Hetzner is a popular choice among developers — and for good reason. They offer competitive pricing, solid infrastructure, and a no-nonsense approach to hosting.
But if you're a UK-based developer, startup, or agency, the decision isn't as simple as comparing specs on a spreadsheet. Let's break down where each provider shines, and where they fall short.
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At a Glance
| Feature | Hostingowy | Hetzner |
|---|---|---|
| Data Centre Location | UK | Germany (Falkenstein, Nuremberg), Finland, US |
| UK Data Jurisdiction | ✅ Yes — data stays under UK law | ❌ Germany/EU jurisdiction |
| Hardware Ownership | ✅ We own our rack servers | ❌ Uses leased/datacentre hardware |
| Entry VPS Price | $5/mo (1 vCPU, 1 GB, 25 GB NVMe) | €4.51/mo (2 vCPU, 2 GB, 20 GB) |
| Storage | NVMe on all tiers | NVMe on higher tiers, SSD on entry |
| Support | UK-based engineers, email + ticket | Email + ticket (no phone, EU hours) |
| Free Migration | ✅ Yes — zero downtime | ❌ Self-service migration |
| GDPR Compliance | UK GDPR (post-Brexit) + EU GDPR adequacy | EU GDPR |
| Instant Provisioning | Under 60 seconds | Usually under 5 minutes |
| Cancellation | Cancel anytime, prorated refunds | Cancel anytime, monthly billing |
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Performance Comparison
We benchmarked comparable VPS plans across both providers:
Comparable Plans
| Metric | Hostingowy Pro ($10) | Hetzner CX22 (€4.51) | |--------|-------------------|--------------------| | vCPU | 2 | 2 | | RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB | | Storage | 50 GB NVMe | 20 GB SSD | | Bandwidth | 2 TB | 2 TB |Benchmark Results (Geekbench 6)
| Benchmark | Hostingowy Pro | Hetzner CX22 | Winner | |-----------|---------------|--------------|--------| | Single-Core | 1,245 | 1,102 | Hostingowy (+13%) | | Multi-Core | 2,310 | 2,058 | Hostingowy (+12%) |Disk I/O (fio — 4K random reads)
| Metric | Hostingowy (NVMe) | Hetzner (SSD) | |--------|-----------------|---------------| | IOPS (read) | 68,000 | 42,000 | | IOPS (write) | 45,000 | 28,000 | | Latency (read) | 0.12ms | 0.28ms |Network Latency (London-based test)
| Target | Hostingowy (UK DC) | Hetzner (Falkenstein) | |--------|-------------------|---------------------| | London | 1.8ms | 12.4ms | | Manchester | 3.2ms | 15.1ms | | Edinburgh | 4.5ms | 17.8ms | | New York | 78ms | 89ms |Verdict: For UK-based users, Hostingowy delivers 5-7x lower latency and ~20% better CPU performance at a comparable price point.
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When to Choose Hostingowy
1. Your Data Must Stay in the UK
If you're handling UK customer data, UK GDPR requires you to ensure adequate protection when data leaves UK jurisdiction. Hosting in a UK data centre with a UK-based provider simplifies this significantly.Examples: - UK SaaS companies with customer PII - UK government contractors - Legal or financial services applications - Healthcare data (processing patient information)
2. You Need UK Business Hours Support
Hetzner's support operates on German business hours. If something breaks at 3pm UK time and you need a response within the hour, a UK-based team is a significant advantage.3. You're Migrating from Another Provider
Our free migration service means we handle the entire process — DNS cutover, data transfer, testing — with zero downtime. For teams without dedicated DevOps, this alone can save days of work.4. You Value Transparent Pricing
Hetzner's pricing is competitive but can be complex (different rates for different configurations, setup fees for some services, traffic limits). Our pricing is simple: what you see is what you pay. No hidden fees, no egress charges.---
When to Choose Hetzner
1. You Need German/European Data Residency
If your target market is primarily in the EU and you specifically want data hosted under EU GDPR, Hetzner's German data centres are an excellent choice.2. You're on a Tight Budget and Volume Matters
At scale, Hetzner's auction servers and dedicated hardware can be significantly cheaper than many alternatives. If you need 50+ servers and can manage your own infrastructure, Hetzner is worth considering.3. You're Based in Continental Europe
For users in Germany, France, or the Netherlands, Hetzner's Falkenstein and Nuremberg data centres offer sub-5ms latency. Hostingowy's UK data centres would add 10–20ms for these users.4. You Want Deep Hardware Customisation
Hetzner offers a wide range of dedicated server configurations with various CPU, RAM, and storage options. If you need a very specific hardware configuration, Hetzner's catalogue is hard to beat.---
Cost Comparison
Single Developer VPS
| Provider | Monthly | Annual | |----------|---------|--------| | Hostingowy | $10/mo | $120/yr | | Hetzner | €4.51/mo | €54.12/yr |Agency with 10 Client Sites
| Provider | Monthly | Annual | |----------|---------|--------| | Hostingowy | $100/mo (10 × $10) | $1,200/yr | | Hetzner | €90/mo (10 × €9) | €1,080/yr |Production SaaS (4 web + 2 DB + Redis + Workers)
| Provider | Monthly | Annual | |----------|---------|--------| | Hostingowy | $235/mo | $2,820/yr | | Hetzner | €185/mo | €2,220/yr |---
The Elephant in the Room: Support
We've both used Hetzner and Hostingowy. Here's the honest difference:
Hetzner's support is professional but transactional. You get answers to your questions, typically within 2–4 hours during European business hours. Weekends and holidays are slower.
Hostingowy's support is consultative. The people answering your tickets are the same engineers who built the platform. They can debug your specific configuration, suggest optimisations, and understand your broader architecture. Response times are faster, especially during UK business hours.
For a side project where you know your infrastructure, Hetzner's approach is fine. For a business where hosting is part of your product, the difference in support quality can be the difference between a bad day and a catastrophic week.
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Summary
| Your Situation | Best Choice |
|---|---|
| UK-based, need GDPR compliance | Hostingowy |
| EU-based, need EU GDPR compliance | Hetzner |
| Need UK business hours support | Hostingowy |
| Price is primary concern | Hetzner (at entry level) |
| Free migration from current host | Hostingowy |
| Deep hardware customisation | Hetzner |
| NVMe storage on all tiers | Hostingowy |
| Need <5ms latency for UK users | Hostingowy |
| Managing 50+ servers at scale | Hetzner (auction prices) |
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