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Alibaba Cloud vs Hetzner Cloud

Alibaba Cloud logo

Alibaba Cloud

Cloud

Asia's leading cloud computing provider

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Hetzner Cloud logo

Hetzner Cloud

Cloud

Affordable cloud servers in Europe

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Alibaba Cloud technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included; Hetzner Cloud cost-Optimized plans are shown as currently unavailable
  • They diverge on capability: Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Hetzner Cloud covers Cloud servers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alibaba Cloud and Hetzner Cloud actually diverge.

Attributes where Alibaba Cloud and Hetzner Cloud differ
AttributeAlibaba CloudHetzner Cloud
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Api, CliWeb, Api, Cli
Founded20091997

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Alibaba Cloud

  • Elastic Compute Service
  • Object Storage Service
  • RDS Database
  • MaxCompute
  • Function Compute
  • CDN
  • Load Balancer
  • API Gateway

Only in Hetzner Cloud

  • Cloud servers
  • Block storage
  • Object storage
  • Load balancers
  • Networks
  • Firewalls
  • Floating IPs
  • Backups

Both cover

  • Terraform
  • Ansible
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • Cloud deployment
  • Api support
  • Cli support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in China and Asia Pacificnot Hetzner Cloud
  • Pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitmentnot Hetzner Cloud
  • Committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloadsnot Hetzner Cloud
  • CDN and data transfer packages for content deliverynot Hetzner Cloud

Hetzner Cloud

  • Low-cost virtual servers for development and testingnot Alibaba Cloud
  • European hosting with data held in Germany or Finlandnot Alibaba Cloud
  • Workloads with heavy egress, where included traffic mattersnot Alibaba Cloud
  • Self-hosting applications away from the hyperscalersnot Alibaba Cloud

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
  • Service prices are not shown as a rate card and route through a calculator or sales
  • Committed discounts require savings plans, reserved instances or capacity packages rather than being automatic

Hetzner Cloud

  • Cost-Optimized plans are shown as currently unavailable
  • The shared-resource tiers are positioned for variable usage and development rather than sustained production workloads
  • Regions are limited to Germany, Finland, the United States and Singapore, so latency to other markets is a real constraint
  • The uptime guarantee is 99.9 percent, below what the large hyperscalers offer on comparable services
  • Support is 24/7 by email, without a phone channel

Pricing, plan by plan

Alibaba Cloud

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • Free tier credits
    • ECS instances
    • Cloud storage
  • Pay-as-You-GoFree
    • Flexible billing
    • No commitments
    • Global reach

Hetzner Cloud

Free
  • CX11$3.29/month
    • 1 vCPU
    • 1GB RAM
    • 25GB SSD
  • CX21$6.59/month
    • 2 vCPU
    • 4GB RAM
    • 40GB SSD

Which should you pick?

Choose Alibaba Cloud if

  • You need elastic compute service.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
  • You also want object storage service.
Alibaba Cloud review

Choose Hetzner Cloud if

  • You need cloud servers.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cli.
  • You also want block storage.
Hetzner Cloud review

Questions people ask

Is Alibaba Cloud or Hetzner Cloud better?
Neither clearly leads. Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Hetzner Cloud at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alibaba Cloud or Hetzner Cloud?
Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Hetzner Cloud at Free.
Does Alibaba Cloud or Hetzner Cloud run on more platforms?
Alibaba Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli. Hetzner Cloud runs on Web, Api, Cli.
Can I use Alibaba Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Alibaba Cloud best used for?
Alibaba Cloud is most often used for cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific, pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment, committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloads, cdn and data transfer packages for content delivery. Of those, cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific and pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment are not what Hetzner Cloud is typically brought in for.
What can Alibaba Cloud do that Hetzner Cloud cannot?
Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Object Storage Service, RDS Database, MaxCompute. Hetzner Cloud covers Cloud servers, Block storage, Object storage, Load balancers. Both handle Terraform, Ansible, Docker, Kubernetes.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hetzner Cloud: What types of cloud plans does Hetzner Cloud offer?

Hetzner Cloud offers Shared Resource plans (Cost-Optimized and Regular Performance) for development and testing, and Dedicated Resource plans (General Purpose) for business applications. Plans are available with a price calculator on their website.

Source
Hetzner Cloud: What is included with Hetzner Cloud servers?

Every cloud server comes with free one-click apps like Docker, WordPress, Nextcloud, and GitLab. All servers include stateful firewalls at no additional cost, networking capabilities, APIs, and CLI tools.

Source
Hetzner Cloud: Where are Hetzner Cloud servers located?

Hetzner Cloud servers are available in Germany, Finland, Singapore, and the USA, with data centers in Falkenstein, Nuremberg, Helsinki, Hillsboro (Oregon), Ashburn (Virginia), and Singapore.

Source
Hetzner Cloud: What uptime guarantee does Hetzner Cloud provide?

Hetzner Cloud provides an SLA with 99.9% guaranteed uptime and clearly defined credits in case of malfunction. They also offer 24/7 support by email for business-critical workloads.

Source
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