet, with the date it was last checked.
How much does Hetzner cost?
As of October 17, 2026: Cloud Regular Performance (shared vCPU) - from €6.49/mo (CPX02: 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM) in EU locations, incl. IPv4, excl. VAT; billed hourly up to a monthly cap; Cloud General Purpose (dedicated vCPU) - from €43.49/mo (CCX13: 2 vCPU, 8 GB RAM); Cloud Cost-Optimized (shared) - listed as currently not available; EU cloud servers include 20 TB of traffic, then €1.00 per additional TB; Dedicated root servers - from €59.00/mo (AX41). Source: Hetzner Cloud, Regular Performance plans, General Purpose plans, Dedicated root servers, Setting up hcloud CLI, Hetzner Cloud changelog.
How do I install Hetzner?
Official install commands as of October 17, 2026: brew install hcloud or go install github.com/hetznercloud/cli/cmd/hcloud@latest or winget install HetznerCloud.CLI.
Which models does Hetzner use?
As of October 17, 2026: Not an AI tool: cloud servers run Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and other Linux images in Falkenstein, Nuremberg, Helsinki, Ashburn, Hillsboro and Singapore, managed through the Hetzner Console, a REST API, the hcloud CLI, official Go and Python libraries, and Terraform, Ansible or Kubernetes integrations. One-click apps include Coolify and Docker CE.
How much does AWS EC2 cost?
As of October 17, 2026: On-Demand - pay by the hour or second (60-second minimum), no upfront payment or long-term commitment; Savings Plans - up to 72% off On-Demand prices in exchange for a usage commitment; Spot Instances - spare EC2 capacity at up to 90% off On-Demand prices; Free Tier - new accounts get $100 in credits plus up to $100 more, usable for up to 6 months on the Free plan; EC2 is available on both Free and Paid plans; Dedicated Hosts, On-Demand Capacity Reservations, and EC2 Capacity Blocks for ML - priced separately. Source: Amazon EC2 pricing, AWS Free Tier, Install the AWS CLI, AWS What's New feed.
How do I install AWS EC2?
Official install commands as of October 17, 2026: curl -fsSL https://awscli.amazonaws.com/v2/install.sh | bash.
Which models does AWS EC2 use?
As of October 17, 2026: Not an AI tool: you pick an instance type and an AMI for each launch through the console, AWS CLI, or SDKs. Per-second billing covers Amazon Linux, Windows, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu and Ubuntu Pro, and GPU instances for ML can be reserved in advance through EC2 Capacity Blocks.
