Hetzner Cloud vs Microsoft Azure Comparison
Compare Hetzner Cloud vs Microsoft Azure features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
Hetzner Cloud
6.2/10
Hourly-billed virtual cloud servers, object storage, networking and load balancers from German host Hetzner, aimed at developers and cost-conscious technical teams.
Microsoft Azure
7.1/10
Microsoft's public cloud platform offering virtual machines, containers, serverless, databases, storage and AI services on pay-as-you-go pricing for businesses of all sizes.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | H Hetzner Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.2/10 | 7.1/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 9/10 |
| Support | 4/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 8/10 | 4/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 9/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 9/10 |
| Reliability | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 4/10 |
| Analytics | 4/10 | 8/10 |
| Scalability | 6/10 | 9/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | €6/mo Cost-Optimized CX23 | Contact for pricing |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | €6/mo Cost-Optimized CX23 | Free Azure free account |
| Features | ||
| Cloud Compute | ||
| Multiple Regions | ||
| Object Storage | ||
| VPS Hosting | ||
| API and CLI | Not listed | |
| Automatic Backups | Not listed | |
| Content Delivery Network | Not listed | |
| Dedicated Servers | Not listed | |
| Free SSL Certificates | Not listed | |
| Managed Databases | Not listed | |
| Managed Kubernetes | Not listed | |
| Serverless Functions | Not listed | |
| Shared Hosting | Not listed | |
| Uptime SLA | Not listed | |
Hetzner Cloud vs Microsoft Azure cost by team size
| Team size | Hetzner Cloud | Microsoft Azure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | €6/moCost-Optimized CX23 | FreeAzure free account |
| 5 users | €6/moCost-Optimized CX23 | FreeAzure free account |
| 10 users | €6/moCost-Optimized CX23 | FreeAzure free account |
| 25 users | €6/moCost-Optimized CX23 | FreeAzure free account |
| 50 users | €6/moCost-Optimized CX23 | FreeAzure free account |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
HWhy choose Hetzner Cloud
- Higher Cost score (8/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (7/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for developers (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for startups (8/10 vs 6/10)
Why choose Microsoft Azure
- Has a free plan (Hetzner Cloud does not)
- Higher Analytics score (8/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Security score (9/10 vs 6/10)
Pros & Cons
HHetzner Cloud
Pros
- EU servers include 20 TB of traffic, and extra traffic costs only €1 per TB.
- Hourly billing capped at a monthly price, with no contracts.
- A full API and CLI plus Terraform and Ansible integrations make automation straightforward.
- Stateful firewalls and private networks come at no extra cost.
- Still cheaper per spec than DigitalOcean in independent 2026 comparisons.
Cons
- Prices rose twice in 2026, with CPX and CCX new orders up by as much as about 176%.
- Cost-Optimized types are listed as unavailable, and provisioning was limited for new customers from June 2026.
- Many users report account verification failures and suspensions with little explanation.
- No managed database, serverless or managed Kubernetes products.
- US and Singapore servers include far less traffic than EU servers.
Microsoft Azure
Pros
- Free account includes a 200 USD credit plus always-free allowances such as 1 million Functions requests and Azure DevOps for 5 users.
- Close integration with Microsoft products such as Entra ID and Power BI is repeatedly praised by reviewers.
- Very broad catalogue covering compute, Kubernetes, serverless, databases, storage and AI services.
- Global footprint of over 400 datacenters across 70 regions as of fiscal 2025.
- Reviewers credit built-in identity management and security.
Cons
- Reviewers on Capterra and TrustRadius say monthly bills are hard to understand and predict.
- Steep learning curve, with many services carrying similar names.
- Some PeerSpot reviewers report support tickets taking weeks or months to resolve.
- Paid support is extra, from 29 to 1,000 USD per month beyond the free Basic plan.
- Integration with non-Microsoft platforms and documentation for new releases draw criticism.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Microsoft Azure scores higher on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria: 7.1/10 against 6.2/10 for Hetzner Cloud. The largest gap is in Analytics: 4/10 for Hetzner Cloud and 8/10 for Microsoft Azure.
Microsoft Azure has a free plan; Hetzner Cloud does not list one.
Hetzner Cloud is the better fit for developers: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 7/10 for Microsoft Azure.
