Hetzner vs Contabo: guide for 2024

Final verdict

Looking over Hetzner vs. Contabo, both web hosting services bring their unique strengths to the table, catering to varied user needs, but Hetzner slightly edges out with a balanced blend of performance, features, and user-friendliness.

• 
  Hetzner (Overall grade: 7.9)
  
  
  offers diverse hosting options, including shared, cloud, and VPS hosting. Known for its NVMe SSD storage and Intel® Xeon® Gold and AMD EPYC™ processors, it ensures high-speed performance. Users appreciate its 99.9% uptime guarantee and minimal latency, thanks to strategically located data centers. Hetzner excels in security, offering ISO 27001 certified data centers, DDoS protection, and advanced mail security features. Its intuitive konsoleH control panel and extensive documentation make it accessible for both technical and non-technical users. However, the lack of live chat support can be a drawback for those seeking quicker resolution times.
  
• 
  Contabo (Overall grade: 7.6)
  
  
  is noted for its affordability and powerful VPS plans, making it ideal for demanding applications and high-traffic websites. The impressive 99.996% uptime guarantee and AMD EPYC processors ensure top-notch performance and reliability. Contabo supports multiple operating systems and provides extensive customization options, which are beneficial for tech-savvy users. Its comprehensive support system includes phone and email/ticket support, although the lack of live chat and 24/7 availability can sometimes hinder swift customer service. While the control panel could use a design update, Contabo remains a strong contender with its excellent performance at competitive prices.
  

	Overall grade:7.9	Overall grade:7.6
Uptime and Availability	9.0	9.4
Hosting Performance	8.3	8.2
Hosting Security	8.8	8.7
Price	7.9	8.3
Hosting Features	7.5	6.6
Ease Of Setup	8.0	7.4
User Management	7.8	5.0
Customer Support	6.3	7.1
User feedback	4.6/5	3.3/5

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

9.4

🏆 Winner Contabo: Offering a higher uptime guarantee and excellent performance.

Hetzner Online delivers a reliable uptime guarantee of 99.9%, with occasional peaks reaching 100%. They operate from four data centers located in Germany, Finland, and the USA. Hetzner’s network ensures minimal interruptions with 24/7 monitoring and free DDoS protection. Using Juniper backbone technology, they offer a redundant network to maintain high availability.

Contabo stands out with a 99.996% uptime guarantee, ensuring hardly any downtime. Their high-performance AMD EPYC processors and superior SSD storage options enhance responsiveness. With data centers across the US, UK, Germany, and Singapore, Contabo provides security with 24/7 CCTV monitoring and mandatory two-factor authentication. They also offer well-regarded support services, contributing to their higher reliability and customer satisfaction.

8.3

8.2

When comparing Hetzner and Contabo, Hetzner offers NVMe SSD disk space, which ensures quicker read and write speeds, paired with Intel® Xeon® Gold, AMD EPYC™, and Ampere® Altra® processors. Hetzner provides a minimum of 99.9% network availability and breadth of certification with ISO 27001. Contabo, with AMD EPYC 7282 processors, offers various storage choices, network speed ranging from 200Mbit/s to 1Gbit/s, and even 10Gbit/s upgrades. Hetzner’s data centers are located in Germany, Finland, and the USA, while Contabo has a wider geographic spread including the US, UK, Germany, and Singapore. Both employ DDoS protection; however, Hetzner adds daily backups and interactive server logins via SSH, enhancing performance management.

Website speed

Hetzner features NVMe SSDs, ensuring remarkable speed in terms of read and write operations. Add to this their robust backup system and minimal latency due to strategically placed data centers, and you get a consistently fast hosting environment. Contabo, leveraging Gen 4 PCIe NVMe SSDs, offers speedy data retrieval. Their connection speed also ranges impressively, up to 10Gbit/s, promising quick load times. However, Hetzner’s NVMe SSD has a slight edge due to its superior speed and efficiency.

Scalability

Hetzner offers flexible cloud hosting options with shared and dedicated vCPUs, allowing businesses to scale efficiently based on demand. They do not impose a minimum contract period, which is beneficial for businesses seeking flexibility. On the other hand, Contabo delivers scalable VPS packages that are customizable without sacrificing uptime, and they support automatic scaling through APIs and CLI tools. Both providers offer scalable solutions, but specific costs associated with scaling are not clearly provided.

8.8

8.7

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

Technical security measures:

Hetzner provides extensive technical security measures, such as ISO 27001 certified data centers, DDoS protection, a secure connection for all access points, and a suite of mail security options like DKIM, SPF, and antivirus protection. Contabo also offers solid technical security, including SSL certificates, always-on DDoS protection, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), and Imunify AV for malware scanning. Both hosting providers support multiple PHP versions, but Hetzner additionally offers a PHP configurator and extensive PHP extensions.

Operational security measures:

Hetzner ensures operational security through daily automated backups, 24/7 monitoring with SMS notifications, and automated defense mechanisms against attacks. Contabo, on the other hand, emphasizes data center security with 24/7 CCTV surveillance, access control via magnetic cards, and role-based access controls (RBAC). Contabo allows FTP backup and object storage backup solutions, while Hetzner focuses on a comprehensive escalation concept for system integrity checks and urgency reports.

Compliance and certifications:

Both Hetzner and Contabo are GDPR compliant, aligning their operations with strict European data protection regulations. Contabo maintains an infrastructure supporting high redundancy and industry-standard compliance. While PCI compliance details are not specified for either provider, Hetzner’s ISO 27001 certification for data centers in Nuremberg, Falkenstein/Vogtland, and Helsinki highlights their adherence to rigorous security standards.

SSL certificate	Symantec Basic SSL, Let’s Encrypt	Provided
Additional security features	DDoS protection, automated defense mechanisms, more	Two-Factor Authentication, Imunify AV
PHP versions	PHP5, PHP7, PHP8	Customizable PHP versions
GDPR compliance	Yes	Yes
HIPAA compliance	Not specified	Not specified
PCI compliance	Not specified	Not specified

7.5

6.6

Both Hetzner and Contabo provide robust hosting features, but each has its unique strengths. Hetzner offers extensive domain options and a variety of free services, including free email and phone support, making it suitable for businesses requiring comprehensive support options. It also allows for complex customization with features like a PHP Configurator, interactive server login via SSH, and support for numerous PHP extensions. Contabo, known for its high-performance AMD EPYC processors, ensures excellent server performance and reliability with a 99.996% uptime guarantee. It offers flexibility with multiple OS options and extensive control panel features, including advanced API access and private networking capabilities. Contabo’s free DDoS protection and extensive data center coverage cater to those needing high-security measures and global presence.

Hetzner’s generous allocation of free resources, like daily backups and numerous add-on domains, makes it cost-effective for small and medium-sized enterprises. Its free phone and email support is a significant advantage for users who prefer human assistance over self-service options. Contabo excels in customization and advanced control, allowing users to upload custom images and deploy multiple operating systems and applications. Its self-managed support system, complemented with in-depth tutorials and knowledge bases, suits users with technical expertise. While both providers charge fees for exceeding certain limits, Hetzner’s clear fee structure and no minimum contract period add a layer of flexibility for users.

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

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 Contabo 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:

Hetzner provides extensive email hosting solutions with up to unlimited mailboxes and email synchronization support, including Exchange Active Sync. It offers a robust infrastructure for setting up email campaigns and managing email forwardings, making it suitable for comprehensive email marketing strategies. Contabo also supports email hosting, allowing users to create, manage, and secure their email accounts through the control panel. Though it does not specify detailed transactional email capabilities, its flexibility with custom images and API access implies potential for advanced email configurations. Both providers do not resell third-party services like Google Workspace or Zoho, focusing on their native email solutions.

7.9

8.3

🏆 Winner Contabo: With a diverse range of VPS and dedicated server plans, Contabo caters to various hosting needs at competitive prices.

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.

Hetzner offers attractive hosting plans, starting from a budget-friendly €2.09/mo for its Webhosting packages scaling up to €21.90/mo for more advanced setups. It provides a host of features, such as unlimited traffic, a significant number of sub-domains, and varying NVMe SSD disk space. Contabo, priced starting at €3.99/mo for its Self-Managed VPS, supports extensive storage options with either NVMe or SSD drives, up to 32TB traffic, and robust CPU configurations, particularly beneficial for resource-intensive applications. Both services offer a variety of support options, but Contabo excels in offering a wider choice of server plans and higher RAM allocations at competitive pricing.

Level 1 €2.09/mo: 1 website, 10GB NVMe SSD, unlimited traffic, free phone and email support, free domain, PHP Configurator, WordPress installer. Value for price:8.0	Cloud VPS S $3.99/mo: 1 website, 50GB NVMe, 32TB traffic, no support indicated, 1 snapshot. Value for price:8.5
Level 4 €5.39/mo: 1 website, 50GB NVMe SSD, unlimited traffic, free phone and email support, free domain, PHP Configurator, WordPress installer. Value for price:8.5	Cloud VPS M $7.99/mo: 1 website, 100GB NVMe, 32TB traffic, no support indicated, 2 snapshots. Value for price:8.8
Level 9 €10.90/mo: 1 website, 100GB NVMe SSD, unlimited traffic, free phone and email support, free domain, PHP Configurator, WordPress installer. Value for price:8.9	Cloud VPS L $14.99/mo: 1 website, 200GB NVMe, 32TB traffic, no support indicated, 3 snapshots. Value for price:9.0
Level 19 €21.90/mo: 1 website, 300GB NVMe SSD, unlimited traffic, free phone and email support, free domain, PHP Configurator, WordPress installer. Value for price:9.1	Cloud VPS XL $26.99/mo: 1 website, 400GB NVMe, 32TB traffic, no support indicated, 4 snapshots. Value for price:9.3

Webhosting Level 1 €2.09/mo: 1 website, 10GB NVMe SSD, unlimited traffic, free phone and email support, free domain, PHP Configurator, DNS Administration. Value for price:7.8	N/A Value for price:N/A
Webhosting Level 4 €5.39/mo: 1 website, 50GB NVMe SSD, unlimited traffic, free phone and email support, free domain, PHP Configurator, DNS Administration. Value for price:8.2	N/A Value for price:N/A
Webhosting Level 9 €10.90/mo: 1 website, 100GB NVMe SSD, unlimited traffic, free phone and email support, free domain, PHP Configurator, DNS Administration. Value for price:8.5	N/A Value for price:N/A
Webhosting Level 19 €21.90/mo: 1 website, 300GB NVMe SSD, unlimited traffic, free phone and email support, free domain, PHP Configurator, DNS Administration. Value for price:8.9	N/A Value for price:N/A

CX11 €4.51/mo: 1 website, 20GB NVMe SSD, 20TB traffic, no support indicated, PHP configurator. Value for price:8.0	Cloud VPS S $3.99/mo: 1 website, 50GB NVMe, 32TB traffic, no support indicated, 1 snapshot. Value for price:8.5
CPX11 €5.18/mo: 1 website, 40GB NVMe SSD, 20TB traffic, no support indicated, PHP configurator. Value for price:8.2	Cloud VPS M $7.99/mo: 1 website, 100GB NVMe, 32TB traffic, no support indicated, 2 snapshots. Value for price:8.8
CX21 €6.37/mo: 1 website, 40GB NVMe SSD, 20TB traffic, no support indicated, PHP configurator. Value for price:8.4	Cloud VPS L $14.99/mo: 1 website, 200GB NVMe, 32TB traffic, no support indicated, 3 snapshots. Value for price:9.0
CPX21 €8.98/mo: 1 website, 80GB NVMe SSD, 20TB traffic, no support indicated, PHP configurator. Value for price:8.6	Cloud VPS XL $26.99/mo: 1 website, 400GB NVMe, 32TB traffic, no support indicated, 4 snapshots. Value for price:9.3
CX31 €29.99/mo: 1 website, 240GB NVMe SSD, 20TB traffic, no support indicated, PHP configurator. Value for price:8.7	Cloud VDS M €59.78/mo: 30 domains, NVMe Storage, 32TB traffic, 30 Domains on Plesk Web Pro Edition. Value for price:9.5
CPX31 €16.18/mo: 1 website, 160GB NVMe SSD, 20TB traffic, no support indicated, PHP configurator. Value for price:8.8 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 7.4 🏆 Winner Hetzner: Hetzner offers a more efficient and user-friendly experience for setting up and managing your hosting services. The admin panel for Hetzner, known as konsoleH, is tailored for both technical and non-technical users. With a clean and intuitive interface, it offers straightforward processes for setting up domains, email addresses, and websites. Tasks such as creating accounts, switching account types, and deleting accounts are easily manageable, contributing to an overall seamless experience. The comprehensive documentation provided helps users understand the interface better, making it accessible for those who may not be technically inclined. Contabo offers a custom control panel designed for a similar audience. After receiving login credentials, users can manage their servers, review services, upgrade VPS plans, and more. While the interface is user-friendly and intuitive, it provides a range of features for effective server management. However, its numerous functionalities and slightly less intuitive navigation may present a bit more of a learning curve for non-technical users compared to Hetzner’s konsoleH. Hetzner provides detailed guides and tutorials for tasks such as domain transfer, website migration, and mail migration. Users can access these resources for free on their website. On the other hand, Contabo also provides useful tutorials and a FAQ section but may require more manual configuration and steps in comparison. Both providers offer efficient migration tools; however, Hetzner’s more streamlined process through the konsoleH interface offers a slight edge. Hetzner offers extensive documentation and 24/7 support via telephone and email. They also have detailed guides and allow community contributions, which can earn users credits. Contabo provides a good range of tutorials and FAQ resources, but their support hours are more limited, available only within specific times. Overall, the accessibility and quality of Hetzner’s help center resources provide a more comprehensive support experience. Hetzner help center Contabo help center The platforms provide extensive knowledge bases filled with guides, how-to articles, and instructional content. Hetzner offers a wide range of resources alongside 24/7 chat and phone support. Contabo also boasts a detailed help center with an intuitive search function and around-the-clock support via live chat, phone, and ticketing, ensuring comprehensive user support. 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 5.0 🏆 Winner Hetzner: Superior user management and accessibility features. Hetzner and Contabo differ significantly in their approach to managing user roles and permissions. Hetzner allows for the creation of user groups, making it easy to organize users and assign specific permissions. This is particularly useful for larger teams that require distinct roles. Additionally, administrators can designate users as group administrators, giving more flexibility and control over user permissions. Contabo, on the other hand, offers the ability to authorize additional people to have certain permissions, but it lacks the refined group creation and management options seen in Hetzner. Furthermore, Hetzner provides extensive quota management, allowing administrators to allocate specific storage limits for users. Both platforms offer user-friendly interfaces for managing users, albeit with some differences. Hetzner’s interface allows for easy navigation through user settings, creating new user accounts, and setting storage quotas. It also provides advanced settings to customize user experiences, including language preferences and email management. Contabo’s Control Panel, while user-friendly, focuses more on a broad range of server management tasks. It facilitates personal information updates, password changes, and enables two-factor authentication. While both interfaces are functional, Hetzner offers more tailored user management tools, accommodating diverse administrative needs more effectively. In terms of access control measures, Hetzner provides a comprehensive system with the ability to reset administrator passwords, a detailed user activity overview, and the option for unlimited storage quotas. This capacity to monitor and manage user activities ensures a secure and efficient environment as the user base grows. Contabo emphasizes security through mandatory two-factor authentication and free DDoS protection for all plans, which adds an essential layer of protection. However, its user management features, such as API access and support ticket submission, are more basic compared to Hetzner’s advanced controls. Hetzner user roles table: Role Description Access highlights Group Admin Manages a specific user group. Can add/remove users in their group, set storage quotas for group members. Standard User Regular user account. Access to assigned storage quota, monitor their own activities. Admin Account Full administrative control. Customizes Storage Share, activates additional apps, sets unlimited storage. Contabo user roles table: Role Description Access highlights Authorized Person Granted specific permissions for server management. Ability to manage certain server features and settings. 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 7.1 🏆 Winner: Contabo: Contabo stands out with its wider range of support options and detailed knowledge base, although both providers have their strengths and limitations. Phone support Live chat support Chatbot Email/ticket support Enterprise support (dedicated agent, priority support) Hetzner provides multiple support channels, including email, ticketing, and phone support, but lacks a money-back guarantee and free trial period. It offers extensive documentation and supports multiple languages, making it accessible, but the absence of live chat support is a drawback. Some users have reported issues with response times and resolving account management and billing disputes. On the other hand, Contabo offers phone support and a self-help section, along with managed services and emergency support as upgrades. It guarantees fast response times, particularly through its ticket system, despite the lack of 24-hour support and a money-back guarantee. While its user interface may seem outdated, Contabo’s uptime guarantee and diverse data center locations are notable advantages. User feedback Hetzner 6 reviews 4.6 out of 5 stars Contabo 10 reviews reviews 3.3 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. Contabo offers affordable and powerful VPS plans, which are particularly beneficial for running demanding software and complex tasks. Several users have praised the reliability, stability, and cost-effectiveness of the service, highlighting its great value for money. However, frequent downtime, limited customer support, and a somewhat outdated control panel have been significant points of concern. Some users have experienced slow response times and unresolved service requests, suggesting areas for improvement in customer service and operational transparency. FAQ Which platform is better suited for hosting WordPress websites? Neither Hetzner nor Contabo offers specific WordPress hosting plans. However, Hetzner’s shared and cloud hosting plans with NVMe SSDs and PHP Configurator, combined with its intuitive konsoleH control panel, make it a viable option. Contabo, while affordable and customizable, lacks dedicated WordPress hosting but offers flexibility through its VPS plans. Are both platforms suitable for beginners? Hetzner is more suitable for beginners due to its user-friendly konsoleH control panel and extensive documentation, which simplifies the setup and management process. Contabo, while offering a custom control panel, may not be as intuitive and has a steeper learning curve for non-technical users. Both platforms lack live chat support, which could be a drawback for beginners needing quick assistance. Which hosting service offers better security features? Hetzner offers extensive security features, including ISO 27001 certified data centers, DDoS protection, daily automated backups, and advanced mail security options. Contabo also provides robust security with SSL certificates, always-on DDoS protection, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), and Imunify AV for malware scanning. Both services are GDPR compliant, but Hetzner’s additional certifications and security measures give it an edge. Which platform offers better customer support? Hetzner provides multiple support channels like email, ticketing, and phone support, but lacks live chat and a money-back guarantee. Contabo offers phone support, a self-help section, and emergency support upgrades but does not have 24-hour support. While Hetzner’s support is accessible and extensive, Contabo guarantees fast response times through its ticket system, making both platforms strong in different aspects of customer support. Which service is more suitable for hosting a high-traffic website? Contabo is more suitable for hosting high-traffic websites, offering dedicated server options with high traffic allowances and GPU options. Its AMD EPYC processors and up to 32TB of traffic make it ideal for demanding applications. Hetzner, while offering high-performance cloud servers, does not match the dedicated server capabilities of Contabo for handling large volumes of traffic. The making of this blog We followed a clear, step-by-step process to write and research this article. 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