Compare / DigitalOcean App Platform vs Hetzner Cloud
DigitalOcean App Platform vs Hetzner Cloud
Pre-calculated from hand-checked data — DigitalOcean checked 2026-08-01, Hetzner Cloud checked 2026-08-01.
The short version
DigitalOcean App Platform 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 DigitalOcean App Platform
DigitalOcean App Platform is cheaper at every stage we model — about $24/mo even for a growing project.
Ease DigitalOcean App Platform
DigitalOcean App Platform is easier to get running: connect the Git repo or a container image; App Platform builds, deploys, and scales it.
Control Hetzner Cloud
Hetzner Cloud gives you more control over the stack — the flip side of the convenience trade.
Features DigitalOcean App Platform
DigitalOcean App Platform comes out ahead on 8 of the 15 features we track, versus 2.
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
| DigitalOcean App Platform | Hetzner Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Apps that want git-push deploys inside a provider they can grow with. | European projects that need serious compute or move a lot of traffic. |
| How deploys work | Connect the Git repo or a container image; App Platform builds, deploys, and scales it. | You get root on a bare server: bring your own setup, or use one-click apps like Docker and WordPress. |
| The tradeoff | Weaker compute per dollar than a Droplet — the convenience premium is real. | Self-managed like any VPS, and the bandwidth advantage mostly applies to EU locations. |
| Free tier | None | None |
What you'd realistically pay
| Project stage | DigitalOcean App Platform | Hetzner Cloud | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just starting | ≈$5/mo 1 shared vCPU / 512 MiB | ≈€43.49/mo CCX13 (EU) | DigitalOcean App Platform |
| Steady traffic | ≈$12/mo 1 shared vCPU / 1 GiB | ≈€43.49/mo CCX13 (EU) | DigitalOcean App Platform |
| Growing | ≈$24/mo Two 1 GiB containers | ≈€86.49/mo CCX23 (EU) | DigitalOcean App Platform |
Our ratings
Ease of use DigitalOcean App Platform
Pricing clarity Hetzner Cloud
Free tier DigitalOcean App Platform
Scaling DigitalOcean App Platform
Control Hetzner Cloud
Feature by feature
DigitalOcean App Platform wins 8, Hetzner Cloud wins 2, with 5 even.
Deploy workflow
| DigitalOcean App Platform | Hetzner Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy from Git push | Yes Connect GitHub or GitLab; pushes build and deploy automatically. | No No deploy pipeline — bring your own CI or scripts. |
| Preview deploys | No No automatic per-PR preview environments. | No Nothing built in. |
| Official CLI | Yes doctl manages apps, Droplets, and databases from one CLI. | Yes hcloud CLI manages servers, networks, and snapshots. |
| Instant rollbacks | Yes Roll back to a previous deployment from the dashboard. | Partial Snapshots and paid backups restore machines; no deploy-level rollback. |
Platform
| DigitalOcean App Platform | Hetzner Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Custom domains + HTTPS | Yes Custom domains with managed TLS certificates. | Yes Point DNS at the server; TLS is yours via certbot or a proxy. |
| Built-in CDN / edge network | Partial Static assets go through a CDN; dynamic services run in one region. | No No CDN product — put Cloudflare in front if needed. |
| Serverless functions | Partial DO Functions exist within App Platform but are a minor, less-loved product. | No Not a VPS feature. |
| Docker containers | Yes Deploy from a Dockerfile or any container registry. | Yes Docker CE one-click app or install it yourself. |
| SSH / shell access | Partial A web console reaches the running container; no true SSH. | Yes Full root SSH. |
| EU hosting region | Yes Amsterdam and Frankfurt at identical US prices. | Yes Germany and Finland are the home turf — this is where the value is. |
Runtime & operations
| DigitalOcean App Platform | Hetzner Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic scaling | Partial CPU-based autoscaling on dedicated instances only. | No Manual resizing or manual fleet management. |
| Scale to zero | Partial Web services can idle at 10% of price, not zero. | No Servers bill until deleted, even powered off. |
| Scheduled jobs | Partial Job components run at deploy events; scheduled cron needs a worker workaround. | Yes Classic cron on the box. |
| Managed database | Yes DO Managed Databases (Postgres, MySQL, Redis-compatible) attach directly. | No No managed database product — self-host or go external. |
| Logs & metrics built in | Yes Insights graphs, runtime logs, and alert policies built in. | Partial Basic server graphs in the console; app-level monitoring is yours. |
Watch out for
DigitalOcean
- App Platform containers are small for the money — $12/month buys 1 GiB of RAM, while a $24 Droplet has 4 GiB.
- Managed databases bill separately from both products.
- Bandwidth allowances pool at the team level; overage is $0.02/GiB on App Platform and $0.01/GiB on Droplets.
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: DigitalOcean and Hetzner Cloud. Or answer four questions to see what fits your project.