Hetzner vs OVH Cloud: guide for 2024

Hetzner vs OVH Cloud: Final verdict

Looking over Hetzner vs. OVH, 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.

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  OVH (Overall grade: 8.2)
  
  
  elevates the game with its extensive hosting options, including dedicated hosting, thereby providing a broader scope for businesses looking for advanced features and long-term scalability. Its superior support and global data center network offer significant advantages for multimedia websites and eCommerce platforms. Despite occasional hiccups in customer service, OVHcloud’s robust compliance with regulatory standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS, combined with a user-friendly control panel and competitive pricing, make it an appealing choice for various professional sectors.
  
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  Hetzner (Overall grade: 7.9)
  
  
  shines with its reliable uptime and advanced technical security measures, positioning itself as a strong contender for high-traffic websites. The use of NVMe SSDs enhances speed, while scalable solutions and extensive customization options cater well to tech-savvy users. Although it lacks dedicated hosting and its support could use enhancements, the flexible contract terms, robust DDoS protection, and comprehensive email hosting features make Hetzner a solid option, particularly for users prioritizing performance and reliability.
  

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: Hetzner Online provides reliable uptime and high availability with comprehensive monitoring and redundant networks.

Hetzner Online stands out with its 99.9% uptime guarantee and consistent performance, sometimes even reaching 100%. The company operates from multiple data centers in Germany, Finland, and the USA, ensuring both geographical diversity and network reliability. Hetzner also benefits from 24/7 monitoring and a redundant network using Juniper technology, coupled with free DDoS protection.

On the other hand, OVHcloud has shown variable uptime performance in the past but has improved. With 43 data centers across 4 continents and redundant Points of Presence, OVHcloud offers 99.99% uptime on its Public Cloud Instance. The hosting provider also boasts quick page loading speeds and automatic backups for data security. Anti-DDoS protection is included in all hosting plans to maintain service availability.

🏆 Winner Hetzner: Comprehensive hosting with top-tier performance and strong security features.

Hetzner stands out with its superior performance, featuring fast NVMe SSD storage for enhanced read and write speeds, crucial for quick load times. Hetzner offers various caching methods and guaranteed network availability of at least 99.9%, contributing to solid performance. It also supports numerous programming languages, including dynamic CMS options like WordPress. In comparison, OVHcloud provides a range of vCores and RAM options, supports static and dynamic sites, and includes unlimited monthly traffic. Both have multiple data centers, but Hetzner’s locations in Germany, Finland, and the USA offer broader geographic coverage compared to OVHcloud’s unspecified centers.

Website Speed

Hetzner’s utilization of NVMe SSDs offers excellent website speed. These drives deliver faster read/write times, enhancing overall user experience and reducing load times. The 24/7 network monitoring and redundant network infrastructure ensure high performance and uptime. OVHcloud also offers good speeds with its high-performance hosting resources and unlimited traffic but does not emphasize NVMe storage, making Hetzner a better choice for those prioritizing speed.

Scalability

Hetzner provides scalable hosting solutions with shared and dedicated vCPU options. It supports seamless scaling through the use of Intel®, AMD, and Ampere® processors and allows for extensive customization via a REST API and CLI tools. Pricing for additional resources is flexible, avoiding the need for immediate plan upgrades. OVHcloud also offers scalability, tailored through different vCore and RAM options that can be adjusted as needed. Both providers offer dedicated servers; however, cost specifics for scaling are not detailed for either service.

🏆 Winner
OVHcloud: Provides extensive compliance with regulatory requirements and a variety of security features, outperforming its competitor.

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

Technical security measures:

Both Hetzner and OVHcloud offer robust technical security features, yet they differ in specific aspects. Hetzner provides free SSL certificates through Symantec Basic and Let’s Encrypt, while OVHcloud includes Let’s Encrypt for free and offers Sectigo certificates at additional costs. Both hosting providers ensure DDoS protection, yet OVHcloud also includes a default firewall with all plans. In terms of PHP support, Hetzner clearly details supported versions (PHP5, PHP7, PHP8) and offers a PHP configurator for individual script adjustments, whereas OVHcloud does not specify the versions. Additionally, Hetzner supports a range of PHP extensions, such as APCu and ImageMagick, which are not mentioned for OVHcloud.

Operational security measures:

Hetzner emphasizes various operational security measures, including daily backups, system integrity checks, and 24/7 monitoring. Mail security is also thoroughly covered with features like DKIM, SPF, and ClamAV virus scanning. Conversely, OVHcloud includes automatic data backup with restoration options and task automation through their Control Panel. Monitoring traffic and visits is also facilitated by OVHcloud’s detailed statistics and logs, along with integrated API usage for managing products. Both providers ensure secure connections and encrypted access; however, Hetzner’s inclusion of SSH access and secure FTP adds another layer.

Compliance and certifications:

OVHcloud adheres to an extensive list of regulatory requirements, including GDPR, PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO certifications, and more. Hetzner is GDPR compliant and boasts ISO 27001 certification for several data centers but lacks explicit PCI compliance and HIPAA adherence. OVHcloud’s broad compliance makes it suitable for various sectors, including healthcare and finance, providing a versatile solution for professionals needing heightened regulatory adherence.

🏆 Winner
Hetzner Online GmbH: A comprehensive hosting provider that offers extensive features and customization options.

Both Hetzner Online GmbH and OVHcloud offer multiple features designed to cater to a variety of user needs. Hetzner provides a free domain as part of its package alongside unlimited traffic, multiple database options, and extensive email hosting capabilities. It also features an easy-to-use client admin interface (konsoleH) that supports a variety of customization options such as a PHP configurator, CGI interface, and WordPress installer. One unique selling point for Hetzner is its flexible contract terms with no minimum contract period and a 30-day cancellation policy, which can be particularly appealing for users. Moreover, Hetzner offers robust DDoS protection, a minimum 99.9% network availability, and extensive daily backups with a detailed log file analysis, making it a strong choice for users who prioritize reliability and security.

OVHcloud, on the other hand, emphasizes managed hosting solutions, which take the load off users by handling infrastructure, monitoring, and security patches. The OVHcloud Control Panel simplifies the management of services and products, making it user-friendly, especially for those less technically inclined. It offers a broader ecosystem, including a community space and a marketplace, and provides APIs for easy management and automation of tasks. With plans starting as low as $1.04/month for basic features, OVHcloud makes a compelling case for cost-effective solutions. Unique offerings such as unlimited monthly traffic, anti-DDoS protection included by default, and the capability for automatic data backups with restore options enhance its appeal to users looking for a feature-rich yet manageable hosting service.

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 Online GmbH and OVHcloud 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 features including SMTP, webmail, autoresponders, and synchronization protocols like EAS, CalDAV, CardDAV, and iCal. Users get several mailboxes, email forwarding options, and protocols like TLS/SSL for email security. OVHcloud also offers substantial email hosting, including up to 1000 email addresses on its Performance plan. While both providers support transactional emails, Hetzner’s additional free phone and email support can be more beneficial for users needing extensive assistance in setting up email services. Both do not appear to resell third-party email services like Google Workspace.

🏆 Winner
OVHcloud: Offering a diverse range of affordable hosting plans with extensive features.

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 has a range of competitively priced plans, particularly for its Webhosting and VPS offerings. Its lowest-tier “Level 1” plan starts at €2.09 per month, while its most premium “Level 19” plan costs €21.90 monthly, both with unlimited traffic. OVHcloud’s shared hosting plans begin as low as $1.04 per month for the “Starter” plan and go up to $13.19 for the “Performance” option. The differences mainly lie in the storage and additional features like emails and domains. Hetzner’s cloud hosting is another category offering in-depth resources, whereas OVHcloud provides additional features like a CDN and SSL certificates. The OVHcloud’s plans encompass more comprehensive features at various pricing points, making it suitable for a wide array of user needs.

Enterprise plans

Enterprise-level plans at Hetzner offer significant storage capacities and performance enhancements, with plans like “MC60” offering up to 32 GB RAM and 400 GB NVMe storage for €64.26 per month. OVHcloud’s higher-end shared and cloud hosting plans, such as “Performance Web Hosting” with 500 GB storage and high-performance resources for $13.19 per month, also cater well to the needs of larger enterprises. Both providers offer plans with substantial resources, but OVHcloud’s options are more cost-effective for businesses requiring high-performance and extensive features.

🏆 Winner: OVHcloud: A seamless web hosting experience with advanced features and user-friendly tools.

When comparing the admin panels, Hetzner uses the konsoleH administration interface, which caters to various user needs, from creating accounts to setting up domains and email addresses. Its layout is intuitive, making it suitable for both technical and non-technical users. The interface allows for easy account management, which simplifies domain registration, web data management, and server customization. This all-encompassing approach ensures that users can carry out a wide range of tasks with minimal hassle.

OVHcloud, on the other hand, offers a simplified OVHcloud Control Panel. This centralized interface is designed to streamline the management of products and services. Users can install popular CMS tools like WordPress or Joomla! with just a click, significantly reducing setup time. It provides flexibility by offering options like FTP Explorer, FTP Client, or SSH for file transfers. This makes OVHcloud’s interface particularly accessible and user-friendly, accommodating users with varying degrees of technical expertise.

Hetzner provides a comprehensive set of tools for website migration, including detailed guides and tutorials for domain transfer, website migration, and mail migration. These resources are available free of charge. Meanwhile, OVHcloud also offers migration tools, including automated options for easy data transfer. The ease of CMS installation with one click further simplifies the migration process. These services are typically included in the hosting plans, without any extra cost.

Both Hetzner and OVHcloud offer detailed help centers and extensive documentation to support their users. Hetzner boasts 24/7 support and a range of user-contributed tutorials covering various topics. OVHcloud also has a dedicated help center, multilingual guides, and an active community for additional user support. These resources ensure that users have access to the information they need for setup and migration tasks.

🏆 Winner OVHcloud: Best in user management flexibility and features.

When comparing Hetzner Online and OVHcloud in terms of user roles, permissions, and accessibility, OVHcloud showcases a higher degree of flexibility. OVHcloud allows for comprehensive role management with features like creating multiple accesses, grouping roles together, and generating access files. This contrasts with Hetzner Online, which focuses more on basic user and group creation, along with defining quotas and detailed settings. OVHcloud’s OpenStack integration offers a more granular approach to role definition, with predefined roles such as Administrator and Network Operator making it easier to manage complex infrastructures.

In terms of user interface and tools for managing users, Hetzner Online provides a straightforward, easily navigable interface. Users can add new users, allocate storage quotas, and customize their login pages all from a centralized user settings panel. On the other hand, OVHcloud utilizes the OVHcloud Control Panel to create users, assign roles, and configure access files efficiently. The ability to generate files for tools like OpenStack CLI directly from the control panel further enhances OVHcloud’s usability.

When assessing access control and managing a growing number of users, OVHcloud stands out with its unlimited number of OpenStack users and role-based access controls. This makes it particularly effective for growing businesses needing to manage multiple users with varying levels of access. While Hetzner Online offers features like setting storage quotas and creating custom login pages, its methods are less flexible for scaling large user bases compared to OVHcloud. OVHcloud’s roles can be updated anytime, providing dynamic control over user permissions and access.

Hetzner User Roles Table:

OVHcloud User Roles Table:

🏆 Winner
OVHcloud: Offers a range of support levels tailored to different business needs, including 24/7 support for critical environments.

Hetzner Online provides several support channels like email, ticketing, and phone support during specific hours. Their support quality is generally good with quick ticket responses, though some users have reported issues with account management and no live chat availability. Hetzner supports multiple languages and provides extensive documentation for self-service, but lacks a money-back guarantee or a free trial.

OVHcloud offers multiple tiers of support, from standard to enterprise levels, with varying response times and additional costs for higher support levels. Contact methods include email, tickets, and limited phone support, with live chat expected in the future. Their resource options encompass a knowledgebase and community forum, though standard support is limited and automatic renewals could complicate billing without manual adjustment.

Hetzner vs OVH Cloud: 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 for this hosting provider reveals a stark contrast in experiences. On one hand, users appreciate the competitive pricing, diverse range of services, multiple datacenter locations, and solid server performance when issues do not arise, reflecting a favorable cost-benefit ratio. On the other hand, many users criticize the provider’s customer service, highlighting slow response times, inadequate technical support, and unresolved billing discrepancies, with some experiencing significant delays and lack of assistance in critical situations. Overall, while the hosting services can be robust and reliable, the customer support and service delivery times need considerable improvement.

Hetzner vs OVH Cloud: FAQ