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Web Hosting comparison · 2026
Hetzner (88) and Cloudways (86) are closely matched — this is one of the tightest Web Hosting comparisons in our database, with just 2 points separating them overall. Hetzner leads on Price / Value (98 vs 76), while Cloudways has the edge on Support (80 vs 62). The two are closest on Security, where the gap is just 1 points. On pricing, Hetzner starts cheaper at $4.51/mo versus $14/mo. Hetzner's price-to-performance is hard to beat for European deployments, but its fraud-prevention checks have a real reputation for blocking or delaying sign-ups from outside the EU without a matching ID or phone number — worth testing with a small account before committing a production workload. Cloudways doesn't run its own data centers — it's a management layer on top of DigitalOcean, AWS, GCP, Linode, and Vultr, so you get hourly pay-as-you-go billing and the ability to switch underlying cloud providers without migrating your stack. Use the radar chart and dimension table below to find which fits your specific priorities best.
Hetzner
European cloud — exceptional price-to-performance
88/100
Cloudways
Managed cloud hosting on AWS, GCP, DigitalOcean
86/100
Radar comparison
Hetzner
88
Cloudways
86
Performance
Load speed and TTFB from independent benchmarks
Uptime
Reliability measured over 12 months
Price / Value
Features and resources per dollar spent
Support
Response time and quality of customer support
Scalability
Ease of upgrading resources and plans
Security
SSL, backups, malware protection, firewalls
Ease of Use
Control panel and onboarding experience
Overall Score
Hetzner
Pros
Cons
Cloudways
Pros
Cons
Choose Hetzner if you value uptime most and have budget for $4.51/month or more. Choose Cloudways if you value uptime most and have budget for $14/month or more. If neither dimension is a clear priority, Hetzner's higher overall score (88/100) makes it the safer default in the web hosting category.
Based on our independent scoring across 7 dimensions, Hetzner scores 88/100 overall versus Cloudways's 86/100 — a 2-point margin. Hetzner leads on Uptime in particular. That said, Cloudways may still be the right choice if the dimensions where it scores higher match your specific priorities — the radar chart above shows the full profile side by side.
Hetzner starts cheaper at $4.51/month versus Cloudways's $14/month. At higher usage tiers, the gap may narrow depending on each tool's scaling model. Check the official pricing pages for current plans — SaaS pricing changes frequently.
Hetzner scores higher on Price / Value — 98/100 versus 76/100 for Cloudways. If price / value is your primary decision criterion, Hetzner is the stronger choice in this head-to-head.
Switching between web hosting tools is generally possible but involves migration effort: exporting your data or configuration from Hetzner, re-importing or reconfiguring in Cloudways, and updating any API integrations or environment variables in your codebase. The effort scales with how deeply embedded the tool is in your stack. Test Cloudways on a non-production project first before migrating.
Hetzner (88/100) is the better fit for teams who prioritise uptime — its strongest dimension — and who want a low-cost starting price. Cloudways (86/100) is the better fit for teams who prioritise uptime and want a low-cost starting price. If both dimensions matter equally, the overall score winner (Hetzner) is the safer default choice.
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