Comparison
Expanse Host vs Hetzner
Hetzner Cloud is widely regarded for excellent price-to-performance in Europe, with shared AMD vCPUs on cost-optimized plans like CPX11. Expanse Host VPS competes on named Ryzen 9 9950X hardware, included DDoS protection, and NA/EU/APAC game regions — but with fewer datacenters and a higher list price at 2GB.
Methodology
How we compared
This comparison is published by Expanse Host. Hetzner CPX11 pricing (~€4.99/mo) and specs are from Hetzner's public cloud pricing as of lastVerified. Hetzner uses shared vCPUs on CPX lines — performance can burst but is not the same as dedicated threads. USD equivalents fluctuate with exchange rates.
Pricing and features are sourced from public listings and may have changed. Verify on Hetzner's website before purchasing.
Overview
At a glance
Summary
Hetzner is difficult to beat for EU-centric, self-managed VPS value. Expanse Host makes sense when CPU branding, DDoS-inclusive game stacks, or APAC coverage outweigh Hetzner's traffic and disk advantages.
Features
Side-by-side comparison
Hetzner CPX11 is approximately €4.99/mo (~$5–$6 USD depending on FX) for 2 shared AMD vCPUs, 2GB RAM, 40GB disk, and 20TB traffic in EU locations. Expanse V1 Micro is $6.45/mo for 1 Ryzen 9950X vCPU, 2GB RAM, 30GB NVMe, 2TB bandwidth in NA/EU. Hetzner often wins on disk and traffic allowances in EU; Expanse publishes a specific CPU model and includes DDoS.
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (2GB class) | $6.45/mo (V1 Micro: 2GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 30GB NVMe, 2TB bandwidth NA/EU) | CPX11 ~€4.99/mo (2 shared AMD vCPU, 2GB RAM, 40GB disk, 20TB traffic EU) |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (1 vCPU on entry plan, model published) | Shared AMD vCPU on CPX (EPYC-based); model not marketed as Ryzen 9950X per VM |
| vCPU model | Dedicated vCPU allocation on published Ryzen 9950X nodes | Shared vCPU — cost-efficient but subject to neighbor contention |
| Storage | 30GB NVMe on V1 Micro | 40GB on CPX11 (NVMe/SSD per Hetzner product line) |
| Bandwidth / traffic | 2TB included on V1 Micro (NA/EU) | 20TB included on CPX11 in EU (allowances vary by location) |
| Locations | New York City, Frankfurt, Singapore (VPS) | EU-first (Falkenstein, Nuremberg, Helsinki); US (Ashburn, Hillsboro) available |
| DDoS protection | Included on VPS plans | Basic DDoS mitigation on cloud; severity and scope differ by product |
| Game hosting | Managed game servers on same Ryzen platform | Self-managed VPS only — no managed Minecraft panel from Hetzner |
Recommendation
Which host fits you?
Choose Hetzner if
Choose Hetzner if your users are primarily in EU, you want maximum traffic and disk per euro, and you are comfortable with shared vCPUs on CPX for general workloads.
Choose Expanse Host if
Choose Expanse Host if you need Singapore APAC, want a named Ryzen 9950X vCPU, bundled DDoS for game-adjacent traffic, or managed game servers alongside VMs.
Analysis
Where each provider shines
Strengths
Hetzner
- Outstanding EU price/performance on CPX plans — often the benchmark for budget VPS in Germany and Finland.
- Generous included traffic (e.g. 20TB on CPX11 in EU) and slightly larger default disk than Expanse entry VPS.
- Mature infrastructure company with dedicated servers, storage volumes, and load balancers at competitive rates.
- US cloud locations (Ashburn, Hillsboro) for buyers who want Hetzner outside EU.
Strengths
Expanse Host
- Published Ryzen 9 9950X CPU rather than shared vCPU on cost-optimized shared tiers.
- DDoS protection marketed as included on VPS; managed game hosting available on identical hardware.
- Monthly or prepay billing (5%/10%/15% off) on VPS and game plans.
- Singapore APAC region for game and VPS workloads Hetzner does not cover.
- Single provider for VPS, game servers, dedicated, domains, and DNS.
Questions
Common questions
Related
More comparisons
Still evaluating? Review Expanse plans if we fit your use case — or stay with Hetzner if that is the better match.