Hetzner vs OVHcloud: what each one costs to start
Hetzner is cheaper per month on current hardware, OVHcloud has far more locations, and both bill dedicated servers by the month with a one-off fee on top. Below are their own published numbers, side by side with a third option that bills by the day and charges nothing to set up.
The terms, side by side
| Feature | Hetzner | OVHcloud | VPS Provider |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shortest billing period | 1 month | 1 month | 1 day |
| Setup fee | €0 to €304, depending on the model | Kimsufi: one month's rent, $11.10 to $18.80 on the models listed | None, on every server and every period |
| Cheapest server of any age | Server Auction, used machines, monthly | Kimsufi KS-B, $11.10 a month on a 2013 Xeon E5-1620v2 | $10 a day or $65 a month on a Ryzen 5 3600 |
| Entry price, current hardware | AX41, €59 a month, 6-core Ryzen 5 3600, 64 GB | Advance, from $136.00 a month | $65 a month, 6-core Ryzen 5 3600, 64 GB |
| Longer terms | Monthly | Monthly, with discounts on 12 and 24 month commitments | 3 months (5% off) or 6 months (10% off), no commitment |
| Dedicated server locations | Germany and Finland | 46 datacentres worldwide | Cyprus (EU) and Texas (US) |
| Virtual machines | Fixed cloud plans | Fixed VPS and Public Cloud plans | Any size: 1–32 vCPU, 1–128 GB RAM, 20–2000 GB NVMe |
| Brands and price lists | One catalogue, plus the Server Auction | Kimsufi, So you Start and OVHcloud, each with its own site | One catalogue, one price list, one account |
Hetzner models, prices and setup fees as published on hetzner.com (AX matrix) on 9 November 2026, in euro excluding VAT. OVHcloud prices as published on eco.ovhcloud.com (Kimsufi) and ovhcloud.com (bare metal) on 9 November 2026, in dollars excluding tax. Hetzner is a trademark of Hetzner Online GmbH; OVHcloud, Kimsufi and So you Start are trademarks of OVH SAS. VPS Provider is not affiliated with either.
What a three-day job costs on each
Take the same work on all three: a six-core machine with 64 GB of memory, needed for three days to run a migration or a load test.
| Provider | What you have to buy | Three days | One week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hetzner AX41 | One month, €59, no setup fee on this model | €59 | €59 |
| OVHcloud Advance | One month, from $136.00 | $136.00 | $136.00 |
| OVHcloud Kimsufi KS-B | One month, $11.10, plus $11.10 to install, on a 2013 four-core Xeon | $22.20 | $22.20 |
| VPS Provider Ryzen 5 3600 | Three days, or a week | $30 | $32 |
On the same Ryzen 5 3600 with 64 GB, a month here costs $65, the same as Hetzner's list price for the equivalent machine, and nothing to set up. The gap only opens below a month: three days is $30 instead of a full month's rent, and a week is $32. Kimsufi is the cheapest way to get any machine for three days, if a four-core processor from 2013 is enough for the job.
The setup fee is the part people miss
Hetzner charges nothing to install its two entry models, AX41 and EX44, and then charges by model: €49 on the AX42, €129 on the AX102, €304 on the AX162. On the Kimsufi range the install fee equals one month's rent, so the first invoice is always double. Either way the fee is paid again every time you take a machine, leave it, and come back. There is no setup fee here, on any server or any billing period.
Which of the three to pick
A fair comparison says where each one wins, including where we lose.
Pick Hetzner
For a long rental in Central or Northern Europe. The monthly prices on current AMD and Intel hardware are the lowest of the three, the catalogue is far larger, the Server Auction sells used machines cheaper still, and the company has been running since 1997.
Pick OVHcloud
When you need a datacentre somewhere specific, or a full cloud around the server. OVHcloud lists 46 datacentres and sells private networking, object storage, managed Kubernetes and load balancers next to the bare metal. Kimsufi is also the cheapest entry point of the three, on old processors.
Pick VPS Provider
When you need the machine for days or weeks rather than months, when a setup fee on a short job is the whole problem, or when you want a virtual machine in an odd size. We are small and new, with two server rooms and no managed services.
Questions
Is Hetzner or OVHcloud cheaper?
On current hardware, Hetzner: an AX41 with a six-core Ryzen 5 3600 and 64 GB is €59 a month with no setup fee, while the cheapest OVHcloud Advance server is $136.00 a month. On old hardware, OVHcloud: a Kimsufi KS-B is $11.10 a month on a 2013 four-core Xeon, plus $11.10 to install. Prices as published on 9 November 2026.
Can I rent a dedicated server from Hetzner or OVHcloud for one day?
No. Both bill dedicated servers by the month, so a three-day job costs a full month either way, plus the setup fee if the model has one. Daily and weekly billing is what this site does: $10 a day or $32 a week on a Ryzen 5 3600 with 64 GB.
Does Hetzner charge a setup fee?
It depends on the model. The AX41 and EX44 are €0, and from there it rises with the machine: €49 on the AX42, €129 on the AX102, €304 on the AX162 (hetzner.com, 9 November 2026). We never charge one.
Does OVHcloud charge an installation fee?
On the Kimsufi range, yes: the fee shown next to each server equals one month's rent, from $11.10 to $18.80 on the models listed on 9 November 2026. The Advance, Scale, Game and High Grade ranges do not show an installation fee on the bare metal page.
Who has more datacentres?
OVHcloud, by a wide margin: 46 datacentres worldwide against Hetzner's dedicated server locations in Germany and Finland. We have two, in Cyprus and in Texas.
Where can I read the full comparison with each one?
There is a page per provider: the Hetzner comparison, the OVHcloud comparison and the Contabo comparison.
Day, week or month? Work it out with the cost calculator →
Written and checked by the VPS Provider team.