Microsoft Azure vs Hetzner
- ✦ Virtual Machines
- ✦ App Service
- ✦ Azure Functions
- ✦ Cloud Servers
- ✦ Dedicated Servers
- ✦ Block Storage
Microsoft Azure and Hetzner are both Cloud Hosting tools. Compare features, pricing, and ratings below to find the best fit for your team.
When to Choose Microsoft Azure vs Hetzner
The question that matters: “In what situation will I regret choosing A over B after 3 months?”
Deployment slots in App Service swap .NET apps to production in 90 seconds with built-in rollback - replacing multi-hour maintenance windows entirely.
Azure Functions with queue triggers scale compute to match demand, cutting 50,000-record batch processing costs 80% versus reserved capacity.
Hetzner's Cloud Servers in Frankfurt keep customer data within EU borders, satisfying GDPR and MiFID II on Private Networks without cross-border audit overhead.
Assign a Floating IP to an upgraded database, flip traffic in seconds, and keep apps running with zero rewrites. The old instance stays live for rollback.
Product photos on Hetzner Object Storage, proxied through Floating IPs, hit 85% cache rates across EU traffic at a fraction of typical CDN costs.
Pricing Comparison & PlansHigh· Verified Jul 2, 2026
Microsoft Azure Plans
Free tier available
Free Account
FreeBest for: Ideal for new users to explore Azure services with limited free services and credits for 12 months.
- ✓Access to basic Azure services
- ✓Free for 12 months
- ✓Limited usage for free services
- ✓One-time $200 credit for first 30 days
Pay-as-you-go
Contact SalesBest for: This flexible option charges you only for the resources you consume, perfect for variable workloads and testing.
- ✓Charges based on actual resource usage
- ✓Billed monthly
- ✓No upfront commitment
- ✓Maximum flexibility
- ✓Access to all Azure services
Reserved Instances
Contact SalesBest for: Commit to one or three year terms for virtual machines and other services to achieve significant cost reductions compared to Pay-as-you-go.
- ✓Fixed price agreements for 1-year or 3-year terms
- ✓33-72% discounts compared to Pay-as-you-go
- ✓Commitment to specific resource types (e.g., VM family, region, size)
- ✓Cost-effective for long-term, predictable workloads
Azure Savings Plans
Contact SalesBest for: Save money on compute services by committing to a fixed hourly spend for one or three years, offering flexibility across regions and services.
- ✓Receive 30-65% discounts
- ✓Commit to a fixed hourly spend for 1-3 years
- ✓Discounts apply automatically across VMs, Functions, Container Instances, and App Service
- ✓Flexible across regions and compute services
Hetzner Plans
Paid plans only
CX23
$4.49/moBest for: This entry-level cloud server is ideal for small projects, testing environments, or low-traffic websites
- ✓4 GB RAM
- ✓40 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓Intel®/AMD CPU
CAX11
$4.99/moBest for: This ARM-based cloud server is a cost-effective option for specific workloads optimized for ARM architecture
- ✓4 GB RAM
- ✓40 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓Ampere® Altra® ARM64 CPU
CX33
$6.99/moBest for: A step up from CX23, this plan provides more resources suitable for growing applications or medium-sized websites
- ✓8 GB RAM
- ✓80 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓Intel®/AMD CPU
CPX22
$7.99/moBest for: Part of the premium CPU line, CPX22 offers better single-core performance for applications that benefit from faster processing
- ✓2 vCPU
- ✓4 GB RAM
- ✓80 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓AMD EPYC CPU
Capability Breakdown
10 differences found across 18 standardized features
- •Virtual Machines
- •App Service
- •Azure Functions
- •Azure SQL
- •Cosmos DB
- •Blob Storage
- •Azure Kubernetes
- •Azure DevOps
- •Azure AI
- •Active Directory
- •CDN
- •Load Balancer
- •Monitoring
- •Key Vault
- •200+ Services
- •Azure Firewall
- •Virtual Network
- •ExpressRoute
- •Azure Databricks
- •Azure Synapse
- •Data Factory
- •Azure Cache
- •Service Bus
- •Event Grid
- •Azure Maps
- •Azure Sphere
- •Azure Sentinel
- •Azure Monitor
- •Azure Advisor
- •Azure Policy
- •Azure Cost
- •Resource Manager
- •Azure Migrate
- •Azure Site
- •Recovery Services
- •Azure Backup
- •Azure Storage
- •Data Lake
- •Azure Data
- •Azure Analytics
- •Azure Machine
- •Media Services
- •Azure Search
- •Azure Stream
- •Azure IoT
- •Azure Automation
- •Azure Service
- •Azure Support
- •Azure Consulting
- •Azure Marketplace
- •Azure Partner
- •Azure Community
- •Azure Forum
- •Azure Blog
- •Azure Training
- •Azure Certification
- •Azure Tutorial
- •Azure Guide
- •Azure Handbook
- •Azure Reference
- •Azure Architecture
- •Azure Design
- •Azure Deployment
- •Azure Management
- •Azure Security
- •Azure Compliance
- •Azure Governance
- •Azure Risk
- •Azure Audit
- •Azure Assessment
- •Azure Migration
- •REST API
- •Azure CLI
- •SDK (10+ languages)
- •ARM Templates
- •Bicep
- •Cloud Servers
- •Dedicated Servers
- •Block Storage
- •Object Storage
- •Load Balancers
- •Firewalls
- •Floating IPs
- •Private Networks
- •Snapshots
- •Backups
- •API
- •CLI
- •Terraform Provider
- •DNS Management
- •Data Centers in EU/US
Strengths & Limitations
Evaluative strengths and weaknesses: not feature lists
- +Seamless integration with Microsoft 365, Teams, and Active Directory.
- +Strong hybrid cloud capabilities with Azure Arc and Azure Stack.
- +Extensive PaaS offerings like App Service and Azure SQL Database.
- +Robust enterprise-grade security and compliance certifications.
- +Generous free tier with popular services free for 12 months.
- −Pay-as-you-go pricing can be complex and difficult to forecast.
- −The Azure Portal UI can feel cluttered and overwhelming for new users.
- −Documentation is vast but can be inconsistent across different services.
- −Less dominant in the startup and open-source community compared to AWS.
- −Support costs can be high for enterprise-level technical assistance.
- +Industry-leading price-to-performance ratio for compute
- +Generous free egress traffic (20TB/month included)
- +Affordable dedicated root servers with high-end CPUs
- +No-frills, developer-focused interface without vendor lock-in
- +Strong European data sovereignty with German/Finnish locations
- −Limited managed services (e.g., no managed databases or Kubernetes)
- −Support is ticket-based and can be slower than premium providers
- −Fewer global data center locations outside of Europe and the US
- −Strict account verification process can be slow for new users
- −Network performance can be less consistent than AWS/GCP
At a Glance
Recent Price History
Hetzner removed the "Dedicated Server (AX42)" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Hetzner removed the "CX42" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Hetzner removed the "CX32" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Hetzner removed the "CX22" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Hetzner added a new "Load Balancer" plan at $39/mo
Plan added · May 30, 2026
Microsoft Azure added a new "Azure Savings Plans" plan (Custom pricing)
Plan added · May 28, 2026
Microsoft Azure added a new "Reserved Instances" plan (Custom pricing)
Plan added · May 28, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Comparisons
Microsoft AzureFree plan
Hetznerfrom $4.49/moSources & Data Trail · Microsoft Azure
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Sources & Data Trail · Hetzner
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- 2.Official Website·Official vendor website
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