Hetzner vs WP Engine
- ✦ Cloud Servers
- ✦ Dedicated Servers
- ✦ Block Storage
- ✦ Managed WordPress
- ✦ Genesis Framework
- ✦ Free SSL
Hetzner and WP Engine are both Cloud Hosting tools. Hetzner starts at $0.0143/mo, WP Engine at $30/mo. Compare features, pricing, and ratings below to find the best fit for your team.
When to Choose Hetzner vs WP Engine
The question that matters: “In what situation will I regret choosing A over B after 3 months?”
Product photos on Hetzner Object Storage, proxied through Floating IPs, hit 85% cache rates across EU traffic at a fraction of typical CDN costs.
Page Performance monitoring shows global load times in real time, while Free CDN distributes assets worldwide without per-gigabyte costs or edge infrastructure.
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.
Dev/Stage/Prod clones production data for safe plugin and theme testing before a single-click promotion - cutting post-launch bug reports by 87% for one agency.
Automated Backups run hourly with no setup, satisfying HIPAA and SOC 2 audits. Point-in-time restoration can recover a compromised site in under 3 minutes.
Pricing Comparison & PlansHigh· Verified May 30, 2026
Hetzner Plans
Paid plans only
Snapshots
$0.01/GB/moBest for: Snapshots offer point-in-time backups for cloud servers, crucial for data recovery and testing
- ✓On-demand full disk images
- ✓Backups
Block Storage
$0.06/GB/moBest for: This service provides scalable, persistent storage that can be attached to cloud servers, ideal for databases or applications needing flexible storage
- ✓Additional storage
Traffic Overage
$1/TBBest for: This charge applies if your server exceeds its included traffic quota, providing flexibility for unexpected spikes in usage
- ✓Additional data transfer
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
CAX21
$8.49/moBest for: A mid-tier ARM server, CAX21 provides more resources for ARM-native applications or services
- ✓8 GB RAM
- ✓80 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓Ampere® Altra® ARM64 CPU
CX43
$12/moBest for: Offering enhanced CPU and RAM, the CX43 is good for more demanding web applications, databases, or development servers
- ✓16 GB RAM
- ✓160 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓Intel®/AMD CPU
CAX31
$16/moBest for: The CAX31 offers significant ARM processing power, suitable for larger ARM-optimized applications or microservices
- ✓16 GB RAM
- ✓160 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓Ampere® Altra® ARM64 CPU
CCX13
$16/moBest for: A high-performance cloud server, CCX13 is suitable for applications requiring strong CPU and memory
- ✓Dedicated vCPUs
- ✓8 GB RAM
- ✓80 GB Storage
- ✓20 TB Traffic
CX53
$23/moBest for: This plan is designed for resource-intensive applications, larger databases, or high-traffic websites
- ✓32 GB RAM
- ✓320 GB SSD
- ✓20 TB Traffic
- ✓Intel®/AMD CPU
WP Engine Plans
Paid plans only
Startup
$30/site/moBest for: 1 site, 25K visits/mo, 10GB storage
- ✓1 WordPress site
- ✓25,000 monthly visitors
- ✓10 GB storage
- ✓75 GB bandwidth
- ✓24/7 chat support
Professional
$55/site/moBest for: 3 sites, 75K visits/mo, 15GB storage
- ✓3 WordPress sites
- ✓75,000 monthly visitors
- ✓15-20 GB storage
- ✓150-200 GB bandwidth
- ✓24/7 phone and chat support
Growth
$109/site/moBest for: 10 sites, 100K visits/mo, 20GB storage
- ✓10 WordPress sites
- ✓100,000 monthly visitors
- ✓20-30 GB storage
- ✓240-400 GB bandwidth
- ✓24/7 phone and chat support
Scale
$276/site/moBest for: 30 sites, 400K visits/mo, 50GB storage
- ✓30 WordPress sites
- ✓400,000 monthly visitors
- ✓50 GB storage
- ✓550 GB bandwidth
- ✓Enhanced security features (WAF, advanced threat protection)
Core Hosting
$400/mo- ✓Optimized performance
- ✓99.99% SLA
- ✓Multisite capabilities
- ✓Scalable resources
- ✓Dedicated support
Enterprise
Contact Sales- ✓Mission-critical operations
- ✓Custom sites, visitors, storage, bandwidth
- ✓Dedicated support
- ✓Custom solutions
Capability Breakdown
10 differences found across 18 standardized features
- •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
- •Managed WordPress
- •Genesis Framework
- •Free SSL
- •Free CDN
- •Automated Backups
- •Staging
- •Dev/Stage/Prod
- •Page Performance
- •Themes
- •PHP Upgrades
- •Git Integration
- •SSH Gateway
- •24/7 Support
- •Threat Detection
- •Global Edge Security
- •REST API
- •Git Push Deploy
- •CLI
Strengths & Limitations
Evaluative strengths and weaknesses: not feature lists
- +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
- +Genesis Framework & premium themes included ($2,000+ value)
- +Proprietary EverCache technology for extreme speed & scalability
- +Automated plugin updates with AI-powered visual regression testing
- +Integrated local development tools (Local) for streamlined workflows
- +24/7 expert WordPress support with fast response times
- −Strict disallowed plugins list can limit customization options
- −No email hosting included; requires a separate third-party service
- −Premium pricing; significantly more expensive than shared hosting
- −Overage charges for exceeding visitor or storage limits can be costly
- −No cPanel; relies on a proprietary user portal which can be a learning curve
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
WP Engine removed the "Custom" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
WP Engine added a new "Enterprise" plan (Custom pricing)
Plan added · May 30, 2026
WP Engine added a new "Core Hosting" plan at $400/mo
Plan added · May 30, 2026
WP Engine raised "Scale" from $193/mo to $276/mo (+43%)
Price change · May 30, 2026
WP Engine raised "Growth" from $77/mo to $109/mo (+42%)
Price change · May 30, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
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