Short answer
As of October 23, 2026, Hetzner Cloud wins more of the head-to-head checks (5 vs 2) and ranks higher overall (#38 of 160). Amazon Lightsail is cheaper to start ($5.00 vs $6.71 a month) and Amazon Lightsail has more locations (19 vs 6).
Verdict
Amazon Lightsail is cheaper to start: Linux 512 MB costs $5.00 per month against $6.71 at Hetzner Cloud, but Hetzner Cloud gives more RAM for the money ($1.75 vs $7.00 per GB, median).
Amazon Lightsail has the wider footprint with 19 locations in 17 countries, against 6 in 4 at Hetzner Cloud; both offer Ashburn, Portland and Singapore.
On features, only Amazon Lightsail offers Windows Server.
Customers rate Hetzner Cloud higher on Trustpilot: 3.0 from 3,001 reviews versus 1.3 from 429.
Overall Hetzner Cloud ranks #38 and Amazon Lightsail #73 of 160 providers we track. Choose Hetzner Cloud if customer ratings weigh heavily for you; choose Amazon Lightsail if price matters most or you need a wider choice of locations.
Hetzner and Lightsail side by side
| Hetzner Cloud | Amazon Lightsail | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | CX23: $6.71/mo | Linux 512 MB: $5.00/mo |
| Entry plan specs | 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe, 20 TB traffic | 2 vCPU, 512 MB RAM, 20 GB SSD, 1 TB traffic |
| Cheapest Windows plan | No Windows | Windows 512 MB: $9.50/mo |
| Median price per GB RAM | $1.75 | $7.00 |
| Data-center locations | 6 in 4 countries | 19 in 17 countries |
| Regions | Asia, Europe, North America | Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America |
| Virtualisation | KVM | KVM (AWS Nitro) |
| Hourly billing | Yes | Yes |
| NVMe storage | Yes | No |
| DDoS protection | Yes | Yes |
| Backups | Paid | Paid |
| Managed option | No | No |
| Payment methods | card, paypal, sepa, wire | card, sepa, other |
| Money-back | 14 days | Not published |
| Uptime SLA | 99.9% | 99.99% region-level (multi-AZ deployment); 99.5% per single instance |
| Trustpilot | 3.0 (3,001 reviews) | 1.3 (429 reviews) |
| Founded / HQ | 1997, Gunzenhausen DE | 2006, Seattle US |
Highlighted cells mark the better value where the comparison is objective (lower price, more locations, higher rating).
Plans at the same size
The closest matching plans by RAM from each provider.
| RAM | Hetzner | $/month | Lightsail | $/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | no plan | — | Linux 1 GB (2 vCPU, 40 GB) | $7.00 |
| 2 GB | no plan | — | Linux 2 GB (2 vCPU, 60 GB) | $12.00 |
| 4 GB | CX23 (2 vCPU, 40 GB) | $6.71 | Linux 4 GB (2 vCPU, 80 GB) | $24.00 |
| 8 GB | CX33 (4 vCPU, 80 GB) | $10.07 | Linux 8 GB (2 vCPU, 160 GB) | $44.00 |
| 16 GB | CX43 (8 vCPU, 160 GB) | $18.47 | Linux 16 GB (4 vCPU, 320 GB) | $84.00 |
Locations
Hetzner Cloud operates 6 locations (Asia, Europe, North America); Amazon Lightsail operates 19 (Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America).
Cities both offer: Ashburn, Portland and Singapore.
Only Hetzner: Falkenstein, Helsinki and Nuremberg.
Only Lightsail: Columbus, Dublin, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, London, Montreal, Mumbai, Paris and 6 more.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hetzner Cloud or Amazon Lightsail better?
As of October 23, 2026, Hetzner Cloud wins more of the head-to-head checks (5 vs 2) and ranks higher overall (#38 of 160). Amazon Lightsail is cheaper to start ($5.00 vs $6.71 a month) and Amazon Lightsail has more locations (19 vs 6).
Is Hetzner Cloud cheaper than Amazon Lightsail?
Amazon Lightsail has the lower entry price: $5.00 against $6.71 per month. The plans-at-equal-RAM table compares them size by size.
Which has more data centers, Hetzner Cloud or Amazon Lightsail?
Amazon Lightsail, with 19 locations in 17 countries versus 6 at Hetzner Cloud. Both operate in Ashburn, Portland and Singapore.
Do Hetzner Cloud and Amazon Lightsail offer Windows VPS?
Only Amazon Lightsail offers Windows Server.
Sources
Prices, plans and locations were read from these pages; last checked October 23, 2026. Prices change, so confirm on the provider's site before you buy.