Hetzner is the stronger choice when European data residency, Singapore placement, bare metal, dedicated servers, or a longer operating history matters. Raff is the stronger choice when you want lower current shared-tier pricing, unmetered bandwidth, included backups, stronger measured CPU and 4K random-read performance, and a compact managed application platform.
At the 2 vCPU / 4 GB shared-VM level, Raff General Purpose is $9.99/month with 80 GB NVMe SSD. Hetzner CPX22 is $22.99/month in Germany and Finland, while the closest US CPX plan listed in this comparison is $37.49/month before VAT and excluding IPv4.
Hetzner vs Raff: Which Is Right for You?
The decision separates across four practical areas: geography, current VM pricing, platform services, and workload performance.
- Choose Hetzner for EU residency — Hetzner operates cloud locations in Germany and Finland, along with locations in the United States and Singapore.
- Choose Hetzner for bare metal and infrastructure depth — Hetzner offers dedicated servers, server auction products, managed servers, storage products, and a much longer operating history.
- Choose Raff for lower current CPX-equivalent pricing — Raff is $9.99/month at 2 vCPU / 4 GB, compared with $22.99/month for Hetzner CPX22 in Germany and Finland.
- Choose Raff for US shared-tier pricing — Raff is $9.99/month at 2 vCPU / 4 GB, while the closest listed US Hetzner CPX plan is $37.49/month.
- Choose Raff for bandwidth predictability — Raff includes unmetered VM bandwidth at a 3 Gbps standard port speed; Hetzner uses included transfer allowances followed by overage pricing.
- Choose Raff for managed application services — Raff offers managed Kubernetes, managed databases, functions/serverless, and Raff Apps alongside VMs, object storage, private networking, backups, API/CLI, and Terraform.
- Choose Raff for the measured shared-tier benchmark — Raff measured higher Geekbench 6 CPU scores and higher fio 4K random-read IOPS in the May 2026 comparison, while Hetzner measured stronger sequential disk throughput.
Hetzner Overview
Hetzner Online GmbH is a German hosting and cloud provider founded in 1997. Its catalog includes shared-vCPU cloud servers, dedicated-vCPU cloud servers, private networks, firewalls, volumes, floating IPs, load balancers, object storage, snapshots, backups, APIs, dedicated servers, server auction products, managed servers, web hosting, storage boxes, and DNS services.
Hetzner is especially strong for teams that need Germany or Finland placement, EU-oriented infrastructure, Singapore deployment, or access to dedicated-server products. Its Germany and Finland data center parks are positioned around ISO/IEC 27001 certification and GDPR compliance.
The June 15, 2026 pricing adjustment materially changed CPX and CCX economics for new orders and cloud-instance rescales. In the pricing data used here, CPX22 in Germany and Finland is $22.99/month for 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, and 80 GB storage before VAT and excluding IPv4. In the United States, CPX21 is $37.49/month for 3 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, and 80 GB storage before VAT and excluding IPv4.
Raff Overview
Raff Technologies is a US-focused cloud platform for teams that want VMs, storage, private networking, application deployment, backups, and managed services in one place.
Raff offers:
- General Purpose and CPU-Optimized VMs
- Managed Kubernetes
- Managed databases
- Functions/serverless
- Raff Apps
- S3-compatible object storage
- Block storage volumes
- Private cloud networking
- Load balancers
- Snapshots and three automated backup slots per VM
- Firewalls, DDoS protection, and VNC console access
- API, CLI, Terraform, and custom OS support
Raff operates from Vint Hill, Virginia, runs 10,000+ production VMs, and is rated 4.5/5 on Trustpilot in the current comparison data. Raff is newer than Hetzner, but offers a focused US cloud stack with predictable bandwidth and managed application services built around the VM workflow.
Hetzner Pricing vs Raff Pricing
The table below compares Raff General Purpose with Hetzner CPX in Germany and Finland. Hetzner prices are shown before VAT and exclude IPv4 where applicable.
| Plan class | Raff General Purpose | Hetzner CPX Germany/Finland | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 GB RAM | $9.99/mo — 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB | $22.99/mo — CPX22, 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB | Raff about 57% lower |
| 8 GB RAM | $21.99/mo — 4 vCPU / 8 GB / 160 GB | $41.99/mo — CPX32, 4 vCPU / 8 GB / 160 GB | Raff about 48% lower |
| 16 GB RAM | $42.99/mo — 8 vCPU / 16 GB / 320 GB | $81.99/mo — CPX42, 8 vCPU / 16 GB / 320 GB | Raff about 48% lower |
| 24 GB RAM | $64.99/mo — 12 vCPU / 24 GB / 480 GB | $118.99/mo — CPX52, 12 vCPU / 24 GB / 480 GB | Raff about 45% lower |
| 32 GB RAM | $92.99/mo — 16 vCPU / 32 GB / 640 GB | $152.99/mo — CPX62, 16 vCPU / 32 GB / 640 GB | Raff about 39% lower |
Raff also offers CPU-Optimized VMs with dedicated vCPU starting at $3.99/month for 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, and 25 GB NVMe SSD. The shared-tier table and benchmark use Raff General Purpose because Hetzner CPX is a shared-resource plan. A dedicated-vCPU comparison should match Raff CPU-Optimized against Hetzner CCX.
Hetzner USA Pricing
For US workloads, Hetzner's US pricing is more relevant because Raff operates from Vint Hill, Virginia.
| Plan class | Raff General Purpose | Hetzner CPX USA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 GB RAM | $9.99/mo — 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB | $37.49/mo — CPX21, 3 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB | Raff about 73% lower |
| 8 GB RAM | $21.99/mo — 4 vCPU / 8 GB / 160 GB | $73.49/mo — CPX31, 4 vCPU / 8 GB / 160 GB | Raff about 70% lower |
| 16 GB RAM | $42.99/mo — 8 vCPU / 16 GB / 320 GB | $141.49/mo — CPX41, 8 vCPU / 16 GB / 240 GB | Raff about 70% lower |
| 32 GB RAM | $92.99/mo — 16 vCPU / 32 GB / 640 GB | $279.49/mo — CPX51, 16 vCPU / 32 GB / 360 GB | Raff about 67% lower |
Hetzner may still be the better architectural choice for European users or regulatory requirements. For US-focused workloads at comparable RAM and CPU classes, Raff has the lower listed monthly price in this comparison.
Automated Backups
Raff includes three automated backup slots per VM and supports on-demand snapshots. Hetzner automated backups are a paid add-on and provide seven backup slots per server. Raff therefore has the simpler included backup baseline, while Hetzner offers more retained automated backup points through its paid option.
Currency and Pricing Methodology
The tables use Hetzner's published USD monthly values from the June 2026 pricing adjustment, verified July 7, 2026. The listed Hetzner prices are before VAT and exclude IPv4 where stated.
Bandwidth and Transfer Policy
Raff includes unmetered VM bandwidth at a 3 Gbps standard port speed, so normal VM traffic does not create a per-GB egress line item.
Hetzner includes transfer allowances and then charges overage. The exact allowance varies by product and region. The table below uses a 20 TB European-style allowance and an estimated $1.20/TB overage after the included transfer. US and Singapore allowances may differ.
| Monthly outbound traffic | Raff bandwidth charge | Hetzner charge after 20 TB allowance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 TB | $0 | $0 |
| 5 TB | $0 | $0 |
| 10 TB | $0 | $0 |
| 50 TB | $0 | About $36 |
At lower traffic levels, compute price is the larger difference. Raff's unmetered model becomes more valuable as transfer grows or becomes unpredictable.
Feature Comparison: Hetzner vs Raff
Compute
| Feature | Raff | Hetzner |
|---|---|---|
| Shared-vCPU VMs | General Purpose | CX, CAX, CPX |
| Dedicated-vCPU VMs | CPU-Optimized | CCX |
| Entry shared plan | $5.99/mo — 2 vCPU / 2 GB / 40 GB | Region and SKU dependent |
| 4 GB shared plan | $9.99/mo — 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB | $22.99/mo EU CPX22 or $37.49/mo US CPX21 |
| Instant resize | Yes | Yes |
| Bare metal | Not in public VM catalog | Yes |
| GPU | Not in public VM catalog | Available through dedicated or GPU server lines |
Hetzner wins on compute breadth. Raff wins on simpler shared-tier selection, lower listed CPX-equivalent pricing, and integration with managed application services.
Networking
| Feature | Raff | Hetzner |
|---|---|---|
| Standard VM bandwidth | Unmetered at 3 Gbps | Included transfer, then metered overage |
| IPv4 and IPv6 | Yes | Yes; IPv4 pricing depends on product and region |
| Private networking | Yes | Yes |
| Firewalls | Yes | Yes |
| Load balancers | Yes | Yes |
| DDoS protection | Yes | Yes |
| Main region fit | US East | Europe-first, plus USA and Singapore |
Hetzner wins on geographic range. Raff wins when US-East placement and predictable transfer costs are more important than multi-region deployment.
Storage and Backups
| Feature | Raff | Hetzner |
|---|---|---|
| VM disk | NVMe SSD | SSD or NVMe depending on plan family |
| Block storage volumes | Yes | Yes |
| Snapshots | Yes | Yes |
| Automated backups | Three slots included | Paid add-on with seven slots |
| Object storage | S3-compatible object storage | Object storage |
| Storage Boxes and file products | Not the same product focus | Available |
Hetzner has a broader storage catalog. Raff offers a simpler VM backup and storage workflow for small teams.
Platform Services
| Feature | Raff | Hetzner |
|---|---|---|
| Managed Kubernetes | Yes | No first-party managed Kubernetes in Hetzner Cloud |
| Managed databases | Yes | Different managed-product positioning |
| Functions/serverless | Yes | No first-party cloud-functions product in Hetzner Cloud |
| Application deployment | Raff Apps | One-click apps and cloud-server images |
| API and CLI | Yes | Yes |
| Terraform provider | Yes | Yes |
| One-click applications | Yes | Yes |
Raff is the stronger choice for teams that want VMs, databases, Kubernetes, serverless functions, and application deployment from one control surface. Hetzner is well suited to self-managed infrastructure teams that prefer to assemble those services using its servers, networks, firewalls, APIs, and integrations.
Trust and Infrastructure
| Feature | Raff | Hetzner |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot rating | 4.5/5 across 16 reviews | 3.2/5 across 2,845 reviews |
| Production VM signal | 10,000+ production VMs | Not published in the same format |
| Founded | Early 2025 | 1997 |
| Locations | Vint Hill, Virginia | Germany, Finland, USA, Singapore |
Raff has the higher listed rating but a smaller review base and shorter operating history. Hetzner has a much larger review sample and nearly three decades of operating history.
Performance Benchmarks: Raff vs Hetzner
The May 2026 benchmark compared a Raff General Purpose benchmark VM with a Hetzner CPX test VM in the same general shared-resource class.
Methodology
| Field | Test detail |
|---|---|
| Test date | May 2026 |
| Raff VM | 2 vCPU / 4 GB DDR5 / 50 GB NVMe benchmark VM, Vint Hill, Virginia |
| Current closest Raff plan | General Purpose 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB at $9.99/mo |
| Hetzner VM | CPX test VM used in the comparison |
| Current closest Hetzner plans | CPX22 Germany/Finland at $22.99/mo or CPX21 USA at $37.49/mo |
| Tools | Geekbench 6, sysbench, fio, iperf3 |
| Runs | Single comparison pass |
| Test cost | Paid at standard rates by Raff Technologies; no sponsorship or rebate from Hetzner |
The results are a single-window snapshot. Real performance varies by region, host load, queue depth, operating-system image, and workload. Network endpoints also differed between providers.
Results
| Metric | Raff General Purpose | Hetzner CPX test VM | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 single-core | 2,266 | 1,847 | Raff about 23% higher |
| Geekbench 6 multi-core | 4,057 | 2,321 | Raff about 75% higher |
| fio 4K random-read IOPS | 97,468 | 80,153 | Raff about 22% higher |
| fio 64K mixed aggregate | 2,927 MB/s | 3,249 MB/s | Hetzner about 11% higher |
| fio 1M sequential aggregate | 3,606 MB/s | 4,013 MB/s | Hetzner about 11% higher |
| iperf3 peak | 9,574 Mbps upload to NYC | 12,390 Mbps upload to Amsterdam | Hetzner higher on different regional endpoints |
Raff measured stronger CPU and small-block random-read performance. Hetzner measured stronger sequential and mixed disk throughput. The network result is not a clean global comparison because the tested endpoints differed.
When You Should Choose Hetzner
Choose Hetzner when:
- You need Germany or Finland data residency.
- You need Singapore placement.
- You want dedicated servers, server auction products, or bare metal.
- You value a provider founded in 1997 with a long public operating history.
- Sequential and mixed disk throughput is more important than the measured CPU and 4K random-read results.
- Your users and infrastructure are primarily in Europe.
When You Should Choose Raff
Choose Raff when:
- You want $9.99/month at 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB General Purpose.
- You need unmetered bandwidth at a 3 Gbps standard port speed.
- You want three automated backup slots included.
- CPU and small-block random-read performance matter.
- You want managed Kubernetes, managed databases, functions/serverless, and Raff Apps in one platform.
- Your workload is US-focused and benefits from Virginia placement.
Migrating from Hetzner to Raff
- Inventory Hetzner servers, regions, operating systems, attached volumes, firewalls, networks, IPs, DNS, backups, and application dependencies.
- Provision Raff VMs with equal or greater CPU, RAM, and storage.
- Check device references and update
/etc/fstab, boot configuration, mount scripts, and monitoring where required. - Transfer files with rsync and migrate databases using native dump, restore, or replication tools.
- Recreate networking, firewall rules, backups, monitoring, and application dependencies.
- Lower DNS TTL to 300 seconds, complete the final data sync, and switch A and AAAA records.
- Keep the Hetzner server temporarily as a rollback path and decommission it after production validation.
About Hetzner
Hetzner is operated by Hetzner Online GmbH, a German hosting and cloud provider founded in 1997. The company offers cloud servers, dedicated servers, managed servers, web hosting, object storage, storage boxes, private networks, firewalls, load balancers, and related infrastructure products.
Conclusion: Hetzner or Raff?
Choose Hetzner when EU residency, Singapore deployment, dedicated servers, bare metal, or its longer operating history are the deciding requirements.
Choose Raff when lower current shared-tier pricing, unmetered bandwidth, included backups, measured CPU and 4K random-read performance, and an integrated managed application platform matter more.