Introduction

Are you torn between choosing Hetzner and Microsoft Azure for your cloud hosting needs? Here’s a comprehensive comparison to help you make the best decision for your business.

Comparison Table

Detailed Comparison

Ease of Use

• Hetzner: Known for its easy-to-use web console and developer tooling, including Terraform SDKs and an official CLI. This makes it user-friendly, especially for those familiar with Linux environments.

  

• Microsoft Azure: Offers a more complex but feature-rich environment. It integrates well with other Microsoft products and provides extensive managed services, which can be beneficial but also overwhelming for beginners.

  

Stability

• Hetzner: Consistent performance across servers, with a high consistency score indicating minimal variation between servers of the same type.
• Microsoft Azure: Also offers consistent performance, but with a wider range of services and more data centers, which can sometimes lead to variability in performance depending on the location and service used.

Speed

• Hetzner: Performs well in CPU, disk IO, and network IO tests, with fast provisioning times (average of 30 seconds).
• Microsoft Azure: Generally strong performance, but can be slower in some tests, especially in provisioning times (average of 50 seconds).

Security

• Hetzner: Offers DDoS protection, backups, and SSH keys setup. It also has a strong focus on EU-based GDPR compliance.
• Microsoft Azure: Provides comprehensive security features including DDoS protection, backups, and SSH keys setup. It also has extensive compliance certifications and more advanced security tools.

Pricing and Cost

• Hetzner: Generally more cost-effective, especially for basic VPS configurations. For example, a VM with 2 vCPU and 4 GB RAM costs around $4.93/month.
• Microsoft Azure: More expensive, especially for higher-tier configurations. A similar VM can cost around $7.49/month. However, Azure charges significantly more for internet egress traffic.

Customer Support Service

• Hetzner: Known for its straightforward and efficient support, though it may not offer the same level of 24/7 support as larger providers.
• Microsoft Azure: Offers extensive and reliable 24/7 support, along with a wide range of resources and community support.

Client Reviews

• Hetzner: Clients praise its performance, pricing, and ease of use. Companies like Outdooractive and Bitdefender use Hetzner for their hosting needs.
• Microsoft Azure: Clients appreciate its comprehensive suite of services and global reach. Large enterprises like General Motors and NHS use Azure for their cloud needs.

Pros and Cons

Hetzner

Pros:

• High-performance VPS configurations at affordable prices
• Easy to use web console and developer tooling
• EU-based, simplifying GDPR compliance
• Fast provisioning times

Cons:

• Limited data center locations (6)
• No object storage or managed databases
• Separate charges for load balancers and IP addresses

Microsoft Azure

Pros:

• Extensive range of managed services
• Integrations with other Microsoft products
• Generous free tier and compute savings plans
• Global reach with 66 data center locations

Cons:

• More expensive, especially for higher-tier configurations
• Higher costs for internet egress traffic
• Can be complex and overwhelming for beginners

FAQs

1. Which is more cost-effective for basic VPS needs?

Hetzner is generally more cost-effective for basic VPS configurations, offering similar specs at lower prices compared to Microsoft Azure.

2. Do both providers offer DDoS protection?

Yes, both Hetzner and Microsoft Azure offer DDoS protection to safeguard your servers against denial-of-service attacks.

3. Which provider has more global data center locations?

Microsoft Azure has a significantly larger number of data center locations (66) compared to Hetzner (6).

4. Does Hetzner offer managed databases?

No, Hetzner does not offer managed databases, whereas Microsoft Azure provides managed services for databases like MySQL and PostgreSQL.

5. How do the egress costs compare between Hetzner and Azure?

Hetzner charges significantly less for internet egress traffic ($1.09/TB) compared to Microsoft Azure ($0.087/GB), which can add up quickly for high-traffic applications.