Direct comparison
T Cloud Public vs Hetzner
T Cloud Public 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 2026-07T Cloud Public and Hetzner represent two different strategies in the European cloud market: T Cloud Public offers a broad, certified portfolio with maximum operational sovereignty (10/10), but is less competitive in pure IaaS costs (Cost Rating 5.8/10). Hetzner excels as a cost-efficient IaaS provider with an outstanding price-performance ratio (Cost Rating 9.6/10) and strong Bare Metal infrastructure (10/10), but largely lacks Managed Services such as databases or Kubernetes. While T Cloud Public is suitable for companies that need a comprehensive service portfolio and high compliance requirements in DACH, Hetzner is the preferred choice for cost-sensitive teams that want to run Linux workloads and Bare Metal servers on an open infrastructure. Both providers are EU-based and offer high technological sovereignty, but differ fundamentally in the depth of their service stack and pricing models.
Methodology & data basisT Cloud Public
EU providerUSP: German cloud provider with an independent, broad public cloud portfolio combining shared and dedicated resources, including first serverless capabilities.
Recommendation: Recommended for companies in DACH and the Netherlands that operate regionally but require high availability and strong data sovereignty.
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
T Cloud Public 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) through fully EU-based operations with support and staff, ensuring independence from non-EU interventions.
- High technological sovereignty (9/10) through an open stack and standards, ensuring low lock-in and high exit-friendliness.
- Broad service portfolio with over 80 services, including Managed Databases, Kubernetes, and comprehensive storage solutions, although strategic depth is moderate (5/10).
- Solid data security and encryption (7/10) with technical protection measures such as BYOK and HSM options, which are above Hetzner's level.
Points to consider
- Weak AI and Big Data offerings (2/10 each), which are significantly below the average of all providers (AI Ø 4.8; Big Data Ø 4.8), with limited depth in analytics and ML services.
- No global reach (2/10) with presence exclusively in Europe (3 countries), which can be an exclusion criterion for international customers.
- Rudimentary Bare Metal options (1/10) and missing enterprise virtualization paths (1/10), which do not directly support classic virtualization environments.
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), significantly above the average of all providers.
- Best Bare Metal offering in the comparison field with a score of 10/10, including Dedicated Root Servers and GPU options, which is ideal for compute-intensive workloads.
- Very high operational sovereignty (9/10) through self-operated EU data centers and as a German, owner-managed company without a US parent company.
- Strong suitability for Linux workloads (9/10) and high technological sovereignty (8/10) through an open KVM hypervisor and S3-compatible object storage.
Points to consider
- No Managed Databases (Score 0/10) and no Managed Kubernetes (Score 1/10), which complicates the operation of complex applications and is significantly below the average of all providers (Databases Ø 6.9; Containerization Ø 7.3).
- 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 Score 2/10), which can complicate compliance requirements and is significantly below the average of all providers (Data Security Ø 7.8; Encryption Ø 6.8).
Which provider when?
Use-case-based decision aid — both options are a valid choice.
Choose T Cloud Public if:
- You need a broad portfolio of Managed Services, including databases, Kubernetes, and Big Data platforms, to reduce operational complexity.
- Maximum operational sovereignty and compliance certifications (such as BSI C5, ISO 27001) are crucial for your company in DACH.
- You plan workloads that can benefit from Saving Plans (up to 48% savings) and require high technological sovereignty with an open stack.
- Your infrastructure requirements include enterprise virtualization paths or specific Microsoft integrations, even if these are only supported to a limited extent.
Choose Hetzner if:
- Cost optimization for IaaS workloads is your highest priority, especially for CPU- and storage-intensive applications.
- You need powerful Bare Metal servers or GPU infrastructure for compute-intensive tasks without the overhead of Managed Services.
- Your workloads are primarily based on Linux and you prefer a simple, open infrastructure with a high price-performance ratio.
- You can do without Managed Services such as databases or Kubernetes and prefer to operate them yourself or use alternative solutions.
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 | T Cloud PublicvsHetznerScale 1–10 | Avg. all | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Security & Encryption | 74 | 7.8 | Lead T Cloud Public |
| Technological Sovereignty | 98 | 7.4 | balanced |
| Operational Sovereignty | 109 | 8 | balanced |
| Strategic Capabilities | 53 | 6.2 | Lead T Cloud Public |
| Price | 59 | 6.4 | Lead Hetzner |
| Collaboration Tools | 63 | 5.1 | Lead T Cloud Public |
| Global Reach | 23 | 4.5 | balanced |
| Big Data | 20 | 4.8 | Lead T Cloud Public |
| AI | 20 | 4.8 | Lead T Cloud Public |
| Bare Metal | 110 | 5.2 | Lead Hetzner |
| Virtualization | 10 | 5.7 | balanced |
| Containerization | 71 | 7.3 | Lead T Cloud Public |
| Databases | 60 | 6.9 | Lead T Cloud Public |
| High Availability | 54 | 6.7 | balanced |
| Microsoft | 41 | 4.5 | Lead T Cloud Public |
| Linux | 79 | 8.8 | Lead Hetzner |
| Encryption | 72 | 6.8 | Lead T Cloud Public |
| Storage | 76 | 7.7 | balanced |
| Network | 55 | 7.8 | balanced |
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
Compliance & Certificates
German cloud security catalogue
IT service management system standard
Information security management system
Cloud security controls for providers
Personal data protection for cloud
Privacy information management extension
Energy management for data centers
Service organization control audit reports
Payment card data security standard
Quality management system standard
Cost Indication
vCPU/h
H100/h
GB/h
Ratio1/4
GB/h | 3000 IOPS
GB/h
GB/h
GB/h
Cluster/h
per 1 Mil Requests
GB-Sec
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).
More cloud comparisons
Frequently asked questions: T Cloud Public vs Hetzner
What is the difference between T Cloud Public and Hetzner?
T Cloud Public offers a broad, certified public cloud portfolio with over 80 services, including Managed Databases and Kubernetes, and scores with maximum operational sovereignty (10/10). Hetzner focuses as an IaaS provider on cost-efficient compute and storage solutions with an outstanding price-performance ratio (Cost Rating 9.6/10) and strong Bare Metal infrastructure (10/10), but largely lacks Managed Services.
Which provider is more sovereign?
Both providers are EU-based and show high sovereignty values. T Cloud Public achieves a SEAL Score of 7.6/10 and maximum operational sovereignty (10/10). Hetzner achieves a SEAL Score of 7.4/10 and very high operational sovereignty (9/10). The difference is small, with T Cloud Public slightly ahead in the operational area.
Who 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). T Cloud Public has a Cost Rating of 5.8/10, where actual costs depend heavily on the workload and can be optimized through Saving Plans (up to 48% savings).
Which provider offers better Managed Services?
T Cloud Public offers a comprehensive portfolio of Managed Services, including databases (Score 6/10) and Kubernetes (Score 7/10). Hetzner offers no Managed Databases (Score 0/10) and only rudimentary containerization (Score 1/10), which complicates the operation of complex applications at Hetzner.
Is one of the providers better suited for global workloads?
Neither provider is optimized for global workloads. T Cloud Public has a global reach of 2/10 with locations only in Europe. Hetzner has a global reach of 3/10 with locations in Germany, Finland, USA, and Singapore, which is somewhat broader but still limited.
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