Confused between Contabo and Hetzner? This Contabo Vs Hetzner comparison will solve ALL your doubts.
We will consider all the factors to decide which hosting provider is better. We will cover features, performance, security, pricing, support, and all the other important factors.
The comparison will be an in-depth analysis and straight to the point.
We like Hetzner better. Let’s start the battle and see which one is best for you.
Contabo Vs Hetzner: Overview
Let’s start with the basic overview of both of these hosts.
Contabo overview
Contabo offers fast and powerful cloud instances. Contabo is one of the most affordable VPS plans out there.
You can configure the server to a great extent. You can configure the storage space, and you can also change the storage type (NVMe or SSD).
They offer cloud, bare metal, and object storage. You get a lot of resources at a very affordable price. However, the main question is whether it’s better than Hetzner?
Let’s have a quick look at the pros and cons of getting a glimpse of the Contabo Vs Hetzner battle.
Pros of Contabo
- The data centers locations are on 3 continents.
- Users can choose the OS and control panel.
- Competitive and reasonable prices for all plans.
- Colocation Services is also available.
Cons of Contabo
- Support is not the best. It takes a lot of time to get a response.
- Performance is not reliable.
- One can’t buy a domain without having a server on Contabo.
- It includes high setup fees (if you go with an annual plan, you won’t have to pay it).
Hetzner overview
Hetzner is a reliable hosting service for people who love professionalism. The rates are affordable and they also have various hosting options.
They offer dedicated servers, cloud, and colocation. There are many services you can use such as a load balancer, DNS console, etc.
As we saw in Contabo, let’s have a quick look at the pros and cons.
Pros of Hetzner
- You get free SSL certificates with all the plans.
- There are many hosting options.
- You can also install Windows along with the Linux option.
- They have affordable rates.
Cons of Hetzner
- No ticket support system.
- Their KYC is hard. You have to provide a passport, proof of address, etc.
- A slight delay in your payment will get your account deactivated.
Contabo Vs Hetzner: Features
We will begin with the features comparison in this Contabo Vs Hetzner comparison.
Ease of Use
We will start with the user interface and see if it’s beginner-friendly hosting or not.
Contabo: Ease of Use
Contabo uses a traditional user interface. If you have been in the hosting space for a while, you can navigate easily. However, the interface becomes quite confusing at times.
Here is one more page where you can set the DNS.
Hetzner: Ease of Use
Hetzner has an amazing interface. You can easily navigate to any feature and use it easily. Even a beginner can start using Hetzner UI without having to search for anything. So, we would rate Hetzner as 5/5 when it comes to interface.
Let’s see how you can change DNS here. This will give you a proper idea of using the features.
Backups (snapshots)
Snapshots are manually taken whereas backups are usually automatic.
Contabo: Backups
You will get 1 snapshot of the basic plan. It will increase as you go with higher plans.
The backup space will cost you $5.79 for 100 GB FTP. You can have up to 2 TB of backup space.
Hetzner: Backups
The charge for the snapshot space is €0.0131/GB per month which is roughly $1.31 for 100 GB.
The 20% of instance price. You can save up to 7 backups. Talking about the first plan, it will cost you €0.91 for 7 backups. That’s less than $1.
Datacenters locations
Servers locations are very much important when it comes to hosting services. It determines the latency and the speed at your target user’s location.
Contabo locations
There are 7 regions and 12 locations.
It includes:
- USA (West, East, and Central)
- Europe (Germany, UK)
- Australia (Sydney)
- Asia (Singapore)
Hetzner locations
The data centers locations include:
- Germany (Nuremberg, Falkenstein)
- Finland (Helsinki)
- USA (Virginia, Oregon)
There are only 3 main locations where your servers are located.
Contabo Vs Hetzner: Performance
Now, we will have a look at one of the most important factors for the Contabo Vs Hetzner comparison. We will see the performance of both these hosting providers.
CPU
CPU model is also important along with the virtual cores. So, we will have a look at an in-depth comparison of both CPUs. We will see the Geekbench4 now with the exact details.
Contabo CPU
Contabo uses Xeons or Xeon Silver portfolios which are older. Herzner on the other hand uses Xeon Gold. Here, the starting plan has 4 virtual cores.
Hetzner CPU
Hetzner CPU starts with 1 core. However, it outperforms Contabo in most cases.
The reason is simple. Hetzner uses newer intel processors (Gold) which have much better cryptographic performance.
Quick Contabo Vs Hetzner CPU Performance
Let’s compare both of them quickly.
For Contabo, you will get Intel Xeon E5 26220v3, 2630V4, or Silver 4114. Here is the Geekbench4 comparison.
- E5-2620v3 = 3089
- E5-2630v4 = 3152
- Intel Xeon Silver 4114 = 3260
On the other hand, Hetzner uses Xeon Gold 6130.
- Gold 6130 = 3625.
Therefore, the result is pretty clear. There is roughly a 13% speed difference between Silver and Gold.
Provisioning time
It’s about how quickly you will get the server and how fast you can start deploying your app.
Contabo Provisioning
You will get the VPS in a couple of minutes. The average provisioning time for Contabo is 840 seconds.
A dedicated server may take up to 48 hours. That’s not the biggest problem. The biggest problem is that they only work on workdays when it comes to provisioning the server.
Hetzner Provisioning
When it comes to provisioning time in Contabo vs Hetzner, well Hetzner wins the competition.
They have instant provisioning for all the services. The average provisioning time is only 10 seconds.
Speed
There are mainly two types of connections you need to see. One of them is the connection speed and the second one is the “first-byte” speed. In the end, we will see the total speed.
Contabo speed
Contabo gives awesome performances outside of European countries. This is due to the server location. If you have traffic coming from Asia or even some states in the United States.
As you can see the connection speed is great but it takes a lot of time to get the first byte. Overall, the performance is not great.
Hetzner speed
The speed is not very impressive even in Hetzner. Overall, the performance is average. However, the speed is great for Europe and USA.
Storage
In this Contabo Vs Hetzner battle, we will see the storage space as well as the storage type.
Contabo storage
No doubt, you will get both selection options in Contabo (SSD and NVMe) but the read/write speed is horrible here. The SSD performance is throttled down.
The SSD speed is divided among all the users. You can expect a maximum speed of 100 MBps.
Hetzner storage
Hetzner’s NMVe storage has a great write/read speed. You will surely have better speed as compared to Contabo here.
Network
Here, we will see the bandwidth details and transfer rate you can expect.
Contabo network
You will get unmetered bandwidth. This is a great thing. However, the transfer speed is limited to 32 TB (100mbps).
Therefore, the speed is unmetered but it’s limited. You can’t exceed the speed of 100 Mbps even on a faster port.
Hetzner network
Hetzner provides a dedicated port of 1 Gbps.
No doubt, even Hetzner doesn’t provide stable speed. The speed sometimes has issues. The least you will get is 800 Mbps. We have been using Hetzner for quite some time. The least speed we saw was 800 Mbps only once or twice.
Coming to the actual comparison of Contabo Vs Hetzner, it’s still great as compared to Contabo.
Overall, the stability is good.
Contabo Vs Hetzner: Security
SSL certificates are paid on both of these providers.
Contabo
- You can install a Firewall from the software side. However, there is no direct support.
- The DDoS protection is not strong enough. There are good chances that your IP will get null routed at Contabo even after a few seconds of DDoS.
- Once your IP gets null routed, it becomes unreachable for anyone. If the DDoS attack continues, your account will get suspended.
- The terms clearly say that some attacks can’t be controlled. So, this leads to a problem on your side. They can shut down your account.
Hetzner
- Even Hetzner doesn’t have good DDoS protection. However, it’s slightly better than Contabo.
- The suspension issue is the same here. In case of a TCP attack, they will send you an ABUSE email. You have to respond to them with a proper explanation about the attack. If it’s not proper, they will suspend your server.
- The protection starts after 2-3 minutes. So, for the first few minutes, your website will be down. Thereafter, it will start the mitigation and filtering process.
- On the plus side, the support is amazingly supportive here. So, in case there is an attack, you can contact the support, and (unlike Contabo) the Hetzner team will surely help you out.
Contabo Vs Hetzner: Support
Please note that both of these providers will handle only Hardware and Network support cases.
Contabo
- The support is not 24/7.
- They have a ticket system but it’s very slow. It might take days to get an answer.
- You can only get a refund within 14-days.
The support ways include:
- Call support during working hours.
- Email support.
Hetzner
- The support is incredible and fast. It usually takes 10-30 mins to get a response.
- The team will also help you with technical issues. So, even your hardware issues will be solved.
- They don’t have a ticket system. So, the email exchange is not quite organized.
- However, their calling support is very organized as they have different numbers for different problems.
- Support is available in English as well as German.
You can support me via:
- Call support is available during working hours.
Hetzner vs Contabo: Pricing
You can pay using a credit card or PayPal for both. You will also get a 14-days money-back guarantee on both.
Contabo offers 4 plans to choose from.
Hetzner has a range of plans to choose from. Also, you can go with their hourly pricing. The hourly pricing is great for people who want to rent a server for the short term.
Let’s see the average pricing and compare the pricing for the Contabo Vs Hetzner.
Entry-Level Plans
Contabo: CLOUD VPS S starts from $8.49
Hetzner: CPX11 costs € 5.18 ($5.62)
Intermediate Plans
Contabo: CLOUD VPS M will cost you $13.99
Hetzner: CPX31 is for € 16.18 ($17.55)
Premium Plans
Contabo: CLOUD VPS XL costs $40.49
Hetzner: CPX51 will cost you € 65.33 ($70.84)
Conclusion
To conclude, Hetzner is better if you consider a majority of factors such as features, security, support, etc. Contabo is a decent choice if you want to run a small project which requires a huge number of resources.
Even when it comes to performance, Hetzner is the best. So, we would go with Hetzner in the Contabo Vs Hetzner comparison.
Here is a quick selection for you.
Use Contabo if:
-
- You want to host a personal project.
- You want to use it for uncritical services. For example, it can be a “burner” project for experimental activities.
- Your target audience’s location is from the place where Hetzner doesn’t have a data center, like Asia.
- You are running a side project where you don’t mind occasional downtime.
Use Hetzner if:
-
- You need an unmanaged affordable server in Europe.
- Your target audience is from the EU.
- You want to run a small server or it’s for a business project.
- You want flexibility in scaling and in canceling the server.
So, what’s your choice? Let us know in the comment section below.
When were the prices checked. I was interested in Hetzner but their prices are a lot more than what is mentioned here.
Hi Tim,
Thanks for pointing that out. We have updated the prices accordingly.
Indeed, Hetzner in addition to a lot of hosts increased their prices near the end of last year because of the increase in energy prices.
We appreciate your valuable feedback 🙂