OVHcloud vs. Hetzner – Which One Is Actually Better? [2020]

With OVHcloud – the world’s third-largest web hosting provider, you’ll get VPS, private and public cloud, and dedicated servers to meet your hosting needs. Hetzner’s hosting packages offer a wider range – from shared hosting and colocation to managed VPS, cloud servers, and dedicated servers. I tested both these web hosts on multiple parameters. I found that choosing a clear winner in this OVHcloud vs. Hetzner competition is difficult as the best host would depend on your needs.

Click here to see OVHcloud’s latest deals or read on to know how you can decide which of these two would suits your needs the best.

1. Plans and Pricing

Hetzner scores a win with its lower prices

Hetzner’s shared plans, though not the cheapest, are budget-friendly and offer value for money with several beginner- and developer-friendly features. OVHcloud’s public cloud plans are available for multiple locations and billed hourly/monthly. OVHcloud’s cloud and VPS plans cost more than Hetzner’s cloud plans. If you’re looking for standardized dedicated servers, you can get them for cheap with Hetzner’s server auction. Hetzner’s dedicated servers (root and NVMe) cost lower than OVHcloud’s dedicated servers.

Domain registration prices (for some TLDs like .com, .org) are cheaper with OVHcloud.

Hetzner offers a 30-day cancellation period but OVHcloud offers no refunds.

With its lower prices, Hetzner wins.

2. Features

Wider range of hosting plans plus more features help Hetzner win

With Hetzner’s shared plans, you’ll get Symantec Basic SSL certificate, Let‘s Encrypt SSL, WebFTP, daily database/user account backups, and SSH access. GDPR-compliant Hetzner cloud plans have Linux OS, 1-16vCPU, 2GB-32GB RAM, and 20GB-360GB disk space. They come with NVMe SSDs, floating IPs, automatic backups, and choice of local/network storage (NVMe SSD RAID or Ceph). If you want to configure Windows RDP, check Hetzner RDP services. When testing OVHcloud vs. Hetzner peering, I found Hetzner has an open peering policy.

OVHcloud’s VPS servers support multiple OS and come with 1-8 vCore, 2GB-32GB RAM, and 40GB NVMe-640GB NVMe storage. They offer paid add-ons like geolocated IP, load balancer, etc. If you would rather let experts handle your VPS, I recommend Hetzner’s managed plans that scored better in this OVHcloud vs. Hetzner VPS battle.

With OVHcloud, you’ll get vRack, which lets your OVHcloud services be isolated, linked, or spread across a single or multiple private secure networks.

You can compare Hetzner and OVHcloud by checking this comparison table.

Hetzner wins this round, thanks to more variety in its hosting plans plus slightly better features.

3. Performance

OVHcloud wins with its better performance

OVHcloud has 27 datacenters around the world that come with server redundancy and load balancing to deliver high availability. Its VPSes use NVMe storage and offer load balancers (as paid add-on) for better performance.

Hetzner has 3 datacenters – 2 in Germany and 1 in Finland. Hetzner has a redundant network and uses NVMe SSDs and Juniper backbone technology for enhanced performance.

Due to its better performance, OVHcloud wins.

4. Security

Neck-and-neck competition with no clear winner

With its worldwide, high-security datacenters, OVHcloud guarantees the continuity of service even when a major incident occurs. With the vRack, load balancer, and anti-DDoS protection, it ensures a secure cloud.

To ensure security and data protection, Hetzner uses multiple redundant connections to DE-CIX (the largest German IXP) for smooth data transfer, DDoS protection, central back-up server, and RAID-1 hard disk system.

With somewhat similar security measures, it’s difficult to pick a clear winner.

5. Support

OVHcloud edges past Hetzner with its slightly better support

Hetzner offers support via email, telephone (8 am-6 pm CEST, Monday-Friday for web hosting and managed VPS), live chat, and an online contact form. Since its live chat wasn’t available when I tried, I used its email instead. However, it failed to elicit a reply. Its self-support tools including a DokuWiki and extensive support documents/articles/tutorials (for logged-in customers) work a lot better though.

Depending on what type of support you need (new order/technical advice/incidents), OVHcloud offers standard support via phone, email, and/or Twitter. You may even opt for its paid premium support. When I tested, its standard support was slow with wait times varying from a day to 2 days. For self-help, you’ll get guides and tutorials from OVHcloud’s community, documentation, and an FAQ for dedicated servers.

Thanks to its slightly better support, OVHcloud wins this round.

The Winner is Decided by What You Need

This was a closely-fought match. While OVHcloud wins for its performance and slightly better support, Hetzner outshines it in pricing and features. With both these hosts scoring a tie in the security category, picking a clear winner among OVHcloud or Hetzner is tough as it all depends on your needs. Small or medium-sized businesses could find OVHcloud better while those looking for budget-friendly shared hosting or affordably-priced managed VPS can go with Hetzner.

Before you decide, remember that neither of these hosts features on our top 10. To find the ones that do, visit our list of ​ the best web hosting services​.

Comparison Table

FAQ

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