Compare / Cloudflare Workers vs Hetzner Cloud
Cloudflare Workers vs Hetzner Cloud
Pre-calculated from hand-checked data — Cloudflare checked 2026-08-01, Hetzner Cloud checked 2026-08-01.
The short version
Cloudflare Workers wins more of our comparison points, but Hetzner Cloud still fits if european projects that need serious compute or move a lot of traffic describes you.
Price Cloudflare Workers
Cloudflare Workers is cheaper at every stage we model — about $10/mo even for a growing project.
Ease Cloudflare Workers
Cloudflare Workers is easier to get running: deploy from Git or with the wrangler CLI; framework adapters handle SSR apps.
Control Hetzner Cloud
Hetzner Cloud gives you more control over the stack — the flip side of the convenience trade.
Free tier Cloudflare Workers
Cloudflare Workers has a free tier; Hetzner Cloud doesn't.
Features Cloudflare Workers
Cloudflare Workers comes out ahead on 8 of the 15 features we track, versus 3.
What developers say about this matchup
We couldn't find a substantive first-person discussion comparing this exact pair. We leave the section empty instead of filling it with vendor marketing or generic SEO comparisons.
At a glance
| Cloudflare Workers | Hetzner Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Static sites and JS/TS apps where bandwidth costs matter or a global edge is a plus. | European projects that need serious compute or move a lot of traffic. |
| How deploys work | Deploy from Git or with the wrangler CLI; framework adapters handle SSR apps. | You get root on a bare server: bring your own setup, or use one-click apps like Docker and WordPress. |
| The tradeoff | More platform-specific setup than the git-push hosts — adapters, wrangler config, and Workers-flavored storage. | Self-managed like any VPS, and the bandwidth advantage mostly applies to EU locations. |
| Free tier | Free: unlimited static requests and bandwidth, 100,000 Worker requests per day, 3,000 build minutes per month. | None |
What you'd realistically pay
| Project stage | Cloudflare Workers | Hetzner Cloud | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just starting | Free Free | ≈€43.49/mo CCX13 (EU) | Cloudflare Workers |
| Steady traffic | ≈$5/mo Workers Paid | ≈€43.49/mo CCX13 (EU) | Cloudflare Workers |
| Growing | ≈$10/mo Workers Paid + usage | ≈€86.49/mo CCX23 (EU) | Cloudflare Workers |
Our ratings
Ease of use Cloudflare Workers
Pricing clarity
Free tier Cloudflare Workers
Scaling Cloudflare Workers
Control Hetzner Cloud
Feature by feature
Cloudflare Workers wins 8, Hetzner Cloud wins 3, with 4 even.
Deploy workflow
| Cloudflare Workers | Hetzner Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy from Git push | Yes Workers Builds deploys on push from GitHub or GitLab. | No No deploy pipeline — bring your own CI or scripts. |
| Preview deploys | Yes Preview URLs per version and non-production branch builds. | No Nothing built in. |
| Official CLI | Yes wrangler handles dev, deploys, logs, and storage. | Yes hcloud CLI manages servers, networks, and snapshots. |
| Instant rollbacks | Yes Versioned deployments with one-command rollback. | Partial Snapshots and paid backups restore machines; no deploy-level rollback. |
Platform
| Cloudflare Workers | Hetzner Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Custom domains + HTTPS | Yes Custom domains with automatic TLS on Cloudflare’s network. | Yes Point DNS at the server; TLS is yours via certbot or a proxy. |
| Built-in CDN / edge network | Yes The platform is Cloudflare’s CDN — static assets are free and cached globally. | No No CDN product — put Cloudflare in front if needed. |
| Serverless functions | Yes Workers are the compute model, running in 300+ locations. | No Not a VPS feature. |
| Docker containers | Partial Cloudflare Containers run alongside Workers but are newer and more limited than a real container host. | Yes Docker CE one-click app or install it yourself. |
| SSH / shell access | No No servers to shell into. | Yes Full root SSH. |
| EU hosting region | Partial Code runs everywhere by default; you can restrict data (not compute) to EU jurisdiction. | Yes Germany and Finland are the home turf — this is where the value is. |
Runtime & operations
| Cloudflare Workers | Hetzner Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic scaling | Yes Scales per request across the whole network with no knobs. | No Manual resizing or manual fleet management. |
| Scale to zero | Yes Workers bill per request — idle costs nothing. | No Servers bill until deleted, even powered off. |
| Scheduled jobs | Yes Cron Triggers run Workers on a schedule, including on the free plan. | Yes Classic cron on the box. |
| Managed database | Partial D1 (SQLite), KV, and R2 are managed but Cloudflare-flavored; classic Postgres means an external provider. | No No managed database product — self-host or go external. |
| Logs & metrics built in | Partial Live tail and Workers analytics included; persistent logs need Logpush or a third party. | Partial Basic server graphs in the console; app-level monitoring is yours. |
Watch out for
Cloudflare
- Server-side frameworks (Next.js, Astro SSR, SvelteKit) run through adapters, which have more rough edges than Vercel or Netlify.
- The runtime is Workers-specific: Node.js compatibility is good but not total, and storage means D1, KV, and R2 rather than a classic server.
- The free plan enforces 100,000 Worker requests per day — static requests stay unlimited.
Hetzner Cloud
- US locations include only 1–2 TB of traffic versus 20 TB in the EU — the famous value is a European value.
- A public IPv4 address costs €0.50/month extra; only IPv6 is free.
- Servers bill until deleted, even while powered off.
- Cheaper shared-CPU (CX) plans exist but are not yet in our checked dataset.
Read the full reviews: Cloudflare and Hetzner Cloud. Or answer four questions to see what fits your project.