Hetzner Cloud vs Linode (Akamai)
Both are alternatives to AWS (EC2 compute). Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Linode (Akamai) vs Hetzner Cloud — same comparison, one verdict.
Both are cloud & vps tools with the same broad shape, but Hetzner Cloud scores 70 against Linode (Akamai)'s 55 on data ownership and exit cost — the gap is in how easily you could leave.
Hetzner Cloud
TOP PICKTwo to four times the hardware per dollar, 20 TB of traffic included.
The price-performance king of European cloud: €5.49/mo (excl. IPv4 and VAT) for 2 vCPU / 4 GB with 20 TB of included EU traffic on its CX23 plan, after Hetzner's 15 June 2026 price rise — a spec DigitalOcean lists at $24, before bandwidth. Hetzner often marks plans unavailable for new orders, so check before you plan around one. Transparent flat pricing, EU and US locations, and the provider half the self-hosting community quietly runs on. It pays Macrostack nothing, which tells you why it's the pick.
Linode (Akamai)
The veteran — two decades of straightforward VPS, now on Akamai's edge.
Linode ran dependable, plainly priced VPS for twenty years before Akamai bought it; plans from $5/mo ($12 for 2 GB) with the reliability record intact. The honest note: product pace has slowed post-acquisition, and the platform extras are thinner than DigitalOcean's.
Side by side
6 points of comparison, every one read from a verified field. Green marks the side that wins a row outright. A dash means we do not hold that fact — never that it is zero.
| Hetzner Cloud | Linode (Akamai) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 70 | 55 |
| Open source | No | No |
| Self-hostable | No | No |
| Local-first data | No | No |
| License | Proprietary service | Proprietary service |
| Pricing | From €5.49/mo excl. IPv4 and VAT (CX23: 2 vCPU / 4 GB, 20 TB EU traffic) since the 15 June 2026 price rise; plans are often marked unavailable for new orders; US locations cost more and include less traffic | From $5/mo; 2 GB plan $12/mo |
Hetzner Cloud is Macrostack's recommended AWS (EC2 compute) alternative, so it's our pick here.
Weighing both against staying on AWS (EC2 compute)? Is AWS (EC2 compute) free? What it actually costs →
Hetzner Cloud
Strengths
- +Two to four times the compute per dollar of US-priced rivals
- +20 TB of included traffic — bandwidth-heavy apps save $50–100/mo
- +Transparent flat pricing with EU data-protection jurisdiction
Trade-offs
- −Smaller region map (EU, US, Singapore)
- −Fewer managed services than the big platforms
- −New-account vetting can be strict
Linode (Akamai)
Strengths
- +Twenty-year reliability track record
- +Straightforward pricing
- +Akamai's global edge network behind it
Trade-offs
- −Slower product evolution since the acquisition
- −Fewer platform extras than rivals
Which one fits you
The trade-offs above, turned into a decision. Find the line that describes your team.
Choose Hetzner Cloud
if a lower exit cost matters more to you than any single feature, and two to four times the compute per dollar of US-priced rivals.
Choose Linode (Akamai)
if twenty-year reliability track record.
Neither, yet
if both carry a real cost you should weigh first — smaller region map (EU, US, Singapore), and slower product evolution since the acquisition. If either of those is a dealbreaker for your team, the shortlist is wrong rather than the choice.
Hetzner Cloud vs Linode (Akamai) — common questions
Is Hetzner Cloud a better fit than Linode (Akamai) for cloud & vps?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: Hetzner Cloud scores 70 to Linode (Akamai)'s 55 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. Linode (Akamai) earns its place on a different axis — twenty-year reliability track record. Neither is a wrong answer for every team; the table above is the actual comparison.
What happens if we want to switch later?
Neither of these is local-first by default, so plan the exit at the point you adopt rather than later. Export what matters on a schedule instead of trusting you can retrieve it on demand — that is the most common way a cloud & vps migration turns into a project instead of an afternoon.
Are Hetzner Cloud and Linode (Akamai) both alternatives to AWS (EC2 compute)?
Yes — both appear in our AWS (EC2 compute) comparison, which is why they are worth putting side by side. People usually arrive here already having decided to move off AWS (EC2 compute) and now choosing between the two replacements, which is a narrower and much easier question.
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Facts verified 2026-07-19. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.