Hetzner vs Nexcess: guide for 2024

Final verdict

Looking over Hetzner vs. Nexcess, 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.

• 
  Nexcess (Overall grade: 8.2)
  
  
  provides superior performance for WordPress and eCommerce hosting, characterized by specialized tools, high performance, and advanced security features. Their extensive global data centers and proprietary CDN ensure fast load times, making them a solid choice for high-traffic websites. Nexcess also excels in providing exceptional customer support 24/7/365, and the ease of use of their platform is bolstered by a user-friendly interface and comprehensive managed services, which remove much of the hassle from the migration and administrative processes. However, they do come at a higher price point, potentially making them a more costly option but justified by their premium features and reliability.
  
• 
  Hetzner (Overall grade: 7.9)
  
  
  shines with its cost-effective plans, making it an attractive option for those looking for performance on a budget. With excellent uptime, flexibility, and reliable NVMe SSD storage, Hetzner is capable of meeting the needs of high-demand applications. Their robust technical security, coupled with extensive documentation and reliable support options, ensures users can efficiently manage their hosting environments. The inclusion of free domains and flexible pricing strategies enhances their appeal. Nonetheless, Hetzner’s slightly steeper learning curve and lack of some specialized hosting features may pose challenges for less technically savvy users, positioning it as the better option for those comfortable with managing more manual aspects of their hosting.
  

Hosting types offered

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

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

🏆 Winner
Hetzner Online: An excellent choice for uptime and reliability.

Hetzner Online offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee, often reaching 100% based on testing. Their data centers are strategically located in Germany, Finland, and the USA, ensuring global reach. Their redundant network, backed by Juniper technology, and 24/7 monitoring with SMS alerts to technicians, ensure quick responses to issues. Complimentary DDoS protection is an added benefit.

Nexcess maintains a solid uptime of 99.88%, experiencing 10 hours of downtime over the past year. With data centers spread across the globe and a proprietary CDN, they excel in load performance. Daily backups and PCI compliance add to their reliability. However, Nexcess received a lower performance grade and has room for improvement compared to Hetzner Online.

🏆 Winner
Nexcess: A powerhouse for performance and security.

The hosting speed of both Hetzner and Nexcess is commendable, but they offer unique strengths. Hetzner leverages NVMe SSD disk space, boosting read and write speeds significantly, alongside daily backups with a 14-day retention period. Nexcess delivers lightning-fast WordPress sites backed by automatic caching via Nginx and Redis. Both hostings provide comprehensive CDN options, but Nexcess stands out with its Cloudflare-powered CDN, enhancing page load times globally. Hetzner has a broader footprint with data centers in Europe and the USA, while Nexcess offers strategic data center locations with emphasized regional performance.

Website Speed

Website speed under both providers shows excellence with some distinctions. Hetzner’s NVMe SSDs offer rapid data throughput, effective for high-demand applications. Daily backups and SSL encryption ensure added reliability and security, contributing to consistent uptime. Nexcess further elevates performance with autoscaling PHP resources during traffic surges and integrated caching solutions. Their lightning-fast WordPress optimizations and the Cloudflare CDN ensure superior site speeds, making Nexcess slightly more efficient in high-traffic scenarios.

Scalability

Scalability showcases different philosophies. Hetzner offers no minimum contract period with flexible invoicing for resource overusage, allowing users to scale dynamically but requiring manual plan adjustments. Dedicated and shared cloud hosting options are available, featuring advanced server hardware. Pricing is not explicitly detailed for scalability, indicating a need for a tailored approach. Nexcess provides free autoscaling with extra PHP resources deployed automatically during traffic surges, a significant convenience. Plans like Producer, Executive, and Enterprise start at $147.60/month, showcasing a structured but potentially more costly scalability solution. Both offer robust support, but Nexcess ensures seamless site performance during traffic spikes.

🏆 Winner Nexcess: Nexcess provides higher-level security and comprehensive compliance features for hosting services.

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

Technical security measures:

Hetzner and Nexcess both offer robust technical security measures. Hetzner features SSL certificates such as Symantec Basic SSL and Let’s Encrypt for free, while Nexcess offers a variety of SSL certificates including Standard, Premium, EV, Wildcard, and Multiple Domain SSL. Both providers support PHP 7 and PHP 8, though Hetzner also supports PHP 5. Hetzner includes additional security measures like ISO 27001 certification and advanced email security features such as DKIM and SPF. In contrast, Nexcess offers continuous monitoring, daily malware scans for WordPress and WooCommerce, and advanced security hardening.

Operational security measures:

Hetzner’s operational security includes 24/7 monitoring, DDOS protection, secure connections for various access points, and automatic daily backups with restore options. Nexcess offers similar daily backups stored for 30 days, along with enhanced operational security like enterprise server monitoring, automatic OS updates, and bot mitigation via Cloudflare. Nexcess’ Performance Shield also includes DDoS protection, application firewalls, and threat detection, making it highly secure for operational tasks.

Compliance and certifications:

Both providers are GDPR compliant, adhering to EU regulations for data protection. Hetzner provides a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) in accordance with GDPR Article 28. Nexcess, on the other hand, covers more compliance standards including PCI DSS Level 1, SSAE-18, SOC-1 Type II, and SOC-2 Type II. Nexcess shows a broader commitment to compliance which is essential for businesses needing a stringent regulatory environment.

🏆 Winner
Hetzner: Hetzner offers a blend of robust features and affordability, making it an excellent choice for diverse hosting needs.

Both Hetzner and Nexcess bring unique strengths to the table, catering to different user requirements. Hetzner includes a domain in its package, which is beneficial for users looking to start with minimal setup costs. It also provides extensive email features, a wide range of PHP support, and CMS customization options like WordPress, Joomla, and Typo3. Additionally, Hetzner customers benefit from features like 24/7 monitoring, DDoS protection, and a dedicated NVMe SSD disk space up to 300 GB. On the other hand, Nexcess excels with its specialized hosting for WordPress, WooCommerce, and Magento. Nexcess stands out with features like automated plugin updates, free autoscaling, and server-level Redis. These options are specially tailored for developers and eCommerce businesses, providing an optimized environment for performance and scalability. Both providers offer free SSL certificates and daily backups, but Hetzner’s extensive and cost-effective domain options can be a deciding factor for many.

When it comes to ease of use and customer support, Nexcess slightly edges out due to its intuitive interface, free staging sites, and dedicated support teams available 24/7/365. Hetzner’s konsoleH admin interface is also user-friendly but might require some getting used to for beginners. Nexcess offers free SSLs and PCI compliance as part of their package, which is great for sites handling transactional data. Both providers support SSH access, which adds a layer of security and control for advanced users. Overall, Hetzner’s affordability and extensive email and domain services make it a winner, while Nexcess offers specialized support suitable for more advanced or niche hosting requirements.

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 Nexcess 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:

Both Hetzner and Nexcess offer reliable email hosting services. Hetzner provides email hosting with up to unlimited mailboxes and extensive email forwarding options, supporting synchronization through protocols like Exchange Active Sync, CalDAV, CardDAV, and iCal. Nexcess also offers unlimited email as part of their hosting plans, with seamless integration suitable for transaction emails, mailing lists, and automated updates. Both providers prioritize ensuring secure and efficient email services, but Hetzner offers slightly more comprehensive options suitable for businesses with extensive email requirements.

🏆 Winner
Hetzner: Hetzner offers a wide range of flexible pricing plans with noteworthy features tailored for both individual and enterprise needs.

Evaluating the pricing of plans among various hosting providers can be complex due to their differing pricing and renewal strategies. 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. Although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.

Pricing plans of Hetzner showcase a variety of options to fit different needs, from low-cost web hosting plans to high-end managed servers, starting at €2.09 per month and scaling up to €219.06 per month. Nexcess, in contrast, presents tailored solutions geared more towards cloud and WordPress hosting with plans starting at $21 for Managed WordPress and scaling up. Hetzner’s plans, such as Webhosting Level 1 and CX11, offer a comprehensive array of features including DDoS Protection, PHP configurators, and extensive disk space, often with no minimum contract period. Nexcess plans, such as the Spark or Starter, come with daily backups, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and inherent SEO tools. Both providers offer substantial cloud hosting options, yet Hetzner tends to provide greater flexibility in pricing and plan customizations.

Enterprise plans

Hetzner’s enterprise plans include the vServer MC30 and MC60, providing robust computing power with 16-32GB RAM and significant storage at competitive rates. Nexcess offers Executive and Enterprise WordPress hosting plans tailored for larger operations, starting at €602 and going up to €1095, ensuring tailored support and advanced features for substantial business needs. Both offer extensive storage and bandwidth, yet Hetzner often presents more cost-effective options with no minimum contract periods.

🏆 Winner
Nexcess: Streamlined migration and exceptional support.

Hetzner employs the konsoleH interface for account management, which includes setting up domains, email addresses, and websites. It allows users to perform various administrative tasks like creating new accounts or switching account types. The interface is fairly user-friendly and is designed to cater to both tech-savvy and non-technical users, yet it may require some initial learning. On the other hand, Nexcess provides a more straightforward experience by utilizing a drag-and-drop builder, especially for WooCommerce. This visual builder simplifies the process for non-technical users and shortens the learning curve. Both providers offer comprehensive solutions, but Nexcess appears to have a slight edge in providing an intuitive setup process for those less familiar with server management.

In terms of migration tools, Hetzner provides detailed guides and tutorials that can help with manual migrations, encompassing domains, websites, and emails. While thorough, these tools may require significant user intervention. Nexcess, however, offers unlimited managed migrations handled by their team of experts at no extra cost. This makes moving to Nexcess more seamless and less stressful, especially for individuals and businesses seeking a hassle-free transition.

Hetzner’s documentation is extensive and covers a wide range of topics, making it a useful resource for users at all levels. Their support includes 24/7 help via telephone and email. Nexcess also offers 24/7/365 support and provides extensive knowledge resources, including webinars and white papers, in addition to their help center. Their comprehensive support portal is designed for specific application guidance, further aiding users in resolving issues effectively.

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. Nexcess 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.

🏆 Winner Nexcess: Nexcess offers user roles and permissions that cater well to a variety of administrative needs.

When comparing user roles, permissions, and accessibility, Nexcess clearly stands out. It allows creation of custom teams with specified permissions, which lends an enormous amount of flexibility. Hetzner, on the other hand, provides straightforward user roles and permissions, allowing for some customization but in a more limited scope. Nexcess’ offerings include roles like Superuser, Billing, and Technical, catering to different expertise levels, whereas Hetzner focuses more on traditional administrative tasks. In terms of flexibility, Nexcess offers broader customization in user roles compared to Hetzner’s more rigid structure.

Both platforms provide user-friendly interfaces for user management. Hetzner offers a simple but effective system with clear navigation through profile-based settings for managing users, groups, and quotas. Nexcess features an intuitive Client Portal that streamlines the management of custom teams and their permissions. Nexcess’ interface is explicitly geared toward ease of access and functionality, supporting a more granular setting of permissions. This makes it particularly suited for environments that require varied levels of access.

In terms of access control measures and scalability for growing user bases, Nexcess is highly efficient. It allows unlimited adjustments to permissions and roles, which is crucial for dynamic environments. Hetzner also provides a robust set of access controls, such as quota settings and maintenance rules, but it can be less efficient for managing rapidly changing user bases due to its structure. Nexcess’ detailed permissions and role differentiation align well with evolving user requirements, making it better suited for scaling efficiently.

Hetzner user roles table:

Nexcess user roles table:

🏆 Winner
Nexcess: Renowned for its extensive 24/7/365 customer support across multiple channels, Nexcess provides a streamlined and highly accessible support experience.

Hetzner Online offers versatile support channels including email, a ticketing system, and phone support available during specific hours on weekdays. Despite good response times via the ticketing system, users report occasional delays and issues with account management. The absence of live chat and a money-back guarantee are notable limitations.

Nexcess outshines with its full-suite 24/7/365 support, including live chat and phone support accessible worldwide. In-house experts covering infrastructure, security, and application support ensure comprehensive aid, supplemented by proactive services like free SSL, CDN, and daily backups. Additionally, a 30-day money-back guarantee provides a risk-free trial period.

User feedback

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.

User feedback on Nexcess hosting is highly polarized. Positive reviews frequently commend the platform’s knowledgeable and responsive customer support, emphasizing swift issue resolution and a user-friendly interface. However, negative reviews highlight significant issues with the backup system, slow migration processes, and unreliable server performance, causing operational disruptions and reputational damage. Many users note the decline in service quality following the company’s acquisition, culminating in mixed recommendations.

FAQ