$ k8scalc compare hetzner digitalocean
Hetzner vs DigitalOcean
Head-to-head comparison of Hetzner Cloud and DigitalOcean for Kubernetes, VPS, and self-hosted infrastructure. Price, performance, and features.
FeatureHetznerDigitalOcean
Entry VPS (2 vCPU / 4 GB)
€3.99/mo
$24/mo
8 vCPU / 16 GB server
€11.99/mo (cx43)
~$86/mo (CPU-opt.)
ARM servers
Yes (cax series)
No
Bare metal
Yes
No
Managed Kubernetes
Yes (HKE, free CP)—
Yes (DOKS $12+/mo)—
Object storage (per GB/mo)
€0.0119
$0.02
Outbound traffic included
20 TB/mo
1 TB/mo
Data center locations
6 (EU + US + SG)
15 worldwide
Uptime SLA
99.9%
99.99%
Support
Email
Tickets + community
Private networking
Free—
Free—
Load balancers
Basic
Advanced (DOKS LB)
Verdict
Hetzner wins on price by a wide margin — a cx43 (8 vCPU / 16 GB) costs €11.99/mo vs DigitalOcean's equivalent at ~$86/mo. Hetzner also includes 20 TB of outbound traffic free and now offers managed Kubernetes (HKE, free control plane). DigitalOcean wins on managed services maturity: DOKS, App Platform, and a larger global footprint. For self-managed Kubernetes on a budget, Hetzner is the clear winner. For teams that want a fully managed experience, DigitalOcean DOKS is more polished.