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Cortex vs Hetzner Cloud

Cortex logo

Cortex

Developer Tools

Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and maturity rather than just cataloguing services

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Hetzner Cloud logo

Hetzner Cloud

Cloud

Affordable cloud servers in Europe

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Hetzner Cloud has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cortex pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first.; Hetzner Cloud cost-Optimized plans are shown as currently unavailable
  • They diverge on capability: Cortex covers Service catalogue, Hetzner Cloud covers Cloud servers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Cortex and Hetzner Cloud differ
AttributeCortexHetzner Cloud
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Api, Cli
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCloud
FoundedUnknown1997

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Cortex

  • Service catalogue
  • Scorecards
  • Initiatives
  • Self-service templates
  • Query language
  • Eng intelligence
  • Integrations layer
  • On-call and ownership mapping

Only in Hetzner Cloud

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

What people use each for

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

Cortex

  • A platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a Kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of servicesnot Hetzner Cloud
  • An organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitionsnot Hetzner Cloud
  • Enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident reviewnot Hetzner Cloud
  • Replacing a self-hosted Backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgradednot Hetzner Cloud

Hetzner Cloud

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

Where each one falls short

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

Cortex

  • Pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first.
  • The catalogue is only as accurate as the metadata you supply, so an organisation with inconsistent repository conventions spends its first quarter cleaning data before any scorecard means anything.
  • Scorecards create political friction: publishing a per-team grade turns an engineering standard into a performance metric, and teams will game the rules rather than fix the underlying issue.
  • It is closed source and hosted, so organisations with strict data residency or air-gap requirements have limited options compared with running Backstage themselves.
  • Value scales with organisation size, so a company with fifty engineers and thirty services will find the catalogue tells them nothing they did not already know while still paying an enterprise contract.

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

Cortex

On request
  • Cortex$undefined/year
    • Service catalogue and ownership mapping
    • Scorecards and initiatives
    • Self-service templates

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 Cortex if

  • You need service catalogue.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want scorecards.
Cortex 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 Cortex or Hetzner Cloud better?
Neither clearly leads. Cortex starts at On request and Hetzner Cloud at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cortex or Hetzner Cloud?
Hetzner Cloud has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cortex and Free for Hetzner Cloud.
Does Cortex or Hetzner Cloud run on more platforms?
Cortex runs on Web, API. Hetzner Cloud runs on Web, Api, Cli.
Can I use Hetzner Cloud for free?
Yes. Hetzner Cloud has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cortex starts at On request.
What is Cortex best used for?
Cortex is most often used for a platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of services, an organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitions, enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident review, replacing a self-hosted backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgraded. Of those, a platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of services and an organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitions are not what Hetzner Cloud is typically brought in for.
What can Cortex do that Hetzner Cloud cannot?
Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates. Hetzner Cloud covers Cloud servers, Block storage, Object storage, Load balancers.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cortex: How is Cortex different from Backstage?

Backstage is an open source framework you build and staff. Cortex is a hosted product with scorecards and initiatives out of the box and no platform team required to keep it running.

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
Cortex: Is pricing published?

No. Cortex requires a sales conversation and prepares a custom proposal.

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
Cortex: Can it self-host?

It is offered as a hosted product; on-premise arrangements are handled through sales rather than published.

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
Cortex: What is the main adoption risk?

Bad or missing service metadata. The catalogue and every scorecard on top of it inherit whatever quality your repositories already have.

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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