Short answer
As of October 23, 2026, Hetzner Cloud wins more of the head-to-head checks (4 vs 3), while DigitalOcean ranks higher overall. DigitalOcean is cheaper to start ($4.00 vs $6.71 a month) and DigitalOcean has more locations (13 vs 6).
Verdict
DigitalOcean is cheaper to start: Basic 512 MB (s-1vcpu-512mb-10gb) costs $4.00 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).
DigitalOcean has the wider footprint with 13 locations in 8 countries, against 6 in 4 at Hetzner Cloud; both offer Singapore.
Customers rate DigitalOcean higher on Trustpilot: 4.5 from 2,581 reviews versus 3.0 from 3,001.
Overall Hetzner Cloud ranks #38 and DigitalOcean #15 of 160 providers we track. Choose Hetzner Cloud if its plan line-up fits your workload better; choose DigitalOcean if price matters most or you need a wider choice of locations.
Hetzner and DigitalOcean side by side
| Hetzner Cloud | DigitalOcean | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | CX23: $6.71/mo | Basic 512 MB (s-1vcpu-512mb-10gb): $4.00/mo |
| Entry plan specs | 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe, 20 TB traffic | 1 vCPU, 512 MB RAM, 10 GB SSD, 500 GB traffic |
| Cheapest Windows plan | No Windows | No Windows |
| Median price per GB RAM | $1.75 | $7.00 |
| Data-center locations | 6 in 4 countries | 13 in 8 countries |
| Regions | Asia, Europe, North America | Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania |
| Virtualisation | KVM | KVM |
| Hourly billing | Yes | Yes |
| NVMe storage | Yes | Yes |
| DDoS protection | Yes | Yes |
| Backups | Paid | Paid |
| Managed option | No | No |
| Payment methods | card, paypal, sepa, wire | card, paypal, crypto, alipay, other |
| Money-back | 14 days | Not published |
| Uptime SLA | 99.9% | 99.99% |
| Trustpilot | 3.0 (3,001 reviews) | 4.5 (2,581 reviews) |
| Founded / HQ | 1997, Gunzenhausen DE | 2012, Broomfield 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 | DigitalOcean | $/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | no plan | — | Basic 1 GB (s-1vcpu-1gb) (1 vCPU, 25 GB) | $6.00 |
| 2 GB | no plan | — | Basic 2 GB (s-1vcpu-2gb) (1 vCPU, 50 GB) | $12.00 |
| 4 GB | CX23 (2 vCPU, 40 GB) | $6.71 | Basic 4 GB (s-2vcpu-4gb) (2 vCPU, 80 GB) | $24.00 |
| 8 GB | CX33 (4 vCPU, 80 GB) | $10.07 | Basic 8 GB (s-4vcpu-8gb) (4 vCPU, 160 GB) | $48.00 |
| 16 GB | CX43 (8 vCPU, 160 GB) | $18.47 | Basic 16 GB (s-8vcpu-16gb) (8 vCPU, 320 GB) | $96.00 |
Locations
Hetzner Cloud operates 6 locations (Asia, Europe, North America); DigitalOcean operates 13 (Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania).
Cities both offer: Singapore.
Only Hetzner: Ashburn, Falkenstein, Helsinki, Nuremberg and Portland.
Only DigitalOcean: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Bangalore, Frankfurt, Kansas City, London, Memphis, New York, Richmond, San Francisco and 2 more.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hetzner Cloud or DigitalOcean better?
As of October 23, 2026, Hetzner Cloud wins more of the head-to-head checks (4 vs 3), while DigitalOcean ranks higher overall. DigitalOcean is cheaper to start ($4.00 vs $6.71 a month) and DigitalOcean has more locations (13 vs 6).
Is Hetzner Cloud cheaper than DigitalOcean?
DigitalOcean has the lower entry price: $4.00 against $6.71 per month. The plans-at-equal-RAM table compares them size by size.
Which has more data centers, Hetzner Cloud or DigitalOcean?
DigitalOcean, with 13 locations in 8 countries versus 6 at Hetzner Cloud. Both operate in Singapore.
Do Hetzner Cloud and DigitalOcean offer Windows VPS?
Neither 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.