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Cloud · head to head

Hetzner Cloud vs Nomad

Hetzner Cloud logo

Hetzner Cloud

Cloud

Affordable cloud servers in Europe

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Nomad logo

Nomad

Cloud

Flexible workload orchestration

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Hetzner Cloud cost-Optimized plans are shown as currently unavailable; Nomad nomad 1.7.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • They diverge on capability: Hetzner Cloud covers Cloud servers, Nomad covers Container orchestration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Hetzner Cloud and Nomad differ
AttributeHetzner CloudNomad
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsWeb, Api, CliLinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
Founded19972015

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 Hetzner Cloud

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

Only in Nomad

  • Container orchestration
  • Job scheduling
  • Multi-cloud support
  • Auto-scaling
  • Service discovery
  • Rolling deployments
  • Monitoring integration
  • High availability

Both cover

  • Terraform
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

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

Hetzner Cloud

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

Nomad

  • Container and workload orchestration across infrastructurenot Hetzner Cloud
  • Multi-region application deploymentnot Hetzner Cloud
  • Flexible scheduling for batch jobs and servicesnot Hetzner Cloud

Where each one falls short

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

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

Nomad

  • Nomad 1.7.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Nomad to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions
  • Each version converts to MPL 2.0 only four years after that version is published
  • Resource quotas, Sentinel policies and audit logging sit in a Governance and Policy add-on module that is separate from the Enterprise base platform package
  • Multi-region deployments, multiple Vault namespaces and Nomad Autopilot advanced server management require Nomad Enterprise

Pricing, plan by plan

Hetzner Cloud

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

Nomad

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Workload orchestration
    • Multi-cloud
    • Flexible scheduling

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Nomad if

  • You need container orchestration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want job scheduling.
Nomad review

Questions people ask

Is Hetzner Cloud or Nomad better?
Neither clearly leads. Hetzner Cloud starts at Free and Nomad at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hetzner Cloud or Nomad?
Hetzner Cloud starts at Free and Nomad at Free.
Does Hetzner Cloud or Nomad run on more platforms?
Hetzner Cloud runs on Web, Api, Cli. Nomad runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
Can I use Hetzner Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Hetzner Cloud best used for?
Hetzner Cloud is most often used for low-cost virtual servers for development and testing, european hosting with data held in germany or finland, workloads with heavy egress, where included traffic matters, self-hosting applications away from the hyperscalers. Of those, low-cost virtual servers for development and testing and european hosting with data held in germany or finland are not what Nomad is typically brought in for.
What can Hetzner Cloud do that Nomad cannot?
Hetzner Cloud covers Cloud servers, Block storage, Object storage, Load balancers. Nomad covers Container orchestration, Job scheduling, Multi-cloud support, Auto-scaling. Both handle Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud deployment.

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
Nomad: Is HashiCorp Nomad free?

HashiCorp Nomad is open source and free to use. Commercial enterprise support and hosting options may be available through HashiCorp, but the core product is free.

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
Nomad: Does HashiCorp Nomad have a pricing model?

Nomad is open source software with no published pricing tiers. HashiCorp offers commercial hosting and support for their products on a usage-based or custom pricing model, but Nomad itself is free to download and deploy.

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
Nomad: What is HashiCorp's pricing model for enterprise Nomad?

HashiCorp offers flexible pricing for enterprise Nomad support including pay-as-you-go (PAYG) billing with no long-term commitment, flex plans with preferred pricing, and enterprise self-managed plans. Contact HashiCorp sales for custom quotes.

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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