Hetzner vs Cloudways: guide for 2024

Final verdict

Looking over Hetzner vs. Cloudways, it’s clear why both hosts are so popular. They have both hosted millions of
websites that run on WordPress for decades, building up a loyal customer base.

• 
  Cloudways (Overall grade: 8.5)
  
  
  excels in performance optimization, reliability, and user-friendly features. With a highly optimized server stack, advanced caching mechanisms, and integrations with top cloud providers like AWS and Google Cloud, Cloudways ensures lightning-fast website speeds and excellent uptime. Their feature-rich environment and 24/7 customer support make it a standout choice for users seeking comprehensive and scalable hosting solutions. However, Cloudways lacks in email hosting and has less transparent pricing, which can be a drawback for some users.
  
• 
  Hetzner (Overall grade: 7.9)
  
  
  provides a cost-effective solution with robust performance capabilities. Its NVMe SSD disk space, integrated DDoS protection, and ISO 27001-certified data centers ensure high reliability and security. Hetzner also includes a free domain and comprehensive email hosting, adding considerable value. While Hetzner offers great performance and security, it falls short in user-friendliness and uptime compared to Cloudways, and its customer support may not be as responsive or versatile. For users on a budget who need reliable performance and security features, Hetzner is a solid option.
  

	Overall grade:7.9	Overall grade:8.5
Uptime and Availability	9.0	9.5
Hosting Performance	8.3	8.8
Hosting Security	8.8	8.0
Price	7.9	8.6
Hosting Features	7.5	6.9
Ease Of Setup	8.0	9.0
User Management	7.8	8.2
Customer Support	6.3	9.2
User feedback	4.6/5	4.7/5

Hosting types offered

Both platforms provide a variety of hosting types, each designed to meet the different needs of users.

Shared hosting
Cloud hosting
WordPress hosting
Ecommerce hosting
VPS hosting
Dedicated hosting

Although both offer a variety of hosting plans tailored to different needs, in
certain cases, one platform may prove to be more suitable.

Detailed comparison

9.0

9.5

Cloudways stands out with its impressive uptime performance, boasting an uptime of 100% in 2020 and 2021, and 99.99% in 2022. It offers a user-friendly control panel, 24/7 support, and multiple cloud provider options like AWS and Google Cloud. Its feature-rich environment includes vertical scaling, security measures, and performance optimization tools, making it suitable for a variety of applications.

Hetzner Online offers a solid 99.9% uptime guarantee with data centers in Germany, Finland, and the USA. Their use of Juniper backbone technology ensures network redundancy, and they provide 24/7 monitoring and DDoS protection. However, it falls slightly short in direct uptime comparison with Cloudways.

Both hosting providers offer strong reliability, but Cloudways edges out Hetzner Online by providing exceptional uptime and a broader range of cloud infrastructure options.

8.3

8.8

When comparing the general performance between Hetzner and Cloudways, Cloudways edges out Hetzner in several key areas. Hetzner offers NVMe SSD disk space, known for high-speed data access, and features such as integrated DDoS protection and a solid redundancy network. However, Cloudways ups the ante with SSD drives, claimed to be three times faster than traditional HDDs, and an optimized stack including NGINX, Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, and PHP-FPM to boost performance. Both offer 24/7 customer support, but while Hetzner has primary data centers in Germany, Finland, and the USA, Cloudways utilizes advanced caching methods like Memcached, Varnish, NGINX, and Redis, which are significant performance enhancers.

Website Speed

Cloudways shines in website speed due to its highly optimized server stack and integration of multiple caching solutions, ensuring fast load times. Their SSD hosting and high-performance caching plugins like Breeze for WordPress contribute to quicker page loads. Hetzner, on the other hand, offers NVMe SSDs and built-in performance features, but lacks Cloudways’ variety of advanced caching mechanisms which can significantly reduce load times and improve PageSpeed scores.

Scalability

Cloudways offers vertical scaling, which allows users to increase their server resources like RAM, CPU, and storage effortlessly, often with just one click, providing cost-efficient, elastic scaling. Hetzner offers both shared and dedicated server options but details about the cost of scaling are unclear. Hetzner does offer managed servers with no minimum contract period, which can be an advantage, but Cloudways’ 1-click scaling and resource management give it a user-friendly edge.

8.8

8.0

Both Hetzner Online and Cloudways, have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.

Technical security measures:

Hetzner Online offers robust security measures such as SSL certificates, including free Symantec Basic SSL and Let’s Encrypt options. They support multiple PHP versions, including PHP5, PHP7, and PHP8, with configurable PHP extensions. Hetzner’s data centers are ISO 27001 certified and provide comprehensive DDoS protection using advanced hardware. Cloudways also provides free Let’s Encrypt SSL and supports PHP 5.6 through PHP 8.2. They integrate server-level firewalls and employ automated protection measures like Fail2ban and bot protection powered by MalCare. Their DDoS mitigation leverages Cloudflare Enterprise for multi-layered protection.

Operational security measures:

Hetzner Online employs a variety of secure connections, ensuring data transfer via FTPS/SFTP and remote diagnostics through SSH. Their mail security includes DKIM, SPF, and ClamAV scanner for virus detection. They offer daily backups and continuous 24/7 monitoring with automated defense mechanisms. Cloudways emphasizes login security with two-factor authentication and IP whitelisting. Their auto-healing servers ensure minimal downtime, and they include built-in advanced caches like Memcached, Varnish, and Redis for efficient operations.

Compliance and certifications:

Hetzner Online complies with GDPR and offers a Data Processing Agreement in line with Article 28. Cloudways’ security practices align with GDPR, although specific details aren’t explicitly mentioned. Hetzner’s full data center operations follow strict European data protection regulations, whereas Cloudways leverages PCI-DSS compliant hardware from its cloud providers but is not PCI-DSS compliant itself. Both do not provide specific information about HIPAA compliance.

SSL certificate	Symantec Basic, Let’s Encrypt	Let’s Encrypt
Additional security features	DDoS protection, ISO 27001, DKIM, SPF, ClamAV, daily backup, 24/7 monitoring	Fail2ban, bot protection, auto-healing servers, advanced caches
PHP versions	PHP5, PHP7, PHP8	PHP 5.6, PHP 7, PHP 8
GDPR compliance	Yes	Likely, not specifically mentioned
HIPAA compliance	Not specified	Not specified
PCI compliance	Not specified	Not compliant, but underlying providers are PCI-DSS level 1 compliant hardware

7.5

6.9

When comparing Hetzner and Cloudways, both providers bring noteworthy features to the table. Hetzner includes a free domain for various domain extensions, which is beneficial for users looking to establish their online presence without additional registration costs. Hetzner also offers a robust email solution with sizable mailboxes and synchronization support for various protocols. On the other hand, Cloudways shines in performance optimization with built-in caches and an optimized stack that includes NGINX and PHP-FPM. This makes Cloudways particularly appealing for users focusing on high-speed, high-performance website operations. Both providers support essential security measures like SSL certification, but Cloudways adds an extra layer with dedicated firewalls and two-factor authentication.

In terms of user-friendliness, Hetzner features the konsoleH admin interface, which offers extensive administrative tools, including a PHP configurator and a one-click WordPress installer. Additionally, Hetzner provides 24/7 free phone support, ensuring help is available when needed with no extra cost. Cloudways, however, emphasizes ease of use through its one-click actions for backups and restores, as well as user-friendly team collaboration features. Cloudways also incorporates a free migration service for new users, making it easier to transition from other hosting providers. Despite differing strengths, both providers do not require long-term contracts, which offers flexibility to users.

Free domain	Yes	No
Free SSL	Yes	Yes
Email hosting	Yes	No
Website builder	No	No
Staging environment	No	Yes
FTP & SFTP accounts	Yes	Yes
Git and SSH access	Yes	Yes
Free backup	No	Yes
Money back guarantee	No	No

Both providers support a range of users from beginners to experts with user-friendly website builders and WordPress staging areas. However, in terms of developer tools, both Hetzner and Cloudways offer robust options including SSH access, support for multiple programming languages, and Git for version control, thus appealing to developers looking for advanced capabilities.

Email services:

Email services at Hetzner excel in offering comprehensive email hosting with capabilities for setting up multiple mailboxes, email forwarding, and synchronization using EAS, CalDAV, CardDAV, and iCal. This makes it a strong choice for users looking to manage extensive email campaigns or office communications in-house. Cloudways, however, offers transactional email capabilities and resells email services like Rackspace Email and Elastic Email, which might appeal to users seeking specialized email solutions integrated with their hosting platform.

7.9

8.6

🏆 Winner Hetzner: Affordable and feature-rich hosting plans with various options to cater to different needs.

Evaluating the pricing of plans among various hosting providers can be complex due to their differing pricing and renewal strategies. Additionally, certain plans require annual commitments, which adds to the difficulty of making comparisons. The prices listed are based on monthly commitments; plans requiring annual commitments are indicated. Additionally, although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.

When comparing Hetzner and Cloudways, Hetzner offers a variety of hosting options with different price points to negotiate, ranging from €2.09 max/mo. to €21.90 max/mo. for their Webhosting plans, and up to €40.46 max/mo. for Managed Servers. Cloudways offers a range of plans as well, with prices beginning at $11 USD/mo. and reaching as high as $3569.98 USD/mo. for their high-end AWS 24XL. Hetzner’s straightforward pricing, coupled with no minimum contract period and a wide array of features, makes it an attractive choice for both small and large-scale projects. Cloudways’ higher pricing includes specific plans tailored for WordPress, Ecommerce, AWS, GCE, Vultr, and Linode hosting, offering scalability and advanced features for enterprises looking to host multiple large websites.

N/A	DO1GB $11 Includes 1 website, 25 GB storage, 1 TB bandwidth, basic support, and monthly backups. Value for price:7.5
N/A	DO2GB $24 Includes 1 website, 50 GB storage, 2 TB bandwidth, basic support, and monthly backups. Value for price:7.8
N/A	DO4GB $46 Includes 1 website, 80 GB storage, 4 TB bandwidth, basic support, and monthly backups. Value for price:8.1
N/A	DO8GB $88 Includes 1 website, 160 GB storage, 5 TB bandwidth, basic support, and monthly backups. Value for price:8.4
N/A	DO16GB $149 Includes 1 website, 320 GB storage, 6 TB bandwidth, basic support, and monthly backups. Value for price:8.6
N/A	DO32GB $240 Includes 1 website, 640 GB storage, 7 TB bandwidth, basic support, and monthly backups. Value for price:8.9
N/A	DO48GB $342 Includes 1 website, 960 GB storage, 8 TB bandwidth, basic support, and monthly backups. Value for price:9.0
N/A	DO64GB $421 Includes 1 website, 1280 GB storage, 9 TB bandwidth, basic support, and monthly backups. Value for price:9.1

Level 1 €2.09 Includes 1 domain, 10 GB storage, unlimited bandwidth, free phone and email support. Value for price:8.2	N/A
Level 4 €5.39 Includes 1 domain, 50 GB storage, unlimited bandwidth, free phone and email support. Value for price:8.3	N/A
Level 9 €10.90 Includes 1 domain, 100 GB storage, unlimited bandwidth, free phone and email support. Value for price:8.5	N/A
Level 19 €21.90 Includes 1 domain, 300 GB storage, unlimited bandwidth, free phone and email support. Value for price:8.7	N/A

CX11 €4.51 Includes 1 website, 20 GB storage, 20 TB bandwidth, optional SLA. Value for price:8.2	DO1GB $11 Includes 1 website, 25 GB storage, 1 TB bandwidth, basic support. Value for price:7.5
CPX11 €5.18 Includes 1 website, 40 GB storage, 20 TB bandwidth, optional SLA. Value for price:8.4	DO2GB $24 Includes 1 website, 50 GB storage, 2 TB bandwidth, basic support. Value for price:7.8
CX21 €6.37 Includes 1 website, 40 GB storage, 20 TB bandwidth, optional SLA. Value for price:8.5	DO4GB $46 Includes 1 website, 80 GB storage, 4 TB bandwidth, basic support. Value for price:8.1
CPX21 €8.98 Includes 1 website, 80 GB storage, 20 TB bandwidth, optional SLA. Value for price:8.7	DO8GB $88 Includes 1 website, 160 GB storage, 5 TB bandwidth, basic support. Value for price:8.4
CX31 €29.99 Includes 1 website, 240 GB storage, 20 TB bandwidth, optional SLA. Value for price:8.8	DO16GB $149 Includes 1 website, 320 GB storage, 6 TB bandwidth, basic support. Value for price:8.6
CPX31 €16.18 Includes 1 website, 160 GB storage, 20 TB bandwidth, optional SLA. Value for price:8.9	DO32GB $240 Includes 1 website, 640 GB storage, 7 TB bandwidth, basic support. Value for price:8.9
CX41 €20.71 Includes 1 website, 160 GB storage, 20 TB bandwidth, optional SLA. Value for price:9.0	Ease of setup Evaluates the ease of setting up and migrating websites on the hosting platform. Score Components: Site migration (25%): Assesses whether the provider offers tools for site migration, either automated or manual, and whether these services are free or require a fee. Admin panel usability (35%): Evaluates the type of admin panel provided, such as the standard cPanel or a custom solution, focusing on its accessibility and user-friendliness for both technical and non-technical users. Setup features (20%): Examines the availability and ease of use of various setup features, including FTP accounts, file managers, email account setup, PHPMyAdmin, and easy CDN configuration. Help center quality (20%): Measures the quality and accessibility of the provider’s help center resources, including articles and tutorials. 8.0 9.0 🏆 Winner Cloudways: Simple setup with extensive automation and migration tools. Hetzner provides the konsoleH administration interface, a custom solution crafted to manage a wide array of tasks such as account creation, domain registration, and site management. The interface supports both technical and non-technical users but may have a steeper learning curve for beginners. Its capabilities are extensive, which can be overwhelming for users new to web hosting. Cloudways, on the other hand, offers a more intuitive control panel with 1-click actions for various operational tasks. This streamlined approach, including features like server cloning, application launching, and vertical scaling, caters especially well to both novice and advanced users. Pre-installed Git and SSH/SFTP access further simplify the process for users who need to manage code deployments. Hetzner provides comprehensive documentation and a plethora of guides and tutorials, facilitating an easier transition or setup process for users. Migration of domains, websites, mails, and databases is well-documented and supported 24/7 by email and telephone. Despite this, it may involve manual steps that can be labor-intensive. Cloudways, however, shines in this aspect by offering free migration for the first website from any web host. This automated service significantly reduces the complexity and time required for migration, making it appealing for users who prioritize ease of transfer. Hetzner help center Cloudways help center The help center resources of Hetzner are thorough, with detailed articles, tutorials, and a community section for user-contributed guides. This extensive support network is complemented by 24/7 expert assistance. Cloudways’ Help Center is equally rich, featuring a centralized resource repository, knowledge base articles, and a ticketing system for queries. They also provide round-the-clock live chat support, ensuring immediate assistance when needed. Both platforms offer robust support, but Cloudways edges out with additional features like support add-ons for premium services. User management Assesses the platforms’ capabilities in managing user roles, permissions, and accessibility. Score Components: Role customization (40%): Flexibility in creating and defining user roles and permissions. Ease of management (30%): User interface and tools for managing users. Access control (20%): Effectiveness of access control measures for different user levels. Scalability (10%): Ability to manage a growing number of users efficiently. 7.8 8.2 🏆 Winner Cloudways: Exceptional user management with advanced role customization. When comparing Hetzner and Cloudways in terms of managing user roles, permissions, and accessibility, Cloudways stands out with its more refined approach. Cloudways leverages the WordPress admin panel, enabling the creation of roles ranging from Super Admin to Subscriber, thereby offering granularity in user permission settings. In contrast, Hetzner provides essential user role functionalities, such as creating groups and designating group administrators, simplifying the user management process. Both platforms allow the addition and management of individual users, but Cloudways offers more detailed customization options for user roles aligned with specific needs. Regarding user interfaces and tools, Cloudways provides a user-friendly experience through the widely recognized WordPress Admin Panel. Access is streamlined, either directly through the URL or via the Cloudways Platform, ensuring ease of use. Hetzner’s interface is also intuitive, with user settings accessible via profile actions and clear navigation for adding groups and users. However, Cloudways’ integration with WordPress enhances accessibility and familiarity for many users, which makes user management more straightforward and efficient on their platform. Assessing access control measures and scalability shows that both Hetzner and Cloudways handle growing user bases effectively. Hetzner offers sufficient settings for managing storage quotas, defining maintenance rules, and enabling or restricting SSH access, thereby maintaining control over user activities. Cloudways, by providing detailed role-based access control within WordPress, enables optimal delegation of tasks and responsibilities across expanding teams. This detailed structure in Cloudways ensures that as the number of users grows, access and permissions can be managed seamlessly without compromising on security or organization. Hetzner user roles table: Role Description Access highlights Admin Administrator of a specific group. Full access to group-specific settings and user administration. User Standard account with allocated storage and basic services. Access to personal settings, storage, and activities within the defined group. Customer support Evaluates the quality, availability, and scope of the customer support offered by the hosting provider. Score Components: Support communication channels (30%): Measures the variety of customer support types provided (live chat, chatbot, email, phone, etc.) Availability (20%): Assesses the availability hours for each channel, including 24/7 support options. Technical support quality (30%): Assesses whether the provider offers comprehensive technical support, including hardware upgrades (e.g., HDD to SSD), software installations, and web server configuration changes. Enterprise support (20%): Checks if there are dedicated or priority support services for enterprise-level customers. 6.3 9.2 🏆 Winner Cloudways: Offers customer support that is both diverse and available 24/7, making it a more reliable choice compared to its competitors. Phone support Live chat support Chatbot Email/ticket support Enterprise support (dedicated agent, priority support) Hetzner and Cloudways both offer 24/7 customer support, but their services differ in several ways. Hetzner provides chat and phone support for general inquiries, with designated hours for account verification, renewals, and cancellations. Technical assistance is available from 7 a.m. to midnight EST, via phone or a Help Ticket for email support. They have separate contact numbers for US and international customers. However, some users have reported issues such as slow response times and communication difficulties, often attributed to outsourcing. On the other hand, Cloudways also offers round-the-clock support via live chat, phone, and tickets, with a notable emphasis on providing comprehensive tech support across all plans. On higher-tier plans, Cloudways offers advanced technical support, assisting with significant hosting changes like server configurations and software installations. While Cloudways generally receives positive feedback, some complaints highlight longer wait times for resolving complex issues, a challenge common in the hosting industry. User feedback Hetzner 6 reviews 4.6 out of 5 stars Cloudways 792 reviews 4.7 out of 5 stars Users generally find the hosting provider to be cost-effective with robust performance capabilities, able to handle demanding tasks reliably. Many reviewers appreciate the competitive pricing, ease of use, and the fast, reliable infrastructure. While customer support is often praised for its availability and helpfulness, some users believe it could still see improvements. The platform’s dashboard and additional features could benefit from enhancements, but overall, users are satisfied with the value and quality of service provided. Cloudways consistently receives high praise for its ease of use, robust performance, and excellent customer support. Many reviewers highlight the platform’s intuitive interface, effective server management features, and the ability to choose from top-tier cloud providers like AWS and DigitalOcean. Users appreciate the scalable hosting options and reliable customer service, which often includes quick response times and helpful assistance. However, some customers note areas for improvement, such as the absence of email hosting, limitations on server vendor choices, and discrepancies in pricing transparency. Overall, Cloudways is deemed a solid hosting provider, especially valued for its managed hosting features and performance enhancement capabilities. FAQ Which platform is better suited for hosting WordPress websites? Cloudways is better suited for hosting WordPress websites due to its built-in caching, performance optimization, and WooCommerce support. It offers a feature-rich environment designed for seamless WordPress operations. Hetzner, on the other hand, does not offer specialized WordPress hosting. Which hosting service offers better security features? Both Hetzner and Cloudways provide strong security features, but Hetzner stands out with its ISO 27001-certified data centers, comprehensive DDoS protection, and additional security measures like ClamAV virus scanning. Cloudways offers security through server-level firewalls and automated protection, including Fail2ban and bot protection powered by MalCare. Both platforms ensure robust protection but Hetzner offers more certifications. Which hosting service offers more scalability options for growing websites? Cloudways offers more scalability options with its vertical scaling feature that allows users to increase server resources like RAM, CPU, and storage effortlessly. This elasticity is user-friendly with simple one-click actions. Hetzner offers multiple hosting types but lacks clear details on the cost and scalability features, making Cloudways more suitable for growing websites. Which platform offers better customer support? Cloudways offers superior customer support with 24/7 availability across various channels including live chat and premium support options. Hetzner provides good support via email, ticketing, and limited phone hours, but lacks live chat and has slower response times according to some users. Cloudways’ proactive monitoring and premium support ensure more reliable assistance. How do the providers handle email hosting and what features are included? Hetzner excels in email hosting by offering multiple mailboxes, email forwarding, and synchronization through EAS, CalDAV, CardDAV, and iCal, making it a comprehensive solution for in-house email management. Cloudways does not provide native email hosting but offers transactional email capabilities and resells services like Rackspace Email and Elastic Email, catering to specialized email needs. The making of this blog We followed a clear, step-by-step process to write and research this article. 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