Hetzner vs AWS: European Cloud vs American Giant (2025)
Comparing the German cloud provider to Amazon Web Services
Quick Verdict
Hetzner is the winner for European businesses prioritizing cost-efficiency, GDPR compliance, and simple pricing. Choose Hetzner for straightforward cloud hosting with excellent value. Choose AWS for global scale, managed services, and if you need cutting-edge cloud features.
1. Overview
Choosing between Hetzner (Germany) and AWS (United States) represents a fundamental decision: European simplicity vs. American scale. Hetzner offers exceptional value with transparent pricing, EU data sovereignty, and straightforward infrastructure services. AWS provides unmatched breadth of services, global reach, and advanced cloud features. For many European businesses, Hetzner offers 3-5x better value while maintaining GDPR compliance by default. This comparison helps you understand which cloud provider best fits your needs.
2. Feature Comparison
| Feature | Hetzner | AWS |
|---|---|---|
| Compute | ||
| Virtual servers | Cloud servers | EC2 |
| Dedicated servers | Yes | (limited) |
| Managed Kubernetes | No | EKS |
| Serverless functions | No | Lambda |
| Container hosting | Yes | ECS/EKS |
| Storage | ||
| Block storage | Volumes | EBS |
| Object storage | Storage Box | S3 |
| Backup solutions | Yes | Yes |
| CDN | No | CloudFront |
| Networking | ||
| Load balancing | Yes | ELB |
| Private networking | vSwitch | VPC |
| DDoS protection | Basic | Shield |
| Floating IPs | Yes | Elastic IP |
| Database | ||
| Managed databases | No | RDS |
| NoSQL databases | No | DynamoDB |
| Data & Privacy | ||
| GDPR compliant | Yes | Complex |
| Data location | EU only | Global |
| DPA available | Yes | Yes |
| Support & Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | Fixed monthly | Pay-as-you-go |
| Transparent pricing | Excellent | Complex |
| Free tier | No | 12 months |
| Support | Email/Ticket | Tiered (paid) |
| API & Integration | ||
| REST API | Yes | Yes |
| Terraform support | Yes | Yes |
| CLI tools | Yes | Yes |
3. Privacy & Security
Hetzner operates exclusively from German and Finnish data centers, keeping all data within EU jurisdiction. This makes GDPR compliance straightforward - your data never leaves Europe. Hetzner provides standard Data Processing Agreements (DPA) and operates under strict German data protection laws. AWS offers EU regions (Frankfurt, Ireland, Paris, Stockholm, Milan) but is a US company subject to US laws including the CLOUD Act. While AWS provides GDPR compliance tools, ensuring data stays in the EU requires careful configuration. The invalidation of Privacy Shield and concerns about US surveillance laws make Hetzner the simpler choice for GDPR compliance. For businesses handling EU citizen data, Hetzner eliminates many compliance headaches.
4. Pricing
Pricing is where Hetzner truly shines. A cloud server with 2 vCPUs, 4GB RAM, and 40GB SSD costs €4.15/month at Hetzner vs approximately $15-20/month at AWS EC2 (t3.medium). Dedicated servers show even bigger differences: Hetzner's dedicated root servers start at €39/month with powerful hardware, while AWS dedicated hosts cost hundreds per month. Hetzner uses simple, fixed monthly pricing with no hidden costs or complex billing. AWS uses pay-as-you-go with charges for bandwidth, API calls, data transfer, and dozens of other metrics that can create billing surprises. For predictable workloads, Hetzner typically costs 60-80% less. AWS's free tier (12 months) is attractive for getting started, but ongoing costs favor Hetzner significantly.
5. Pros & Cons
Hetzner
✓ Pros
- • Exceptional value for money (60-80% cheaper)
- • Transparent, simple pricing
- • EU data centers only (GDPR default)
- • Excellent performance per euro
- • Powerful dedicated servers
- • Fast NVMe storage standard
✗ Cons
- • Limited to EU regions
- • Fewer managed services
- • No serverless functions
- • Smaller ecosystem
- • Less global reach
AWS
✓ Pros
- • Hundreds of managed services
- • Global infrastructure (33+ regions)
- • Advanced features (Lambda, DynamoDB, etc.)
- • Excellent documentation
- • 12-month free tier
- • Massive ecosystem and integrations
✗ Cons
- • Complex, expensive pricing
- • 3-5x more expensive than Hetzner
- • GDPR compliance requires configuration
- • Overwhelming service selection
- • US jurisdiction (CLOUD Act)
- • Vendor lock-in risk
6. Who Should Choose What
Choose Hetzner if:
- • Your users are primarily in Europe
- • Budget is a major concern
- • You want simple, predictable pricing
- • GDPR compliance must be straightforward
- • You need cost-effective dedicated servers
- • You prefer European data sovereignty
Choose AWS if:
- • You need global infrastructure
- • You want cutting-edge managed services
- • You need serverless computing (Lambda)
- • You require extensive service integration
- • You have expertise managing AWS complexity
- • Compliance with US requirements is needed
7. Final Verdict
Winner: Hetzner
For European businesses, Hetzner is the clear winner on value, simplicity, and GDPR compliance. You get exceptional performance at 60-80% lower cost, with data sovereignty guaranteed by EU-only data centers. AWS remains the better choice for globally-distributed applications or when you need specific managed services that Hetzner doesn't offer. But for most European web applications, databases, and infrastructure needs, Hetzner provides better value without sacrificing quality. The cost savings can be reinvested in development, allowing smaller teams to compete effectively.
8. Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hetzner as reliable as AWS?
Hetzner offers excellent reliability with 99.9% uptime SLA for most services. While AWS has more redundancy options across global regions, Hetzner's European infrastructure is highly reliable for most use cases. For mission-critical applications requiring global distribution, AWS may have an edge. For European-focused businesses, Hetzner provides comparable reliability at much lower cost.
Can I migrate from AWS to Hetzner?
Yes, migration is possible but requires planning. Hetzner offers similar core services (compute, storage, networking) but lacks some AWS-specific services like Lambda or DynamoDB. You may need to replace managed services with self-hosted alternatives. For standard web applications and databases, migration is straightforward.
Why is Hetzner so much cheaper than AWS?
Hetzner uses a different business model: they own their data centers and hardware, use simple fixed pricing, and focus on core infrastructure services. AWS offers hundreds of managed services, global coverage, and pay-as-you-go pricing with complexity that often leads to higher costs. Hetzner's efficiency and focus on essentials allows for lower prices.
Does Hetzner comply with GDPR?
Yes, Hetzner is fully GDPR compliant. As a German company with data centers in Germany and Finland, they operate entirely within EU jurisdiction. All data stays in the EU, making GDPR compliance straightforward. AWS can be GDPR compliant but requires careful configuration to ensure data doesn't leave EU regions.
Which has better performance: Hetzner or AWS?
Both offer excellent performance. AWS has more global edge locations, better for global content delivery. Hetzner often provides better raw compute performance per euro, with faster NVMe storage and dedicated CPU cores at competitive prices. For European users, Hetzner's German data centers typically offer lower latency than AWS European regions.
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