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A2 Hosting vs Hetzner
A2 Hosting
Hetzner
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and performance to help you choose the right hosting provider.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | A2 Hosting | Hetzner |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | N/A | N/A |
| Price | $2.99/mo | N/A |
| Renewal Price | $11.99/mo | N/A |
| Storage | 15 GB NVMe SSD | 10 GB SSD |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Websites | 1 | 1 |
| CPU | 2 vCPU | N/A |
| RAM | 2 GB | N/A |
| Free Domain | ||
| Free SSL | ||
| Server Locations | ||
| Regions | 4 | 5 ★ |
| Locations | US East, Michigan US West, Arizona Western Europe, Amsterdam Southeast Asia, Singapore | US East, Ashburn, Virginia US West, Hillsboro, Oregon Central Europe, Nuremberg, Falkenstein Northern Europe, Helsinki Southeast Asia, Singapore |
| Plan Details | ||
| Limited plan details available | Limited plan details available | |
| Email Accounts | ||
Features | ||
CMS & Platforms (7) | ||
Languages & Frameworks (9) | ||
Databases (4) | ||
Developer Tools (8) | ||
Performance & CDN (4) | ||
| Caching | ||
| CDN | ||
| LiteSpeed | ||
| SSD Storage | ||
Security (6) | ||
| 2FA | ||
| Backups | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| Malware Scan | ||
| SSL | ||
| WAF | ||
Support (4) | ||
Extras & Guarantees (5) | ||
| Slight discrepancies are possible. We recommend verifying details on the provider's website. | ||
| Visit A2 Hosting | Visit Hetzner | |
Pricing & Plans
A2 Hosting Plans
Hetzner Plans
Pros & Cons
A2 Hosting
Pros
- LiteSpeed web server on all plans
- NVMe SSD storage for fast performance
- Free website migration
- 24/7/365 expert support
- Wide range of hosting types (shared, VPS, reseller, WordPress)
Cons
- Recent rebrand from A2 Hosting to hosting.com may cause confusion
- No public dedicated server pricing (contact sales)
- WordPress plans show $1/mo promo but renewal is significantly higher
- VDS plans have no public pricing
Hetzner
Pros
- Exceptional price-to-performance ratio across all products
- Transparent hourly billing with monthly price cap on cloud servers
- 20 TB included traffic on EU cloud servers
- NVMe SSD storage on all cloud and web hosting plans
- ARM-based (Ampere) cloud servers for cost-efficient workloads
- Dedicated vCPU options (CCX) for consistent performance
- Free DDoS protection on all servers
- No contract lock-in -- cancel anytime
- Comprehensive API and CLI tools (hcloud)
- European data centers with strong privacy (GDPR compliant)
Cons
- No managed shared hosting with cPanel -- web hosting uses konsoleH
- Web hosting plans do not include a free domain
- Setup fee required on web hosting plans
- Prices shown in EUR -- may vary for non-EU customers
- Limited US and Asia presence (Germany and Finland primary)
- No phone support on cloud plans -- tickets and community only
- No managed WordPress hosting product
- Windows not officially supported on cloud servers
Frequently Asked Questions
A2 Hosting
What is web hosting?
It’s the service that stores your website's files and makes them available for the world to see on the internet.
Do I need web hosting for my website?
Yes. If you want a website, you need a place for it to live online. A hosting plan provides that secure space on our servers.
What is shared hosting?
It’s the most cost-effective way to get online. Your site shares server resources with others, which keeps the price low. It's perfect for personal sites, blogs, and small businesses.
What's the difference between shared hosting and a managed server?
Shared hosting puts your site in its own isolated container on a managed, shared server — you get dedicated CPU and RAM, and we run everything. A managed server gives you the whole box: all the resources are yours, still fully managed by us. Most sites start on shared and move up when they outgrow it — same platform, same team, no re-platforming.
Can I upgrade my hosting plan later?
Yes — our plans are built to grow with you. You can upgrade easily and without downtime, all the way from shared hosting to a managed server of your own.
Do I get email with my hosting plan?
Yes, all plans come with our integrated cPanel email solution, so you can create professional addresses using your domain name.
Is technical knowledge required to use web hosting?
No. The control panel is intuitive, and Orbi plus our in-house team are on hand 24/7. Developers can still reach advanced tools like SSH, Git integration and custom cron jobs.
Is web hosting secure?
Yes. All our plans include robust security features like SSL certificates, DDoS protection, and automated backups to keep your site safe.
Can I host multiple websites on one plan?
Some of our plans do. Just check the features of each plan to see which one fits your needs. check plan specs for the site limit.
Do I get root access?
These are fully managed servers, which means we take care of all the patching, security updates and server management for you. You'll access everything through cPanel, so you can focus on running your site without worrying about what's happening behind the scenes. And if you ever decide you'd like full root access and direct OS control, our unmanaged dedicated or cloud options would be a perfect fit for that.
What's the difference between this and shared hosting?
On shared hosting, resources are spread across many customers on the same server, so performance can vary depending on what everyone else is doing. With a Managed cPanel Server, all the RAM, CPU and NVMe storage are dedicated entirely to you. You'll still get the same familiar cPanel interface, but with the added benefit of full isolation, predictable performance and resources that are yours alone.
How many websites can I run?
There's no limit on addon domains or websites within a single cPanel account, so you can host as many sites as you need. If you'd prefer separate cPanel logins for different clients or projects, whether that's for isolation, independent quotas or white labelling, you can easily add extra cPanel accounts through autoscale licensing. These are charged at the transparent cPanel pass through rate, so no markups or surprises.
What exactly does "fully managed" include?
We take care of everything on the server side for you, including initial provisioning and configuration, OS and software patching (cPanel, CloudLinux, Monarx and more), firewall setup and maintenance, 24/7 server level monitoring, daily backup configuration and website migrations. Essentially, we keep the engine running smoothly so you can focus on your sites. Things like application code, CMS plugin updates and content are yours to manage through cPanel, giving you full control over the stuff t
What happens when I need to scale up?
You can upgrade to a larger plan whenever you need to, and we'll handle the entire move for you. No migration headaches on your end.
What Is VPS Hosting?
VPS is an abbreviation for “virtual private server”. A VPS works by dividing a physical server into separate virtual machines. Each of these virtual machines, or virtual private servers, operate completely independently from one another. In other words, each VPS has its own operating system as well as allocation of resources like RAM, CPU and disk space. This provides you with an environment that closely mimics that of a Dedicated Server, without the costs associated with it.
Hetzner
How do you bill your servers?
Servers have both a monthly price cap and a price per hour. Your server's bill will never exceed its monthly price cap. If you delete your Cloud Server before the end of the billing month, you will only be billed the hourly rate. We will bill you for each cloud server until you choose to delete them. Even if you aren't actively using your server, we will bill you for it.
Do you bill servers that are off?
Yes. All servers that have finished their creation process will be billed until they are deleted, regardless of their state. This is because, internally, we allocate full resources to servers regardless of their power state. And it enables rapid startup and boot times for you, the customer.
What are the Hetzner Cloud Volumes?
It is a feature for fast, flexible, and cost-effective (SSD based) block storage which you can attach to your Hetzner Cloud Server.
How does Hetzner Online store the data in Volumes?
Every block of data is stored on three different physical servers (triple replication).
How many servers can I create?
Each customer has a default limit for the number of Cloud resources that we simultaneously provide. If you would like to increase your limit, you can send a request to our support team by opening a support ticket via Hetzner Console. Our team will quickly review your request and, if everything is in order, they will increase your limit.
Do you plan to add x feature?/Will you add more features?
We want to keep adding new features and services and are always interested in hearing from you on how we can improve our product! There are several ways you can provide us with product feedback or feature requests: Via our forum: please post your request in the Hetzner Cloud Board Via email: send us your ideas to [email protected] Unfortunately, we cannot give you a detailed roadmap of what we are working on. However, you can keep up to date by following us on our social media chann
Will you add additional locations in different geographic regions?
We have continuously expanded our cloud locations in recent years. In addition to Germany and Finland, we now also have international locations in Ashburn, Virginia; Hillsboro, Oregon (USA) and Singapore. We are constantly examining possible future locations. If you don’t want to miss the opening of a new location, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on our social media channels.
Can I create email addresses for a subdomain?
Yes, if the subdomain is created as a separate domain in web hosting, email addresses can also be configured for it.
How much storage space do I have for emails, databases, and websites?
You can flexibly use all of the storage space in your web hosting plan for your emails, website, and databases.
What happens if I exceed my storage space?
If you exceed your storage space, you will be charged €1.09 (including 19% VAT) per GB per month. If your storage space requirements have increased significantly, you can either switch to a larger web hosting package or purchase a storage space add-on (for €1.00 per 10GB).
What is a PHP process? Why do I need PHP processes?
PHP is the programming language used by many websites (e.g., WordPress). Normally, every visitor who accesses a page requires a short-term “PHP process” to generate dynamic content. The more simultaneous visitors there are, the more PHP processes are needed. Two processes are often sufficient for small websites with little traffic, while heavily visited sites require more PHP processes.
What is the PHP memory limit?
The memory_limit in PHP determines the maximum amount of memory that a single script can use. For example, if the value is set to 192 MB, each script can use up to 192 MB of RAM during its execution. The memory limit therefore applies per process and not as a total budget for all processes. If the set limit is exceeded, PHP terminates execution and reports an error (“Allowed memory size exhausted”). This setting protects the server from excessive memory consumption.
What is Varnish and what advantages does it offer?
Varnish is a cache that can be used with CMS systems (e.g., WordPress, Drupal, TYPO3). Frequently requested content is stored in the cache and can thus be delivered directly without having to query PHP or the database again. This significantly reduces the server load and results in much faster loading times. Previously, Varnish could only be activated on managed servers. Now you can use it starting with Webhosting S.
Do the web hosting packages include a domain?
No, the web hosting packages do not include a domain. This must be booked separately. Domain registration is available from Hetzner starting at /year. Without a domain, many web hosting features, such as HTTP access for publicly hosting websites, mailboxes, Varnish, and much more, cannot be used.
Ready to Choose?
Both providers offer great features. Visit their websites to see the latest deals and pricing.
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US East, Michigan
Western Europe, Amsterdam
Southeast Asia, Singapore
Central Europe, Nuremberg, Falkenstein
Northern Europe, Helsinki