Contabo vs Hetzner: Complete 2026 Comparison
Contabo and Hetzner are both cloud infrastructure providers, but they suit different priorities. Across our 7-category breakdown, Hetzner comes out ahead, winning 2 of them — including Price and Performance.
Data last updated July 2026
Overall Winner
Hetzner
- Wins in 2 of 7 categories
- Top in: Best Price, Best Performance
- 4.0/5 overall rating
Contabo vs Hetzner: Overview
On entry pricing, Hetzner is the cheaper option at $2.00/mo versus $5.50/mo for Contabo.
Contabo's standout is highest specs per dollar with 8GB RAM VPS for under $5/month and 32TB bandwidth — a natural fit for developer or tech user wanting maximum specs at minimum cost who doesn't need premium support. Hetzner, by contrast, leans on best price-performance VPS in industry with 100% green energy and German data protection, ideal for developer or business wanting affordable, high-performance infrastructure with European data sovereignty.
Category Winners
Best Price
Hetzner
$2.00/mo vs $5.50/mo
Best Value
Tie
Similar renewal pricing
Best Performance
Hetzner
99.9% uptime, 4.0/5 rating
Best Support
Contabo
Live chat, Phone, 24/7
Best for WordPress
Tie
Similar WordPress features
Best for Developers
Tie
Similar developer features
Best for Beginners
Tie
Similar beginner-friendliness
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Essential Info | ||
| Hosting Type | Cloud Infrastructure | Cloud Infrastructure |
| Monthly Price | $5.50/mo | $2.00/mo |
| Renewal Price | $5.50 | $2.00 |
| Renewal Markup | 0% | 0% |
| Overall Rating | 3.6/5 | 4.0/5 |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.9% | 99.9% |
| Trustpilot Rating | 4.5/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Trustpilot Reviews | 9,514 | 2,570 |
| Free SSL | ||
| Free Domain | ||
| Free Migration | ||
| Pricing Details | ||
| First Year Cost | $66.00 | $41.88 |
| Second Year Cost | $66.00 | $41.88 |
| Money Back Guarantee | 14 days | 14 days |
| Setup Fee | Free | Free |
| Monthly Billing | ||
| Minimum Contract | 1 months | 1 months |
| Technical Specs | ||
| Storage | 100 GB | 10 GB |
| Storage Type | SSD/NVME | SSD/NVME |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | 20000 GB |
| Max Websites | — | — |
| Max Databases | — | — |
| PHP Versions | — | 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 |
| SSH Access | ||
| Git Deployment | ||
| Staging Environment | — | — |
| Cron Jobs | ||
| Redis Available | ||
| Programming Languages | ||
| Node.js Support | ||
| Python Support | ||
| Ruby Support | ||
| WordPress Features | ||
| WordPress Optimized | ||
| WordPress Auto-Install | ||
| WordPress Auto-Updates | ||
| WordPress Staging | ||
| WooCommerce Optimized | ||
| LiteSpeed Cache | ||
| Object Caching | ||
| WP Multisite | ||
| WP-CLI Access | ||
| Security | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| DDoS Protection Level | Basic DDoS protection included | Basic DDoS protection included; Advanced protection available |
| Malware Scanning | ||
| Malware Removal | ||
| Firewall Included | ||
| Backup Frequency | Manual/Snapshot-based | Manual/Snapshot-based |
| Backup Retention | — | — |
| Backup Restore Fee | Free | Free |
| On-Demand Backup | ||
| Two-Factor Auth | ||
| Wildcard SSL | ||
| Dedicated IP | ||
| Support | ||
| Support Channels | Live Chat, Ticket, Phone, Knowledge Base | Ticket, Phone, Knowledge Base, Community Forum |
| Live Chat | ||
| Live Chat Hours | 24/7 | — |
| Phone Support | ||
| Phone Support Hours | Business hours | Business hours (Mon-Fri) |
| Ticket Support | ||
| Priority Support | ||
| Support Languages | German, English | German, English |
| Knowledge Base Quality | 3.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Avg Support Wait | — | — |
| Email Accounts | ||
| Email Account Limit | 0 | 0 |
| Mailbox Size | — | — |
| Webmail Access | ||
| Spam Filter | ||
| Email Forwarding | ||
| Performance | ||
| CDN Included | ||
| CDN Provider | — | — |
| Server Locations | Nuremberg (Germany), Munich (Germany), Düsseldorf (Germany), New York (US), St. Louis (US), Seattle (US), Los Angeles (US), London (UK), Singapore, Tokyo (Japan), Sydney (Australia) | Nuremberg (Germany), Falkenstein (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Ashburn, VA (US), Hillsboro, OR (US), Singapore |
| Server Location Count | 11 | 6 |
| Choose Server Location | ||
| HTTP/2 Support | ||
| Brotli Compression | — | — |
| Uptime SLA Credit | ||
| Platform Support | ||
| Drupal Support | ||
| Joomla Support | ||
| Magento Support | ||
| Laravel Support | ||
| Django Support | ||
| Next.js Support | ||
| Rails Support | ||
| Static Site Support | ||
| Control Panel | ||
| cPanel Included | ||
| Control Panel | Contabo Control Panel | Hetzner Cloud Console |
| Softaculous | ||
| Website Builder | ||
| Builder Name | — | — |
| Migration | ||
| Migration Websites Limit | 0 | 0 |
| Migration Turnaround | — | — |
| Paid Migration Cost | — | — |
| Migration Quality | — | — |
| Compliance | ||
| GDPR Compliant | ||
| PCI Compliant | ||
| HIPAA Compliant | ||
| Data Center Certs | ISO 27001 | ISO 27001, SOC 1, SOC 2, C5 (BSI) |
| Ratings | ||
| Value for Money | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Performance Rating | 4.0/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Support Quality | 2.5/10 | 2.5/10 |
| Security Rating | 3.5/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Features Rating | 3.0/10 | 3.5/10 |
| Ease of Use | 3.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| Transparency Rating | 4.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Suitability Scores | ||
| For Bloggers | 2.0/10 | 2.0/10 |
| For E-commerce | 3.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| For Agencies | 3.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Developers | 5.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| For Beginners | 1.0/10 | 1.0/10 |
| For Enterprise | 3.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Policies | ||
| Bandwidth Overage | Unlimited traffic; fair usage policy applies (throttling for disruptive usage) | 20TB+ included; €1.19/TB overage |
| Storage Overage | Pay for additional storage | Pay for additional storage volumes |
| Adult Content Allowed | ||
| Gambling Sites Allowed | ||
| Crypto Sites Allowed | ||
| Reseller Hosting | ||
| White Label | ||
| API Access | ||
| Company Info | ||
| Year Founded | 2003 | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Germany | Germany |
| Parent Company | Independent (privately held; founded by Michael Herpich and Michael Bolke as Giga-International, rebranded to Contabo 2013) | Independent (privately held; founded by Martin Hetzner) |
| Green Hosting | — | |
| Instant Activation | ||
| Managed WordPress | ||
| Managed WP Available | ||
| Pricing Model | — | — |
| Monthly Visit Limit | — | — |
| Visit Overage Cost | — | — |
| PHP Workers | — | — |
| Plugin Restrictions | — | — |
| Dev Environment | — | — |
| Dev Env Name | — | — |
| Regional Info | ||
| Best Countries | Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, Australia | Germany, Finland, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, United States |
| Local Currencies | EUR, USD, GBP | EUR, USD |
| Support Languages | German, English | German, English |
| Data Sovereignty | GDPR | GDPR |
| External Ratings | ||
| G2 Rating | 4.0/5 | 4.5/5 |
| BBB Rating | N/A (Germany-based) | N/A (Germany-based) |
| Advanced Technical | ||
| Inode Limit | — | — |
| Max DB Size | — | — |
| Max Upload Size | — | — |
| Database Type | MySQL/MariaDB/PostgreSQL | MySQL/MariaDB/PostgreSQL |
| Elasticsearch | ||
| Image Optimization | — | — |
| PHP Switching | — | |
| Subdomains | — | — |
| FTP Accounts | — | — |
| Additional Pricing | ||
| Free Domain Duration | — | — |
| Money Back Exclusions | 14-day cancellation period; Most setup fees non-refundable once server deployed | 14-day cancellation period for most services; Dedicated servers typically have setup fees that may not be refunded |
| Payment Methods | Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, Bank Transfer, SEPA Direct Debit | Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, Bank Transfer, SEPA Direct Debit |
| Auto Renewal Default | ||
| Domain Privacy Included | — | |
| Domain Privacy Cost | — | — |
| SSL Provider | Self-managed (Let's Encrypt recommended) | Self-managed (Let's Encrypt recommended) |
| Dedicated IP Cost | — | $1/mo |
| Additional Support | ||
| Phone Support Countries | Germany, United States, United Kingdom | Germany |
| Priority Support Cost | — | — |
| Community Forum | ||
| Support Outsourced | ||
| Object Cache Type | — | — |
| Business & Affiliate | ||
| Affiliate Program | ||
| Commission Type | Per sale | Revenue share |
| Commission Amount | €25-€100 per referral; 30-day cookie | 10% recurring commission; 30-day cookie |
| Additional Policies | ||
| File Hosting Allowed | ||
| Proxy/VPN Allowed | ||
| Bandwidth Overage Cost | — | $1.19 |
| Account Suspension Policy | Violation of ToS; non-payment; abuse reports | Violation of ToS; non-payment; abuse reports; illegal content |
| Malware Removal Cost | — | — |
| Downloadable Backups | ||
| Additional Platforms | ||
| PrestaShop | ||
| Ghost | ||
| Shopify Migration | ||
| Wix Migration | ||
| Squarespace Migration | ||
| Webflow Export | ||
| Editorial Info | ||
| Best For | Budget-conscious users wanting high specs at low price; Developers comfortable with unmanaged servers; Users needing lots of RAM/storage cheaply; Long-term projects where value matters most; Users who don't need premium support | Developers wanting best price-performance VPS/dedicated; European businesses needing GDPR-compliant hosting; Users comfortable with self-management; Cost-conscious users wanting consistent pricing; Large-scale deployments; Users wanting green hosting |
| Avoid If | Need reliable 24/7 support; Want managed WordPress; Require consistent uptime; Beginner requiring hand-holding; Need included cPanel; Critical applications requiring premium reliability | Need managed WordPress hosting; Want 24/7 live chat support; Beginner requiring hand-holding; Need cPanel included; US-based wanting local support; Need included email hosting |
| Known Issues | Support response times can be slow and inconsistent; No managed services; No cPanel included; Some users report downtime issues (26-hour outage reported); Policies described as inconsistent; No phone support 24/7; Backups are manual only; Interface less polished than competitors | Support limited to business hours and primarily German; No live chat support; Strict account verification can frustrate users; No managed WordPress; No cPanel/Plesk included; SSL not included free; Mixed Trustpilot reviews (3.5) despite excellent G2 (4.5); Some account termination complaints |
| Unique Selling Point | Highest specs per dollar with 8GB RAM VPS for under $5/month and 32TB bandwidth | Best price-performance VPS in industry with 100% green energy and German data protection |
| Ideal Customer | Developer or tech user wanting maximum specs at minimum cost who doesn't need premium support | Developer or business wanting affordable, high-performance infrastructure with European data sovereignty |
| Best Alternative To | Hetzner | Contabo |
| Primary Competitors | Hetzner, OVHcloud, Vultr | Contabo, OVHcloud, Vultr |
We strive for accuracy, but pricing and features change frequently. Some data may be outdated. Report an error and we'll update it promptly.
Our Verdict
Choose Contabo if you...
- Require 24/7 live chat support
- Want more server locations (11 available)
Choose Hetzner if you...
- Want to save money ($2.00/mo vs $5.50/mo)
- Want higher-rated hosting (4.0/5)
- Need enterprise-grade features
Contabo vs Hetzner: Frequently Asked Questions
Is Contabo cheaper than Hetzner?
Yes — Hetzner is cheaper, starting at $2.00/mo compared with $5.50/mo for Contabo. Factor in renewals too: Hetzner marks up about 0% after the first term.
Does Contabo or Hetzner have better uptime?
Hetzner edges out Contabo on performance with a 99.9% uptime guarantee and a 4.0/5 overall rating. For uptime-sensitive sites, it's the more dependable choice.
Which has better customer support, Contabo or Hetzner?
Contabo has the edge on support offering 24/7 live chat, phone support and ticket support.
Should I choose Contabo or Hetzner?
For most users, Hetzner is the better overall choice, winning 2 of our 7 categories (notably Price and Performance). That said, the right host depends on your specific needs — check the category breakdown above for the factors that matter to you.
Further reading on Contabo vs Hetzner
Guides from our research desk that go deeper on this comparison.
- Contabo Reviews 2026: What Trustpilot and the Ratings Really SayContabo offers the cheapest specs-per-dollar in hosting and a 4.5 Trustpilot — but the support and reliability complaints are real. Here's the honest rating breakdown.Read guide
- Hetzner Reviews 2026: Why Trustpilot (3.5) and G2 (4.5) DisagreeHetzner is the price-performance king with a 4.5 G2 score — but only 3.5 on Trustpilot. Here's what's behind the split, and who Hetzner is genuinely right for.Read guide
- How to Tell If Your VPS Host Is Overselling (And How to Test It)That '8GB VPS' feels like 2GB? You may be on an oversold node. Here's how to detect CPU steal, fake NVMe, and burst RAM — plus the providers known for not overselling.Read guide