Who should choose Hetzner?

Teams that want european cloud and dedicated servers

Who should choose Google Cloud?

Teams that want google's cloud infrastructure

Software comparison - Hosting Platforms

Hetzner vs Google Cloud: 2026 Comparison

Hetzner and Google Cloud serve different strategies for infrastructure. Hetzner gives you simple, cheap compute—bare metal and VPS, no lock-in, strong in EU. Google Cloud is the full stack—AI, data warehousing, Kubernetes, all deeply integrated. Pick Hetzner if you want raw servers at low cost; pick Google if you want platform abstractions and machine learning. Budget matters as much as feature depth.

Comparison dimensions

Dimension	Hetzner	Google Cloud	Winner
DX & Deploys	8/10Hetzner's dashboard is straightforward. Deploy a server, manage networking, done. No wizard gates. Good for teams who prefer simple APIs and know what they want.	8/10Google Cloud's UI is dense but powerful. Cloud Run, App Engine, and Compute Engine each have different models. Flexibility is high; onboarding friction is higher.	Tie
Performance	7/10Hetzner is fast and reliable within its scope. NVMe servers, good uptime. Less suitable for ultra-low-latency workloads or regions outside EU/US.	9/10Google Cloud edges out on global scale and machine learning at the edge. Better for data-heavy workloads. Multi-region replication and AI services justify the premium.	Google Cloud
Pricing	9/10Hetzner is dramatically cheaper. $4/month for a basic VPS, bare metal at fractional rates of AWS or GCP. Perfect for bootstrapped startups.	9/10Google Cloud pricing is transparent but higher. Committed discounts and credits help. Best for teams whose time-to-market and platform integration justify the cost.	Tie
Scaling	9/10Hetzner scales horizontally well. Load balancers and storage are straightforward. Vertical scaling is easy but lacks the distributed systems depth of hyperscalers.	7/10Google Cloud auto-scales workloads with less config. Kubernetes and App Engine mean you can focus on code. But lock-in is the tradeoff—exit costs are real.	Hetzner
Integrations	8/10Hetzner integrates with common tools. Terraform support is solid. But ecosystem is smaller. If you need a specific third-party service, it might not be available.	7/10Google Cloud partners with thousands of vendors. Machine learning models, analytics stacks, and security tools nest into Google's ecosystem. Deep integrations reduce glue code.	Hetzner
Support	8/10Hetzner's support is responsive for infrastructure issues. Helpful community. Less SLA coverage at entry levels; better for self-service teams.	7/10Google Cloud offers tiered support plans. SLAs and named contacts. Better for enterprises and teams that need escalation paths.	Hetzner

DX & Deploys

Hetzner: Hetzner's dashboard is straightforward. Deploy a server, manage networking, done. No wizard gates. Good for teams who prefer simple APIs and know what they want.

Google Cloud: Google Cloud's UI is dense but powerful. Cloud Run, App Engine, and Compute Engine each have different models. Flexibility is high; onboarding friction is higher.

Performance

Hetzner: Hetzner is fast and reliable within its scope. NVMe servers, good uptime. Less suitable for ultra-low-latency workloads or regions outside EU/US.

Google Cloud: Google Cloud edges out on global scale and machine learning at the edge. Better for data-heavy workloads. Multi-region replication and AI services justify the premium.

Pricing

Hetzner: Hetzner is dramatically cheaper. $4/month for a basic VPS, bare metal at fractional rates of AWS or GCP. Perfect for bootstrapped startups.

Google Cloud: Google Cloud pricing is transparent but higher. Committed discounts and credits help. Best for teams whose time-to-market and platform integration justify the cost.

Scaling

Hetzner: Hetzner scales horizontally well. Load balancers and storage are straightforward. Vertical scaling is easy but lacks the distributed systems depth of hyperscalers.

Google Cloud: Google Cloud auto-scales workloads with less config. Kubernetes and App Engine mean you can focus on code. But lock-in is the tradeoff—exit costs are real.

Integrations

Hetzner: Hetzner integrates with common tools. Terraform support is solid. But ecosystem is smaller. If you need a specific third-party service, it might not be available.

Google Cloud: Google Cloud partners with thousands of vendors. Machine learning models, analytics stacks, and security tools nest into Google's ecosystem. Deep integrations reduce glue code.

Support

Hetzner: Hetzner's support is responsive for infrastructure issues. Helpful community. Less SLA coverage at entry levels; better for self-service teams.

Google Cloud: Google Cloud offers tiered support plans. SLAs and named contacts. Better for enterprises and teams that need escalation paths.

Best for Hetzner

Teams that want european cloud and dedicated servers
Users prioritizing performance
Growth-stage teams

Best for Google Cloud

Teams that want google's cloud infrastructure
Users prioritizing pricing
Growth-stage teams

Decision notes

Choose Hetzner if you want cheap, simple servers and AWS/GCP lock-in scares you. Choose Google Cloud if you're building data products, ML pipelines, or want global scale without ops debt. Try both in a small pilot—most teams decide fast.

Export/import support between Hetzner and Google Cloud
Team onboarding and learning curve
Pricing at your seat count
Integration coverage for your stack

Frequently asked questions

More research

Keep comparing before you commit

All comparisons Browse alternatives