DigitalOcean vs Hetzner: Comparing Cloud Hosting Providers

Pricing and product information are correct as of August 20, 2025, and subject to change.

Startups looking to scale quickly are increasingly choosing alternative cloud providers over hyperscalers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform to avoid vendor lock-in and reduce costs. However, not all alternative providers deliver the same capabilities or geographic reach. Hetzner has become a popular choice for European startups due to its competitive pricing, data privacy compliance with GDPR, and data centers concentrated across Germany, Finland, and other EU locations that ensure low latency for European users.

For businesses seeking broader international reach, DigitalOcean offers a compelling alternative with data centers spanning 15+ regions globally, including European locations in London, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt, plus DigitalOcean supports full GDPR compliance. Read on to learn about DigitalOcean vs Hetzner and discover which provider best suits your needs—whether you’re building a multi-region SaaS platform or a machine learning startup that needs specialized GPU infrastructure.

Overview of DigitalOcean vs Hetzner

While both DigitalOcean and Hetzner serve the cloud computing market, they take notably different approaches to serving their customers.

DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean offers a range of cloud products to digital native enterprises looking for simple scalable solutions with a user-friendly interface, transparent pricing, and strong customer support. The company offers a suite of cloud tools including Managed Databases, Managed Kubernetes, Load Balancers, Volumes block storage, and Spaces for object storage.

For AI/ML workloads, DigitalOcean offers Gradient AI Platform — a suite of AI products that includes GPU Droplets, bare metal GPU servers, and Gradient Platform for training models, running inference, and building AI agents that enable developers to deploy models in minutes rather than hours. DigitalOcean operates a global network of data centers—stretching from San Francisco, California to Sydney, Australia—helping to ensure efficient operations with minimal downtime.

Hetzner

Hetzner is known for offering cost-effective computing solutions, primarily focusing on computing resources and a more limited range of products. Hetzner does not provide managed databases, Kubernetes, or Platform as a Service (PaaS) options, which may restrict its suitability for specific applications. Hetzner’s data centers are predominantly located in Europe and North America, with one data center located in Singapore for coverage in Asia. . While Hetzner is an attractive option for its affordability within these regions, businesses requiring a more extensive service portfolio or global reach might look elsewhere.

Comparing DigitalOcean vs. Hetzner

We’ll break down how DigitalOcean and Hetzner stack up across product offerings, performance, customer support, and pricing so you can pick the provider that actually fits your needs. Here’s what matters most when choosing between these two cloud alternatives:

Performance and reliability

DigitalOcean provides consistent and reliable cloud hosting. They offer a 99.99% uptime service level agreement (SLA) around network, power and virtual server availability minimizing disruptions for your website or application. DigitalOcean also offers various virtual server configurations with clearly defined CPU, RAM, and storage specifications. This transparency allows you to select a plan that aligns with your resource needs, ensuring optimal performance for your workloads.

Hetzner delivers solid performance with modern AMD and Intel processors across their fleet, though their network infrastructure is primarily optimized for European traffic patterns. However, at the time of publication they do not currently offer an SLA. This means no guaranteed uptime percentage is outlined in their terms of service.

Product offerings

Here’s how DigitalOcean and Hetzner’s product lineups stack up to help you pick the right cloud provider for your specific requirements:

AI/ML offerings

Both DigitalOcean and Hetzner provide GPU-powered infrastructure for AI and machine learning workloads. DigitalOcean offers a full-stack AI cloud ecosystem that includes virtualized and bare metal GPU infrastructure, serverless agent development tools, managed model deployment, and integration with broader cloud services, while Hetzner focuses primarily on cost-effective dedicated GPU server hardware for European customers seeking sustained AI workloads.

DigitalOcean AI/ML offerings

DigitalOcean’s Gradient is a unified AI cloud platform that provides everything from infrastructure to development tools for machine learning workloads. The suite includes:

• GPU Droplets: NVIDIA H100/H200 GPUs and AMD Instinct MI300X/MI325X virtual machines with flexible single to 8-GPU configs, up to 75% savings vs hyperscalers, available in NYC/Toronto/Atlanta

• Bare Metal GPUs: Single-tenant dedicated hardware with direct access for intensive training workloads and complex multi-node deployments

• Gradient AI Platform: Serverless environment for building AI agents with access to GPT-4o, Claude 3.5, DeepSeek R1, and other leading models, plus RAG, function calling, and evaluation tools

• 1-Click Models: Hugging Face integration for instant deployment of popular models like Llama 3.1, DeepSeek R1, and Stable Diffusion with zero configuration

Hetzner AI/ML offerings

Hetzner focuses on dedicated GPU servers designed for AI training and inference, emphasizing cost-effective hardware in European data centers. Their offerings include:

• GEX44: NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF (20GB VRAM) at €184/month for trained AI model deployment

• GEX130: NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada (48GB VRAM) at €813/month for intensive AI training workloads

• Hosting supporting GDPR-compliance in Germany and Finland data centers with CUDA support

Pricing and plans

DigitalOcean features a user-friendly, transparent pricing model with a comprehensive range of services. Basic Droplet plans start at $4 monthly, with specialized options for general-purpose and CPU-optimized needs. Managed Databases begin at $15 per month, and Spaces Object Storage is priced at $5 per month for 250 GB storage. These features make DigitalOcean suitable for digital native enterprises seeking seamless, scalable cloud services.

Hetzner is known for its budget-friendly pricing, focusing primarily on computing resources. Hetzner online cloud server plans start at €4.51 per month, offering basic configurations, while dedicated servers and storage boxes provide additional options for resource-intensive applications. Hetzner does not offer managed databases or Kubernetes, requiring users to manage these services independently. While Hetzner also offers dedicated resources, no guaranteed uptime percentage is outlined in their terms of service. Additionally, the base price might not include features like backups, potentially leading to hidden costs. To ensure Hetzner remains cost-effective, carefully evaluate your resource needs and scrutinize plan details for potential add-on charges.

User experience and customer support

DigitalOcean is known for its intuitive and user-friendly interface, designed to provide the best value to scaling businesses. DigitalOcean provides a clean, easy-to-navigate dashboard that simplifies the management of cloud resources. Users can effortlessly deploy, manage, and scale applications, making it an ideal choice for those who prioritize simplicity and efficiency. Additionally, DigitalOcean offers extensive documentation, tutorials, and community Q&A’s forum where users can find solutions to common issues and share best practices.

With DigitalOcean users can access a range of support plans. The company provides a Starter Plan with every account, which features email support with a response time of under 24 hours. DigitalOcean also offers premium support plans for businesses that require more comprehensive assistance, including faster response times and dedicated account management.

The Hetzner Cloud Console is functional and straightforward, allowing users to deploy and manage their servers relatively easily. Customer support at Hetzner is efficient, with telephone support, ticket-based system and a comprehensive knowledge base.

Security and compliance

DigitalOcean provides a comprehensive suite of security features designed to help protect your cloud resources. These include cloud firewalls, private networking, and secure load balancing. The platform incorporates built-in DDoS protection to help defend against attacks and partners with Cloudflare to help enhance web server security further. Additionally, DigitalOcean offers a monitoring service that allows customers to set up alerts and notifications for various metrics, including security-related events.

For backup and disaster recovery, DigitalOcean offers Snapshots for Droplets and Spaces and automated backups for Managed Databases. DigitalOcean maintains several industry certifications, such as SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 Type II, reaffirming its commitment to stringent security standards.

Furthermore, DigitalOcean operates a Bug Bounty program through Intigriti, which rewards ethical hackers for identifying system vulnerabilities.

Hetzner offers a more basic approach to cloud security. Firewalls are included as a standard feature, helping to filter incoming and outgoing traffic on your server. They prioritize physical security at their data centers, implementing measures to safeguard your hardware. Basic DDoS protection is also included.

However, advanced security protocols like intrusion detection systems or multi-factor authentication are not currently available. While their website shares the company’s compliance certifications, major certifications like SOC 2 or HIPAA are currently not listed. They are committed to information security by achieving ISO 27001 certification, a recognized standard for information security management systems (ISMS).

References

• Hetzner Data Centers

• Hetzner Dedicated GPU Servers

DigitalOcean vs Hetzner FAQs

Which is better, DigitalOcean or Hetzner?

The choice depends on your specific needs. DigitalOcean offers a comprehensive cloud platform with managed services, global reach, and extensive AI/ML capabilities, making it ideal for businesses needing full-stack solutions and international presence. Hetzner focuses on cost-effective computing resources primarily in Europe, making it suitable for budget-conscious users who can manage their own databases and containerization needs.

Does DigitalOcean have a presence in Europe and is it GDPR compliant?

Yes, DigitalOcean operates data centers in several European locations including London, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt. All DigitalOcean services support GDPR compliance, helping to ensure that European businesses can meet their data protection requirements while benefiting from local data center proximity for reduced latency.

What managed services does DigitalOcean offer?

DigitalOcean provides a comprehensive suite of managed services including Managed Databases (MongoDB, Redis, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Kafka), Managed Kubernetes for container orchestration, Load Balancers, Volumes block storage, Spaces object storage, managed DNS, cloud monitoring, and serverless functions. The platform also offers AI/ML tools through its Gradient AI Platform with GPU Droplets and agent development capabilities.

What kind of customer support can I expect from DigitalOcean?

DigitalOcean provides 24/7 customer support with a free Starter Plan that includes email support with under 24-hour response times. Premium support plans start at $24/month and offer faster response times and dedicated account management. The platform also features extensive documentation, tutorials, and community forums for self-service support.

Build on the simple and scalable DigitalOcean cloud

Explore DigitalOcean as an alternative to Hetzner for reliable cloud hosting services. DigitalOcean provides a wide array of hosting solutions, featuring scalable cloud servers optimized for memory or storage, cloud VPS hosting, and a comprehensive product lineup, including Function as a Service (FaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) tools.

Here’s what Playflow Cloud, a game development platform, had to say about using DigitalOcean:

“I found DigitalOcean to have one of the best experiences I could use as a developer. DigitalOcean’s seamless migration process and superior developer experience made it an obvious choice. DigitalOcean’s team has been very responsive, providing technical support and also general account support. When we were first going from AWS to DigitalOcean, they made it really easy for us to migrate, experiment, build, and grow on DO.” - Haseeb, PlayFlow Cloud’s Founder and CEO

Here’s what DigitalOcean offers:

• Reliable platform: DigitalOcean provides for a 99.99% SLA for Droplet virtual machines, underscoring its commitment to consistent and dependable performance for virtualized computing resources.

• Flexible storage: Volumes block storage provides scalable and adaptable solutions, allowing users to adjust their storage needs dynamically and efficiently utilize resources as requirements change.

• Customer support: DigitalOcean focuses on customer satisfaction with elevated support options. Paid plans start at $24/month for faster response times and comprehensive coverage for critical incidents. Customers can access free 24/7 support channels, extensive documentation, and tutorials for seamless cloud server management.

• User-friendly control panel: The platform features an intuitive control panel that simplifies cloud resource management for users of all expertise levels.

• AI/ML infrastructure: DigitalOcean’s Gradient suite includes GPU Droplets with NVIDIA H100/H200 GPUs and AMD Instinct processors, bare metal GPU servers, a serverless platform for building AI agents with access to models like GPT-4o and Claude 3.5, plus 1-Click deployment of popular models like Llama 3.1 and Stable Diffusion.

• Managed Databases: Provides support databases like MongoDB, Redis, MySQL, NoSQL, and Kafka, helping to enhance ease of use and facilitating seamless integration of database functionalities.

• Managed Kubernetes: DigitalOcean streamlines the deployment and management of containerized applications via Managed Kubernetes, allowing users to focus on developing and deploying applications without the complexities of infrastructure management.

• One-click deployments: Users can easily deploy WordPress and manage hosting via Cloudways by DigitalOcean, simplifying the setup process.

Sign up with DigitalOcean to get started today.