Compute Comparison
Edge vs Hetzner Cloud
A detailed comparison of Edge Compute and Hetzner Cloud for cloud virtual machines.
How we compare to Hetzner
Hetzner Cloud has earned a strong reputation for aggressive pricing — its shared vCPU plans start at just a few euros a month, and on raw price per plan it's one of the cheapest providers anywhere. If your workload fits neatly into one of its fixed plans and its European-centred regions, it's genuinely hard to beat on cost.
Edge competes on a different axis. Instead of fixed plans, you pay per resource — vCPU, RAM, and NVMe disk are priced independently and billed hourly from a prepaid balance, so you never pay for capacity you don't use and a surprise bill is impossible by design. Signup is free with no card and no identity checks.
Edge's decentralised network also offers global coverage where Hetzner is concentrated in Germany and Finland, plus GPU instances that Hetzner Cloud doesn't offer. See the compute docs to get started.
Key Differences
-
Per-resource pricing – Pick exact vCPU, RAM, and disk — no fixed plans -
Free signup, no card – No payment details or ID checks to get started -
Global coverage – Hetzner locations are concentrated in Europe -
Prepaid billing – A surprise bill is impossible by design
Feature Comparison
How Edge and Hetzner Cloud compare feature by feature.
| Feature |
Edge
| Hetzner Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Per resource | Fixed server plans |
| Custom vCPU / RAM / Disk | | |
| Sign Up Without Card | | |
| Billing | Hourly, prepaid | Hourly, postpaid |
| Surprise Bills Possible | | |
| Region Coverage | Global | EU, US, Singapore |
| Egress Fees | Free | Allowance, then per TB |
| NVMe Storage | | |
| GPU Instances | | |
| Identity Checks at Signup | None | Sometimes required |
| Decentralized | | |
| Sustainable by Design | | Green energy DCs |
How the Pricing Models Differ
Hetzner sells fixed plans priced in euros; Edge prices each resource independently. Rather than compare plan-for-plan, here's what each model means for you.
Hetzner: fixed plans
Hetzner's shared vCPU plans start at a few euros per month and scale in fixed steps of vCPU, RAM, and disk. Prices are quoted in euros excluding VAT, with a bandwidth allowance included and per-TB charges beyond it. Check Hetzner's current pricing for exact figures.
On raw price per plan, Hetzner is often the cheapest option — but if your workload needs, say, lots of RAM and little disk, you still pay for the whole bundle.
Edge: per resource
vCPU is $0.004/hr (~$2.92/mo), RAM is $0.00256/GiB-hr (~$1.87/mo), and NVMe disk is $0.074/GiB-mo. Combine them however you like and pay hourly from a prepaid balance.
- 1 vCPU · 2 GB RAM · 40 GB NVMe $9.62/mo
- 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM · 80 GB NVMe $19.24/mo
- 4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM · 160 GB NVMe $38.47/mo
* Edge prices are calculated from our published per-resource rates. Hetzner pricing as published at the time of writing — check Hetzner's site for current figures.
When to Choose Edge
Hetzner is a great budget choice for European workloads. Here's when Edge makes more sense.
You need regions beyond Europe
Hetzner's locations are concentrated in Germany and Finland, with limited US and Singapore presence. Edge's decentralised network spans the globe.
You want to size VMs exactly
Hetzner's plans are fixed bundles, so you pay for resources you may not use. Edge prices vCPU, RAM, and disk independently.
You want zero-friction signup
Hetzner requires payment details and sometimes identity verification before you can deploy. Edge signup is free with no card required.
Ready to try Edge?
Create a free account — no card required — and deploy your first VM in under a minute.