Direct comparison
STACKIT vs Hetzner
STACKIT or Hetzner? The direct cloud comparison of services, data centers, costs and sovereignty. Services, pricing, data centers and sovereignty in a direct comparison.
Management summary
As of 2026-07STACKIT and Hetzner represent two different approaches in the European cloud market: STACKIT positions itself as a sovereign Germany cloud with a focus on compliance, data security, and managed services for IaaS/PaaS, while Hetzner appears as a cost-efficient IaaS provider with strong bare metal infrastructure and high price competitiveness. STACKIT convinces with maximum operational sovereignty (10/10) and a broad portfolio of managed databases (8/10) as well as encryption solutions (9/10), but is less competitive in pure compute costs (Cost Rating 5.4/10). Hetzner offers outstanding price advantages (Cost Rating 9.6/10) and the best bare metal offering (10/10), but consciously refrains from complex managed services such as Kubernetes or databases, which increases the own operational effort. For organizations with high security requirements and a need for managed services, STACKIT is the more suitable choice, while Hetzner is ideal for cost-sensitive teams with their own DevOps expertise and a focus on pure compute resources.
Methodology & data basisSTACKIT
EU providerUSP: German cloud with maximum compliance and a clear focus on IaaS and PaaS
Recommendation: Recommended for organizations prioritizing local security and trust
Hetzner
EU providerUSP: Very strong price-performance IaaS from a German independent Provider on EU-operated data centers, focussing on compute power
Recommendation: Recommended for cost-sensitive DACH teams that want a modern data center with basic requirements on bare metal inrastructure
Performance chart
STACKIT and Hetzner across 8 core categories, compared with the average of all providers (1–10).
Market positioning
All 13 providers by sovereignty and portfolio performance — purely computed from the category ratings.
Positions are purely computational: X = mean of technological & operational sovereignty, Y = mean of all remaining rating categories (each 1–10). Not a ranking recommendation. Methodology & data basis
Strengths & weaknesses
Automatically derived from the editorially reviewed rating data and backed by the category ratings (1–10) — fair to both sides.
Strengths
- Maximum operational sovereignty (10/10) with a SEAL score of 8.2/10 (82%) and SEAL 3 certification, ideal for strict compliance requirements.
- Strong data security and encryption (9/10) through technical protection mechanisms such as Confidential Cloud by Edgeless Systems and Secrets Manager (Encryption 8/10).
- Excellent Linux support (10/10) and a solid managed database portfolio (8/10) with PostgreSQL, MariaDB, SQLServer, MongoDB, Redis, and OpenSearch.
- Free egress costs (10/10) and competitive prices for Kubernetes Premium (8.7/10) and RAM (7.7/10) despite a moderate overall price rating.
Points to consider
- No global reach (1/10) with only 2 regions in 2 countries, unsuitable for workloads outside Europe.
- Weak AI and big data offering (3/10 each), with many AI services only 'announced' and Dremio remaining in beta stage.
- No bare metal offering (1/10), which limits specific hardware requirements, and no collaboration portfolio (1/10).
Strengths
- Outstanding price-performance ratio with a Cost Rating of 9.6/10, particularly for CPU (9.8/10) and S3 storage (9.6/10).
- Best bare metal offering in the comparison field (10/10) with dedicated root servers and GPU options for hardware-close workloads.
- Very high operational sovereignty (9/10) through self-operated EU data centers and a German, owner-managed company without a US parent.
- Strong technological sovereignty (8/10) through open KVM hypervisor and S3-compatible object storage, which minimizes vendor lock-in.
Points to consider
- No managed databases (0/10) and no managed Kubernetes (1/10), which makes operating complex applications without own expertise difficult.
- Low strategic opportunities (3/10) due to missing AI (0/10) and big data services (0/10), which blocks innovations in these areas.
- Weak data security and encryption (4/10) and no managed KMS/HSM (Encryption 2/10), which can complicate compliance requirements.
Which provider when?
Use-case-based decision aid — both options are a valid choice.
Choose STACKIT if:
- You need a cloud with the highest compliance standards (BSI C5, ISO 27001, SEAL 3) and maximum operational control from Europe.
- Your workloads are based on Linux and require managed databases (PostgreSQL, SQLServer, MongoDB) or Kubernetes orchestration.
- You want to avoid egress costs and need a platform with strong encryption (Confidential Computing, Secrets Manager).
- You are looking for a target platform for the migration of VMware/Hyper-V environments with good virtualization support (6/10).
Choose Hetzner if:
- Cost optimization for compute resources (CPU, RAM, storage) is your primary goal and you have your own DevOps capacities.
- You need bare metal servers or dedicated root servers for hardware-close applications or GPU workloads.
- You prefer an independent, owner-managed provider with a strong focus on pure IaaS infrastructure and open standards.
- Your workloads are Linux-based and do not require managed databases or complex PaaS services.
Service comparison by category
All 19 rating categories in a head-to-head duel (1–10). A notable lead is marked from a 2-point difference.
| Category | STACKITvsHetznerScale 1–10 | Avg. all | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Security & Encryption | 94 | 7.8 | Lead STACKIT |
| Technological Sovereignty | 98 | 7.4 | balanced |
| Operational Sovereignty | 109 | 8 | balanced |
| Strategic Capabilities | 53 | 6.2 | Lead STACKIT |
| Price | 59 | 6.4 | Lead Hetzner |
| Collaboration Tools | 53 | 5.1 | Lead STACKIT |
| Global Reach | 13 | 4.5 | Lead Hetzner |
| Big Data | 30 | 4.8 | Lead STACKIT |
| AI | 30 | 4.8 | Lead STACKIT |
| Bare Metal | 110 | 5.2 | Lead Hetzner |
| Virtualization | 60 | 5.7 | Lead STACKIT |
| Containerization | 61 | 7.3 | Lead STACKIT |
| Databases | 80 | 6.9 | Lead STACKIT |
| High Availability | 64 | 6.7 | Lead STACKIT |
| Microsoft | 41 | 4.5 | Lead STACKIT |
| Linux | 109 | 8.8 | balanced |
| Encryption | 82 | 6.8 | Lead STACKIT |
| Storage | 76 | 7.7 | balanced |
| Network | 85 | 7.8 | Lead STACKIT |
Management Summary
Sovereign Cloud
SEAL Framework
Strategic (15 %)
Legal & Jurisdictional (10 %)
Data & AI (10 %)
Operational (15 %)
Supply Chain (20 %)
Technology (15 %)
Security & Compliance (10 %)
Environmental (5 %)
Availability & Locations
Compute
shared & low-budget
Hot Storage
Cold Storage
Managed Databases
Network & Security
Orchestration
Virtualization
Management
Big Data
AI & Machine Learning
Quantum Computing
Compliance & Certificates
German cloud security catalogue
IT service management system standard
Information security management system
Energy management for data centers
Cloud Security Alliance assurance registry
Service organization control audit reports
Payment card data security standard
Cost Indication
vCPU/h
H100/h
GB/h
Ratio1/4
GB/h | 3000 IOPS
GB/h
GB/h
Cluster/h
LLama3.3-70B per 1Mil tokens
LLama3.3-70B per 1Mil tokens
per GB
Our comparison methodology
The scores show a relative price comparison per service category. The lowest price earns 10 points; higher prices are marked down proportionally. Missing services are treated neutrally.
As of: List prices as of 11 September 2025, location Germany (DE).
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Frequently asked questions: STACKIT vs Hetzner
What is the difference between STACKIT and Hetzner?
STACKIT is a sovereign Germany cloud with a focus on managed services (databases, Kubernetes) and compliance (SEAL 3, C5), while Hetzner is a cost-efficient IaaS provider with a strong bare metal offering and open standards. STACKIT offers more managed services and higher data security (9/10 vs. 4/10), Hetzner convinces with significantly lower prices (Cost Rating 9.6/10 vs. 5.4/10) and bare metal options (10/10 vs. 1/10).
Which provider is more sovereign?
STACKIT achieves a SEAL score of 8.2/10 (82%) and maximum operational sovereignty (10/10), while Hetzner has a SEAL score of 7.4/10 (74%) and an operational sovereignty of 9/10. Both are EU providers, but STACKIT offers deeper technical sovereignty through Confidential Computing and stricter compliance certifications.
Which provider is cheaper?
Hetzner is significantly cheaper with a Cost Rating of 9.6/10, particularly for CPU (9.8/10) and S3 storage (9.6/10). STACKIT has a Cost Rating of 5.4/10, but offers free egress costs (10/10) and competitive prices for Kubernetes Premium (8.7/10). The actual costs are highly workload-dependent.
Which provider offers better managed services?
STACKIT offers a broad portfolio of managed databases (8/10) and Kubernetes orchestration (6/10), while Hetzner offers no managed databases (0/10) and only minimal Kubernetes support (1/10). STACKIT is therefore better suited for teams that want to reduce operational effort.
Which provider is better for bare metal workloads?
Hetzner is the clear favorite with a bare metal score of 10/10 and offerings such as dedicated root servers and GPU options. STACKIT offers no bare metal offering (1/10) and is therefore unsuitable for hardware-close workloads.
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